7 Ways Advisors Can Add Clients, Stay Relevant

3. Attract millennials as employees. "You need millennials to relate to millennial clients," Crowley said. The key is adopting strategies to attract millennial employees.

To that end, Pershing has started a reverse mentoring program where he meets with millennial employees every other week and, said Crowley, "They mentor me." Pershing has also handed over the firm's employee engagement program to two of its youngest staff members, who "came up with ideas I would never have," he said.

Leitner's firm Mariner Wealth Advisors has "think tank" group of millennial employees who meet regularly among themselves without management, allowing for open sharing of opinions and ideas.

4. Attract millennials as clients. In addition to hiring younger employees, advisors should consider investments that appeal to millennials such as socially responsible investments (SRI). Tiseo expects that there will be a big push for these investments in the next three to five years as they appeal to "a personal benchmark" for millennials — "what's important to them, a personal, not an industry benchmark."

5. Attract more female clients. Women are 51% of the work force and have more wealth than males," said Crowley, explaining why financial advisory firms need to attract female clients. His firm has a Women's Initiative network, providing networking and mentoring opportunities for women along with development of leadership skills.

At Mariner Wealth Advisors, about half of leadership roles are held by women. 6. Embrace robos, don't fear them. "Robos can give you scale and efficiency so you can spend time in front of your clients," said Crowley. He and other panel members said advisors should not be concerned that robos will replace them. Just like WebMD didn't put doctors out of business, robo-advisors won't replace financial advisors, said Crowley. Rather, they "will expand the market for all of us."

"Robos are an efficiency tool not just for the emerging affluent," said Leitner, adding they are even useful for the $10 million client. Robo applications will become "part of your back office, part of your overall technology platform." They're also a good way for advisors to grow that part of their business that services smaller accounts, said Tiseo.

7. Be involved in your clients' lives. This is a primary reason robos won't replace advisors. They can't provide a personal interaction or emotional connection. "Seeing a client in person tells a whole lot more than anything else," said Leitner. He told a story about a pro athlete prospect. At their first meeting, Leitner asked the potential client to bring three pictures of the most important things in his life. Included among them were a picture of his mother and the park bench he lived on when he was down and out. "It had nothing to do with investments," said Leitner, adding that he learned more about what the althete wanted and needed from a financial advisor than any more traditional meeting would provide. 

He and other panelists said advisors need to take a multigenerational approach to clients — getting to know clients and their children. "You want to talk to the next generation" and "walk though Mom and Dad's financial plan so the kids understand where the money will flow." Not only will that help your current clients, said Leitner, but it will also increase your chances to advise their children and possibly their children's children.

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