In preparation for our webinar today at 4 p.m. EST about how you can better run your practice through the globally financial crisis, we conducted a survey in the last three days. Of the 287 advisors registered for today’s webinar, 147 responded to the survey and virtually all of them answered every question. Below see the poll questions exactly as they appeared in the survey, the statistical results, and my commentary.

Many advisors are having a difficult time, with, 43% saying the financial crisis has been bad or very bad for business. However, 16.5% of those polled say the crisis has been good or very good for business. The remaining large group of advisors (41%) say the financial crisis has been neither good nor bad for business.

While 44% of advisors surveyed said they are not cutting any expenses, more than one in five say they will be taking a pay cut. Half that number say they will be cutting staff salaries. (Keep in mind that many of those polled could be sole practitioners.) With 20.3% of advisors saying they are cutting expenses across the board and 44.2% saying they are cutting nothing, most advisors for now seem to be trying to ride out the crisis before slashing expenses.

Of the expenses we asked about, the second largest expense advisors say they will reduce is marketing. Keeping in mind that I own a marketing company serving advisors, most smart business owners would say that cutting marketing expenditures now would be a mistake. For independent advisors, cutting expenses on marketing now, when the Wall Street giants have been discredited, makes little sense. The large firms on Wall Street, which have always had by far the greatest market share in the retail advice market, are likely to see their clients leave en masse because so many clients have suffered devastating portfolio losses. It’s a great marketing opportunity for independent advisors who articulate how they are different from Wall Street brokers.

My strategy for recouping revenues lost due the decline in asset values under management is:

To seize the opportunity created by the financial crisis, 92% say they know they must acquire new clients, offer additional products and services, or do both. The challenge will be differentiating yourself from Wall Street’s legions. Our speakers at today’s webinar have specific ideas about how you can differentiate your business from other advisory firms. Scott Farnsworth's approach uses story telling. “Using stories to sell and to learn your clients’ stories can revolutionize professional selling,” says Farnsworth. “It uses a complete sequence of story exchanges between professional and prospect to sell—to sell more and to sell more often.

I know how I can use financial planning to increase my firm's revenue and grow my business.

One of the most important ways to differentiate your practice and provide real value is to offer more than just investment management advice. Offering financial planning advice deepens client relationships. Yet 25% of advisors polled admit not knowing how they can use planning to increase revenue. Our other speaker today, Dr. Linda Strachan, a senior VP at EISI, the largest planning software company in North America, will provide insights into how advisors can integrate planning into client engagements.