Ep 396: Leveraging Business Coaches To Delve Deep Into A Divorce Specialization That Brings A Steady Flow Of Ideal-Fit Clients With Michelle Klisanich
Jul 30, 2024
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In this engaging discussion, wealth advisor Michelle Klisanich shares her journey in divorce financial planning, highlighting her unique focus on helping women navigate this challenging transition. She discusses the vital role of business coaches in refining her approach and building a dedicated client base. Michelle reveals how her personal experiences and early career struggles fueled her passion, while also emphasizing effective marketing and community engagement strategies. She encourages new advisors to leverage mentorship for greater success and confidence in their practices.
Michelle Klisanich leverages business coaching insights to effectively market her specialized services for women undergoing divorce, facilitating lasting client relationships.
Through a structured process, Michelle connects clients with pre-vetted professionals while offering a roadmap for life post-divorce, enhancing their financial journey.
Her personal divorce experience adds authenticity to her practice, allowing her to empathize deeply with clients during their vulnerable transitions.
Deep dives
Specializing in Divorce Advisory Services
Michelle Klissenich has carved a niche for herself as a wealth advisor specializing in helping women navigate the complex financial landscape during and after divorce. She has developed a structured process to support her clients by connecting them with trusted divorce specialists such as attorneys, mortgage brokers, and therapists, ensuring they have a well-rounded team to guide them through the process. This unique service not only provides immediate assistance during a challenging life transition but also results in long-term client relationships, as many clients transition from divorce planning to ongoing financial advisory services post-divorce. Klissenich’s experience and insights allow her to offer tailored solutions, fulfilling a critical need in the market for specialized financial guidance during divorce.
Effective Networking Strategies
Klissenich emphasizes the importance of building relationships with centers of influence (COIs), such as attorneys and therapists, to generate referrals and grow her client base. She employs an online networking strategy, utilizing Zoom to connect with potential COIs and establish mutual relationships. By clearly articulating her ideal client profile in these meetings, she ensures that her network understands the specific type of referrals she seeks, enabling her to leverage her expertise effectively. This proactive approach to networking has resulted in a steady flow of qualified referrals, setting her practice apart in a competitive industry.
Navigating Early Career Challenges
Klissenich recounts her early struggles in commission-based insurance sales, where she faced significant financial challenges and feelings of inadequacy. Initially earning only $20,000 in her first year, she sought out coaching to improve her skills and discover her niche. Working with business coaches helped her enhance her presentation abilities, increase her confidence, and ultimately find her specialization in divorce advisory. Her journey illustrates the value of seeking mentorship and the importance of resilience in overcoming initial setbacks in the financial advisory field.
Transitioning to Independence
After years in the insurance sector, Klissenich made the bold decision to transition to an independent advisory practice, allowing her to better serve her ideal clients. This move involved a significant reduction in her client base, from 350 to just 90, but it allowed her to focus on high-quality relationships that aligned with her goals. During this transition, she adopted a strategic approach to her branding and marketing, emphasizing her unique expertise in divorce financial advising rather than the larger corporate identity of her previous firm. This pivotal change in her career not only improved her job satisfaction but also solidified her position as an expert in her niche.
The Importance of Personal Experience
Klissenich’s own experience going through a divorce profoundly influenced her decision to specialize in supporting women facing similar challenges. This personal insight allows her to connect authentically with her clients, ensuring they feel understood and supported during a vulnerable phase of their lives. She acknowledges that her journey has enhanced her ability to empathize with clients and drive her passion for providing invaluable financial advice. This connection between personal experience and professional expertise highlights the significance of understanding client emotions to build lasting relationships in financial planning.
Michelle Klisanich is a Wealth Advisor for Financially Wise Divorce, a hybrid advisory firm based out of Minnesota that oversees $87-million in assets under management for 91 households. Michelle stands out by effectively applying insights gained from multiple business coaches throughout her career, enabling her to precisely target and market to her desired clientele—women undergoing divorce. This focus allows her to transition these women into long-term advisory clients, with whom she builds deep, enduring relationships.
Listen in as Michelle shares how she developed a structured process to guide clients through divorce, linking them with pre-vetted professionals and providing a roadmap for life post-divorce, while ensuring they are interested in ongoing advisory relationships. She discusses leveraging her early career challenges and business coaching to specialize in divorce planning, using online networking to build influential connections and streamline her client base from 350 to 90 focused, profitable relationships. Michelle also reflects on how her personal divorce experience inspired her to help similar women, overcoming "impostor syndrome" by gaining confidence through small wins and recommending that newer advisors learn from experienced colleagues to navigate early career challenges.
