I recently attended the annual "invite-only" gathering of high-performing financial advisors. This is my favorite meeting of the year as the focus is on finding one learning or gem that will help elevate my performance to the next level. Each advisor shares practical hands-on action items from their practice and perhaps one of those items resonates.
Imagine my surprised when one advisor stated he does not call his clients. The advisor is an elite advisor which means his annual revenue is $1,000,000+. Clearly he knows what he is doing. And yet, he does not call his clients. In fact, he tells prospective clients upfront that he will not call them. They can assured that he is reviewing their portfolios and working hard on their behalf. They can call him certainly but he does not want to call them just to "shoot the breeze". That is exact opposite of my practice where I enjoy talking with clients.
In fact, during COVID, I let all of my 401k participants know that I had open office hours every afternoon. They could drop in at any time to chat even if it wasn't about their retirement plan. I literally would turn on my Zoom and anyone who dropped in might see me eating lunch, drinking coffee, stretching, or answering email.
The open hours gradually were extended into the evenings and weekends to accommodate schedules and the open office hours idea worked. And yet, here we have an advisor who states he will not call his clients. And then it struck me. This advisor has defined his ideal client. He knows who he works well with and who is not a right fit for him. Given his level of revenue, he is succeeding.
This reminds me of an article marketing genius, Seth Godin wrote in May 2022 about defining the smallest viable audience that allows you to still be profitable. Seth argues that chasing everyone dilutes value and leads to average work; instead, businesses should identify the smallest group of people whose engagement is enough to sustain the business.
Serving this defined audience deeply — delighting them so they become advocates — is more effective and profitable than trying to appeal broadly. This focus forces clarity about who you serve and what change you create, and it builds a core of loyal customers who spread the word. Specificity trumps scale initially, and quality of connection matters more than sheer numbers.
The Parting Glass
This approach is strategically sound for most businesses — it reduces wasted effort on low-intent audiences and aligns product development with real demand. For a 401k advisory practice, defining your smallest viable audience(e.g., a niche client segment you serve exceptionally well) can drive referral growth more reliably than broad general marketing. Green Retirement remains committed to serving organizations focused on sustainability and impact. It is those organizations that are open to aligning their investments and values and that appreciate the work we do.
Choosing the smallest viable audience cuts both ways though. For plan sponsors, be exacting in who you agree to work with in the retirement plan arena. Are they the right fit for you? Does their style of conducting business mesh with yours? Are they even experts in the retirement plan field?
In any case, folks, if you select Green Retirement as your retirement plan advisor, we will call you!