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Advisors are overwhelmed with data demonstrating the opportunity of working with the female market. Female clients are not a niche market. They control $14 trillion in investable assets, which is predicted to grow to $41 trillion in the next 40 years.
Most advisors understand the opportunity, but they lack the tools to use the data effectively.
Advisors cannot be all things to all women. They must have a very clear focus.
If you haven’t created a profile of your ideal woman client and a focused value proposition targeted specifically to her that demonstrates that you understand her needs and concerns, then here is how you can do that.
New research shows that the greatest area for opportunity is among households headed by single women. Single women head almost one-third of all U.S. households. Some single women live alone or with unrelated household members. Others live with related family members such as parents or children.
Information Asset Partners (IAP) analyzed and projected two types of single-women households: those with family members and those with non-family members, which consist largely of single women living alone.
IAP research says both types are likely to exhibit significant affinity to use a financial advisor. The data shows that from a financial advisor’s perspective, the growth opportunity is with single women with families.
Among households with only one head, the incidence of households headed by women with investable assets of $100,000 or more has almost doubled since 1994. It is notable that this increase occurred despite the differences in men’s and women’s wages, the recent recession and the decline in real income for the majority of U.S. households.
What do I do with the data?
Your question may be similar to your reaction to other data you’ve read about the women’s market: What do I do with the data? How do I take action?
To begin, take a critical look at your book of business. Where is your focus when it comes to female clients and prospects? You might be surprised to see that you have been unconsciously focusing on the women’s market already. I’ve seen this time and time again with advisors—they have a significant number of women clients and they really have no idea why! If this is the case for you, it may be simply be time to get more focused and intentional about your connections with female clients and prospects.
Consider asking yourself the following questions in order to help you gain focus:
- How many accounts do you have currently that are single-women-headed households?
- Do you have current female prospects that seem to fit a similar client profile?
- Is your focus more on younger female professionals who are still accumulating wealth, or is it more on older women who may be retired and focused on wealth transfer?
The more specific you can be about who your ideal client is, the better. Make a list of attributes that are both qualitative and quantitative.
Once you’ve created your ideal client profile, spend some time creating your value proposition. What makes you unique to work with your ideal female client?
- Experience?
- A specific talent or attribute you have?
- An area of your business you specialize in that your competitors do not?
- Shared hobbies or activities?
Craft a 30-second statement that you can communicate with confidence when you come across prospects that fit your ideal female client profile.
How do I differentiate myself?
Once you’ve accepted that you can’t be all things to all women, your next question might be, “How do I differentiate myself?” How can you stand out from your competitors and demonstrate to your female clients and prospects that you are different from other advisors?
The best way you can differentiate yourself is by uncovering and understanding what her core values are. What drives her? Women associate their wealth with values. Simply put, women are more concerned about peace of mind (yes, a value) than about accumulating more wealth. Her intangible values are what matter most to her, including the legacy she will leave and be remembered by in the future.
It’s important to demonstrate that you understand this. Find out what her core values are, because they drive all of her investing decisions. Help her create a strong financial plan that will allow her to leave a tangible legacy as well as an intangible legacy of her values, beliefs and life lessons. By showing her that you recognize the importance her values, not just her value, you can build a loyal client relationship.
Kristan Wojnar, Registered Corporate Coach (RCC™), is a content creator, coach and communicator at Third Quarter Advisers, LLC, an Illinois-based consulting firm that serves financial advisors. She has specialized in the practice management arena in the financial services industry since 1999. Kristan can be reached at [email protected].
Read more articles by Kristan Wojnar
