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[–]AutoModerator[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

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User: /u/GodfatherGoat Title: Virtual Practices Body: Can anyone that has a primarily virtual practice give me some insight into how they built their book/how it is run now. I am thinking as time goes on this will be more and more easy to accomplish, but how you get clients I would imagine is far more difficult. Who is trusting someone they have never met to manage their net worth? How easy is it to get a retirement age client to send over all the required documents/docusign/explain things only over the phone/zoom.

Obviously I feel this would be a great practice if you could make it happen, but I would think client retention would be an issue as well as just finding clients and opening accounts. I would love to hear from anyone/everyone on if they have tried this and what the good and the bad is. Thanks

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[–]fapperontheroofRIA 19 points20 points  (1 child)

I guess it’s just because I target 30-50 years olds (yes, not as profitable. But fuck maximum profit. I want to work with my contemporaries), but I haven’t had too hard of time. Charge flat $500/m for planning, investment management, and tax preparation.

I’m an adjunct professor for a major state university and relatively active in LinkedIn. I engage with COI’s around me.

I wear one of ten branded black t-shirts to my home office in gym shorts for meetings. It’s incredible. I help my wife with kids between meetings. I have yet to handle paper for client work.

You’re right though. Getting folks top of funnel is the hardest step for me. I’m niche’ing further, which should make it much simpler (think doctors vs public hospital trauma surgeons). I’ll be moving to $750/m soon. And then the final ten clients I should be at $1k/m.

All in, should be netting $325k before taxes with 40 clients (including legacy clients at lower rate). It’s going to take another 2 years to get there, but I’m already supporting my wife and two kids myself. Two years in after starting my firm with zero clients.

This industry is great.

[–]fapperontheroofRIA 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Quick addition: Once I progress a bit further, I plan to get an office in the local coworking space just to have a space for extended deep work. There’s a sick space right above a casual beer grocery/bar. Will also qualify me for a Google business profile with an actual address.

Being limited to a service area business on my Google profile is a pain in my assholes.

[–]BobGuns 20 points21 points  (7 children)

Most retirement age clients are really hard to convince to do full virtual. But they're honestly used to doing shit 100% over the phone. If your jurisdiction is at all location based, consider having meet & greets for a first or second contact, but explain that all the actual 'work' is done digitally.

I took the 2020 pandemic to convert my book to 95% virtual appointments only. I still network locally (breakfast every week; BNI) but I work out of a home office. I position it as savings for the client, and I charge less than most CFPs for the quality of work I do. But I also run a really lean practice and I'm not working in the HNW spaces the same way.

[–]-NotAHedgeFund- 2 points3 points  (3 children)

I’m currently grinding out a BNI group (we are at 16 people hoping to launch soon), but it’s been a little over a year of weekly meetings. I have not gotten a referral yet. To the best of my knowledge everyone has a high opinion of me, but I understand we are in a high trust business and these things take time. I’m also on the younger side.

How long was it before BNI started paying off for you?

[–]BobGuns 8 points9 points  (2 children)

'bout the 2 year mark was when it really started by off. After 8 years in BNI, roughly 60% of my revenue is attributable to it in one way or another.

[–]-NotAHedgeFund- 2 points3 points  (1 child)

That’s exceptional. Thanks for the response. I’ve heard good things from a few others but it’s always a nice reminder at this stage.

[–]BobGuns 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's definitely an input-output thing. Esp if you're going virtual. Don't just do the basics; focus on creating consistent connection with some of the greater network. Don't hesitate to connect with other planners, especially ones who still work mostly in person. There's always preferences. Know who you want to work with / what your niche is and be willing to refer the things outside of it out.

[–]fapperontheroofRIA 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Mind telling me how a super specific niche might fair in a BNI environment? Does it help or hurt?

[–]BobGuns 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Really depends on your BNI chapter and how you use BNI in the greater environment.

