Today’s increasingly competitive environment can make growing your book difficult — whether you are focused on the broad market or a specific segment or niche.

Each segment of the market for financial advisors is relatively overcrowded, says Jonathan Rivard, a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Richmond Hill, Ont. If you fail to look beyond the slice of the market you are currently serving, Rivard says, you can miss new growth opportunities.

“By performing periodic scans of your operating environment,” advises Mahesh Dwarkaprasad, project manager with Octane Capital Inc. in Toronto, “you will get a good handle on available opportunities and be able to put strategies in place to take advantage of them.”

Here are some ways to scan your environment for new opportunities:

> Identify your competitors
Make a list of financial advisors who work in your market — that is, those who are providing similar services in the environment in which you operate, says George Hartman, CEO of Market Logics in Toronto: “Who else is doing what you are doing?”

Adds Dwarkaprasad: “The more you know about your competitors, the better the competitive position of your practice.”

> Research your market
Find out as much as you can about your market environment. For instance, Hartman says, if you find that seniors make up a significant portion of the market in which you work, then you should consider including seniors as part of your growth strategy.

Information you gather should help you make a credible estimate of the size of your target market as well as its demographic make-up, Dwarkaprasad says.

Research will also help you to identify new trends and emerging needs among members of your market.

> Market yourself
“Being able to get people to choose you over your competitors is a challenge to growing your business,” Dwarkaprasad says. “Find out if there are any unfulfilled needs in your market. That will give you an opportunity to fulfill those needs.”

Get involved with trade shows, associations and other events aimed at members of your target market, Rivard says. He also suggests building relationships with centers of influence, and educating yourself about the needs of potential clients.

“Look at institutions that offer services to groups you have identified,” Rivard says, “and spread the word about your services.”

If you believe opportunities lie within groups of engineers, or farmers, for example, offer to conduct lunch-and-learn sessions with these groups, he says.

> Ensure that you can take advantage of opportunities
Assess your own capabilities to determine whether you have the resources to grow your practice, Dwarkaprasad says.

Once you have identified potential sources of growth, ask yourself questions such as:

  • Do I have the resources to grow my practice?
  • Do I have to make changes to my existing practice to take advantage of potential opportunities?
  • How can I differentiate myself?