The need to spend more time with current clients in the wake of the downturn, leaving less time for cultivating new ones, means advisors have to be more creative, the head of SEI's Advisor Network says.

Top financial advisors are spending the majority of their time working with existing clients, rather than actively trying to acquire new ones, according to a new poll from software provider SEI.

Only 16 per cent of advisors spend the majority of their day on new client outreach,  according to the survey of 150 advisors  at SEI’s National Strategic Advisor Conference in St Louis last month, compared to nearly half (46 per cent) who use most of their time working with existing clients.

Ongoing investor concerns about the economy fueled the increased client-retention efforts; just over half the advisors surveyed said their clients are still “extremely skeptical about the economy and very concerned with future growth.”

The result has been “a blessing in disguise” as well as a dilemma for advisors, Wayne Withrow, executive vice president and head of SEI’s Advisor Network told Family Wealth Report.

“Clients are re-assessing their risk tolerance and going to advisors for help, which is resulting in more meaningful conversations and an opportunity for advisors,” Withrow said. “But the situation has also required advisors to figure out how they can also get new clients at the same time.”

Nearly half (45 per cent) of the advisors surveyed said they are turning to centers of influence, particularly accountants, for leads.

Withrow said it was critical for advisors to be more proactive and creative in reaching out to both potential and existing clients.

“If they don’t hear from you, they’re going to hear from someone else,” he said. “If they don’t call you, they’re going to call someone else.”

Pro-active tool: video over the internet

More advisors are using video messages over the internet as a way to reach a wider audience, according to Withrow.

“People want to know what the impact of news stories like the debt crisis in Europe or health care reform will mean for them,” he said. “Using video over the web is a very personal way to reach multiple audiences at the same time.”

However, less than five per cent of advisors surveyed said they actively use social networking as a prospecting tool, even though more than half (54 per cent) of them said they participate in at least one online social community.

More than half (52 per cent)  of the advisors said aside from formal centers of influence, their most popular tool for creating new business leads are “bring a friend” client-appreciation events.

Nearly one-quarter of the advisors surveyed by SEI have more than $250 million of assets under management and nearly three-quarters have between $50 million and $250 million under management.

The survey results were very much applicable to advisors and wealth managers working with high net worth clients, Withrow said.

“The number one question people ask is ‘Do I have enough?’” he said. “Clients who already have accumulated assets thought they may have had enough and don’t ever want to go through another big decline, so advisors are going to have to pay extra close attention to them.”