Buying a new book of business every year

It’s not unusual for advisors to buy books of business from other advisors.

It’s less common, however, for an advisor to average at least one business purchase per year.

Yet Alain Poirier has been in the financial services profession for 12 years and as we speak is working on his 12th and 13th business acquisitions.

“When I started out, I was finding it pretty hard to get clients, so I bought my first book and it went well,” said the four-year MDRT member from Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada. “Then I bought the second one, and it was bigger and better, and I kept going from there.”

If that seems like more clients than Poirier could handle, it is (almost 3,500 to date). But his business is set up to manage the quantity: Not only does he have five advisors and three administrative staff to lessen the load, but clients are served almost entirely on the phone and internet.

That does not mean Poirier can shrug off the transition process. He knows the importance of keeping the advisor he has purchased the practice from involved for a few years while he establishes relationships with the new clients. With that in mind, Poirier brings along the previous advisor for the first few meetings he has with clients.

Plus, select new clients are invited to events at the office or to outings with their families, during which Poirier or his staff can establish a connection. With so many people to serve, smaller clients are contacted but not invited to events.

“It’s pretty easy to manage now that computers do everything for us,” Poirier said, noting that his website can handle appointments and administrative staff can answer most questions. Occasional client meetings take place in the office, not at clients’ houses or places of business.

Read about who these clients are and if any transitions have failed in the Round the Table article

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