A financial plan is only as good as your understanding of the person behind it. When you know more about your clients than just their age or income range, you can make smarter recommendations and deliver a more personal, effective experience. According to a recent survey, the top thing clients value most from financial advisors: personalized financial planning. That is why client personas are such a powerful tool.
Creating client personas helps you group clients based on shared goals or needs so you can deliver more relevant communication, outreach and planning. Instead of looking at every client individually, personas allow you to scale personalization in a way that is strategic and efficient.
In this article, we will break down what client personas are, how to use them and examples of personas that reflect real advisory client types.
Understanding Client Personas
A client persona is a fictional profile that represents a segment of your client base. It adds depth beyond demographics and gives context around what a client values and needs. A strong persona helps you understand not just who your clients are, but how to support them more effectively.
A well-structured client persona might include:
- Name and age
- Career or income source
- Financial goals
- Dependents
- Values and beliefs
- Investment style
- Risk tolerance
- Net worth range
Advisors can use client personas to create targeted marketing campaigns and tailor their services to attract clients. Targeted marketing is powerful — only 8% of advisors actively pursue niche marketing, but they bring in significantly more clients than other firms.
Client personas make it easier to identify patterns in your book of business and align your planning or marketing with what clients actually want. You might use them to create better onboarding experiences, suggest specific services or build more relevant outreach campaigns.
Client Persona Examples
There is no perfect template for a client persona. Each firm has different types of clients. Below are three example personas that can help guide your thinking.
Rowan and Jen, the Young Professionals
Rowan and Jen are in their late twenties, engaged and building their future. Rowan is an attorney and Jen works part time as a consultant while freelancing. They have a one-year-old son and want to save aggressively to buy a home and retire early.
They are excited about the future but unsure of where to start. They need education, structure and a financial plan that helps them stay on track.
Steve and Sandra, the Soon-to-Be Retirees
Steve is a teacher and Sandra works in insurance. They are both in their late fifties and plan to retire around 65. They have adult children and own their home.
They already have a financial plan and retirement accounts but want more certainty. Their concerns are focused on sustainability, estate planning and transitioning into retirement with confidence.
Mitch, the Entrepreneur
Mitch is 44 and runs an AI startup. He has started and sold several businesses and is comfortable taking risks. Mitch is financially secure but lacks structure. His income fluctuates and he is not sure how to optimize what he earns.
Mitch needs flexibility in his plan, guidance on reinvesting his income and education on newer financial vehicles like cryptocurrency.
Bringing Personas to Life
Once you create your client personas, use them to guide your marketing, planning and service model. If many of your clients look like Rowan and Jen, you might focus on planning tools for young families or content that breaks down investment basics. If your book of business includes more Mitch-like clients, consider creating resources around liquidity, business transitions or high-growth strategies.
Start by sorting your CRM or client data by attributes like age, financial goals or service tier. From there, identify trends and start building profiles that reflect the real people you work with. Personas help your team stay aligned and deliver more consistent service.
Just remember that personas are a starting point. True personalization comes from deeper understanding and proactive engagement. Your planning tools and communication should reflect each client’s unique situation.
Turning Personas into Process with PreciseFP
Client personas are only useful if they turn into action. That is where PreciseFP comes in. PreciseFP helps you move from assumptions to clarity with structured data gathering, customized forms and seamless workflows. Whether you are onboarding a young couple saving for their first home or a pre-retiree navigating their estate plan, PreciseFP helps you collect the right data and deliver a consistent high-touch experience.
PreciseFP is trusted by advisors for everything from client onboarding to risk tolerance, document delivery and beyond. With flexible templates, smart automation and deep integrations, you can serve clients more efficiently and never have to ask for the same data twice.
Start your free 14-day trial of PreciseFP today and turn your client personas into real results.