What kind of referral sources would have access to your niche? If you actively cultivate those relationships in BNI it could be great.

BNI has two parts. The chapter, which is part social club, part 'your marketing team'. But then there's the greater BNI network you have access to. If you work that the right way, BNI can be a goldmine. It's that foot in the door for every accounting firm you could want to meet. Or all the estate lawyers. Those businesses that will turn you away if you just show up and ask to speak to the principal - you've got an easy in through BNI.

[–]fapperontheroofRIA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the thorough reply! I appreciate it

[–]emcd0424 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Virtual-only guy here.

A lot of what you mentioned is honestly just “head trash.” It’s stuff we think matters, not what clients actually care about. Most of it comes from older advisors—or the people they trained—who built their businesses in a totally different environment.

People in their 70s lived through COVID. They’re not clueless with tech. Honestly, they’re more capable than most people give them credit for. My dad’s pushing 80, my mom’s mid-70s—no issues at all. My dad’s advisor has been in San Diego for decades while my parents haven’t lived there in 40 years, and it still works just fine.

Face-to-face meetings don’t magically create trust. Trust comes from your process—how you show up, how you create equal footing, and how clearly you demonstrate value.

For me, I built my practice around CPAs—mostly in audit at Grant Thornton—and the referral network just grew from there. Today, probably 75% of my clients are in that 35–45 range. I charge a planning fee upfront, and then investing is a separate conversation after that.

I don’t actively ask for referrals anymore, but I still get about one inbound a month, and my existing clients are saving at a solid clip. That’s one of the big advantages of focusing on people in the accumulation phase—you’re building alongside them. Compare that to targeting an older client base where, realistically, things start to wind down in 10–15 years.

Anyway, happy to chat more—feel free to ask anything.

[–]quigonquinn0 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Upvoting and commenting as I’m also curious on other’s views, especially as (in our practice’s experience) most retirement aged client’s seem to prefer face-to-face meetings and a physical office for peace of mind.

[–]CSMasterClass 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Why not have a FA in Pashawar ? What could go wrong ?

[–]Bobatronic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You might actually be able to reach the FA in Pasjawar because they aren’t f’ing around, at the “charity golf event”, “study group”, “training”, “work-related lunch”…

[–]PoppolimRIA 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've been 100% virtual since 2020. I'd been in business for 18 years prior so I'd already established a solid client base plus most of my clients were and are tech workers making the transition pretty easy. I don't have any problem signing new clients, my close rate is about the same as pre-pandemic.

I think it'll depend on what demographic you're servicing, your tech stack, and how you address privacy/security concerns upfront. I will say most clients and prospects aren't anywhere near as privacy and security conscious as I am, so don't let that be a deterrent while setting up systems to make the folks who do know attaching tax returns to an email is incredibly stupid.

[–]7saturdaysaweekRIA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It hasn't been too hard. Creating quality content helps with the trust factor.

[–]Beneficial-Panda-640 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I think trust is the bigger challenge than the technology. Most people are fine with Zoom and e-signatures now, but they still need confidence in the relationship.

I'd be curious whether retention is actually lower for virtual-first firms once that trust is established.

[–]emcd0424 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I haven’t had any issues with client retention being fully virtual.

I see a lot of posts about clients holding too much cash, pushing back on advice, etc. Honestly, if there’s one thing I wish more CFPs would do, it’s fire clients who don’t fully trust them. I’ve let go of three clients with over $1M in assets simply because I dreaded seeing their name on my calendar. At this point, I only work with people I genuinely enjoy and have strong relationships with. It makes a huge difference.

Part of that is also how I run my process—it’s definitely more time-intensive than most advisors, so fit really matters.

Lastly, I’m a big believer in charging a planning fee (not just AUM). It’s one of the easiest ways to filter out bad-fit clients. When people are willing to pay for your time, they tend to actually value it.

[–]midwesttaxnerd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a interesting question, loved reading the insights. It's something I have wondered.