Todd Steinberg, of 21st Century Pros, returns for a second go on the podcast, to show you the million-dollar opportunity missing from your accounting firm.

We discussed sales and marketing in his last stint, but today Todd reveals how you’re leaving potentially millions of dollars on your plate.

In this episode of the Growing Your Firm Podcast by Jetpack Workflow Software, David Cristello and Todd Steinburg dig into:

  • Why adding a wealth management arm could add millions to your bottom line. It’s a million-dollar opportunity.
  • How not to be sleazy when selling wealth services to your high-end clients
  • The huge mistake CPAs commit when venturing into this territory

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

The Million Dollar Opportunity That Adds Huge Profits To Your Bottom Line:

Todd Steinburg, Founder of New Clients Inc. and Senior at 21st Century Pros, sees major opportunities in the accounting profession. For many, a wealth management arm provides some extra cash to fill in the gaps.

But, Todd sees a potential for you to do so much more with your clients.

Because, for many, Todd says, wealth management services are just a ‘dabbling’ activity. They do it here-and-there perhaps just for their lucrative clients. They might not want to outsource their financial advising to 3rd-party firms due to the stigma advisors carry.

You know the stigma.

Like a step above used car salesmen stigma.

You probably get bombarded multiple times per year from wealth management firms asking: “Hey, wanna send your clients over to us to do their financial planning? We’re throwing you a bone and your clients will really appreciate it!” 

You know the spiel.

Forward-thinking firms see past this stigma and see million-dollar opportunities. Remember, wealth management firms get paid fees just for holding onto clients money. 1-2%.

$100 of assets under management calculates out a cool $1 million in mostly profit.
But, that’s not what your first thought should be. Your first thought? How can I best help my clients?

How To Not Be Sleazy When Selling Wealth Services

Todd recommends opening up your own wealth management practice in addition to your accounting practice. The reason remains clear: Your clients need it. Plus, they will trust their money with you as they already trust their finances with you.

Unfortunately, Todd believes around 2/3s of financial advisors care more about their own commissions. You may believe the same. And why not?

The advisory services see rampant account churning, climbing fees, and lack of fiduciary responsibility. [Fiduciary means the advisor acts in the best interest of the client not the wealth management firm]

If you approach your clients with a ‘client-first’ mentality, converting clients into wealth management clients will be the easiest thing you ever do.

However, if you don’t feel you’re at a point where you can start providing the services yourself, you can bring in a 3rd-party. Now, I’m sure that’s where the concerns come into play.

You obviously don’t want some slimeball advisor providing terrible service to your hard-earned clients. They’ll come back and be upset at you first…even potentially lose them for your tax practice.

There are guideposts you can put into place when reviewing for financial advisors:

  • Make sure they have 12 years experience
  • The advisor is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
  • Learn their investment philosophy and make sure you understand and agree with it
  • Read the fine print on the fees being charged
  • No account minimums. Every client who wants help gets help. Don’t let the advisor cherry-pick clients.

Clients want simplicity. That’s why if you can provide them a one-stop shot — great. If you can’t and need a 3rd-party, do your best to make it as close to one-stop as possible.

The Huge Mistake Firms Make When Involved In Wealth Management

As mentioned, Todd sees too many firm owners simply ‘dabbling’ in wealth management services.

In the next 10 years, 6,600 accounting firms will offer some sort of financial advisory services.

Right now, 70-90 thousand accounting professionals are involved in wealth management but only 500 have over $25 million dollars in assets under management.

That’s a lot of dabblers.

Many simply don’t treat wealth management as a separate business. Rather, as I said, it’s just an extra little cash flow play.

Look at the incredible opportunity you have in front of you. Not enough firms can see the possibilities right under their nose to grow their firm.

If you reached out to your Top 10 clients today offering to chat over advisory services, I bet 9 out of 10 would take you up on it. Yes, you may need some additional licenses, etc. But, it might be faster to just hire one and add them to your team.

What are you going to do in order to add this million-dollar profit arm to your business?

Related Articles:

  1. 3 Simple Steps To Transform Your CPA Firm Into A Profitable Powerhouse
  2. 3 Crucial Steps to Building an Effective Accounting Team
  3. Get Your Accounting Team To Buy-In To Your Ideas and New Technology

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