Background
Compass CFO offers CFO services for RIA and wealth management firms. They launched four years ago with a passion for helping advisors in the wealth management industry. Offering outsourced CFO services, Matt and his team focus on small to midsize RIAs who would benefit from finance services and don’t have an in-house accounting department. In their effort to serve more clients, Compass CFO leans on AdvizorPro to put him in front of the right RIA and wealth management audience.
Before AdvizorPro
Before Compass began its partnership with AdvizorPro, they relied solely on referrals for new business. The Compass team pursued strategic partnerships with a variety of firms who came in contact with RIAs to be sources of referrals. This process was neither dependable nor targeted, and it didn’t give them the opportunity to share their services with their full audience. Matt summarized their prospecting with this method as steady but slow-going. However, there was a desire to take more control of their growth. Matt wanted Compass to have access to a “deep well” of high-quality data in order to scale their reach – removing the dependency on referrals for growth.
AdvizorPro versus the competition
Matt did significant due diligence on advisor databases, exploring both the AdvizorPro platform as well as the competition. What sold him is when AdvizorPro shared their very low email bounce rate. As email marketing is at the core of Compass’ prospecting, this was very important to ensure success.
Leveraging AdvizorPro’s targeted data and filters to build a full pipeline
When Compass’ partnership began with AdvizorPro, Matt landed its first customer within a quarter. He attributes this to his ability to finally be targeted in his prospecting. No longer depending on ‘shot in the dark’ referrals, Matt can be more intentional – working to pinpoint small to midsize wealth firms who’d be perfect candidates to benefit from Compass’ financial services.
With AdvizorPro, Matt’s prospecting is now strategic. He uses a specific AUM range on the AdvizorPro platform and then downloads these contact lists directly into his marketing tools. Matt has seen the immediate efficacy of his email campaigns. His persistent, patient efforts coupled with AdvizorPro’s filtered lists has led him to making more positive changes to the way he approaches his marketing campaigns. His team A/B tests his subject lines to achieve the highest open rates, as well as experiments with timing by sending messaging to a list of contacts multiple times during a quarter. These changes, coupled with the AdvizorPro advantage has helped Compass fill its pipeline with qualified advisor leads and gain new clients.
Exploring AdvizorPro’s features to grow a targeted client base
From the beginning, Matt described how the AdvizorPro team was actively involved in his success – happy to help him get the most out of his subscription and make platform enhancements. One example of this is how, spurred by Matt’s suggestion, the AdvizorPro tech team added new filters for the firm-established date, as well as firm age. This allows Matt’s team to conduct more precise prospecting – as Matt can target newer RIAs whose age make them a likely fit for Compass’ financial services.
Along with this firm-date filter, Compass has seen success with AdvizorPro’s unique website bio search feature that filters by hobby, alma mater, sports team, and more. Based in New York, Matt’s team has used this filter to pinpoint Yankee fans and conduct more organic, less transactional messaging when doing his Linkedin reach-outs.
AdvizorPro is more than just a prospecting tool for Compass
Matt has grown his client base with AdvizorPro, and he’s also been excited to see how AdvizorPro is integral to the value he provides his current customers. Compass CFO leverages the AdvizorPro database to help its clients understand how they stack up to peers on key metrics including AUM per client and AUM growth. He uses filters in the platform to identify peer universes for the analysis. Analyzing the data, Matt can then make inferences about how successful firms are running their business and offer strategic benchmark goals to his clients – reassuring them they’re on target with their peers.
Results
Matt attributes multiple, new clients to AdvizorPro – including Compass’ largest client win this year, who was a prospect that wouldn’t have otherwise been on his radar if it hadn’t been for the reach AdvizorPro provides. AdvizorPro has provided Compass with a deep well of high-quality prospects – while also leveraging the AdvizorPro platform to provide higher value to its clients.
