Overview
You spend your day prospecting into financial advisors to get them interested in RightCapital's financial planning software. You're cold calling RIAs, independent advisors, and wealth managers who already use some kind of planning tool (MoneyGuidePro, eMoney, NaviPlan) and trying to get them to take a demo. Most aren't actively shopping for new software.
Role Snapshot
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Role Type | SDR - outbound prospecting to book demos |
| Sales Motion | Outbound-heavy with some inbound from website |
| Deal Complexity | Consultative - advisors need to see value vs current tool |
| Sales Cycle | N/A - you hand off after booking meeting |
| Deal Size | Unknown - likely $2-5K/year per advisor |
| Quota (est.) | 15-25 qualified meetings per month |
Company Context
Stage: Later stage (154 employees, established product)
Size: 154 employees
Growth: Hiring SDRs suggests they're scaling outbound motion
Market Position: Competitor in crowded fintech advisor software space against eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, NaviPlan
GTM Reality
Pipeline Sources:
- 70% Outbound - cold calling advisor lists, LinkedIn outreach to RIAs and independent advisors
- 20% Inbound - advisors finding them via Google, referrals from existing users
- 10% Events/Partnerships - possibly conferences like FPA or NAPFA events
SDR/AE Structure: You book meetings, AEs (likely called Account Executives or Sales Consultants) run demos and close
SE Support: Likely no dedicated SE at this stage - AEs probably do their own product demos
Competitive Landscape
Main Competitors: eMoney Advisor (Fidelity-owned), MoneyGuidePro, NaviPlan, Holistiplan
How They Differentiate: Unknown specifics, but likely positioning on ease of use, specific features (tax planning, interactive client portals), or price
Common Objections: "We already use [competitor]", "Our current tool works fine", "Not looking to switch right now", "Too busy during tax season/year-end"
Win Themes: Probably easier client communication, better retirement planning visuals, faster plan creation vs older legacy tools
What You'll Actually Do
Time Breakdown
Cold Calling (40%) | Email/LinkedIn (30%) | Research/List Building (15%) | Internal Meetings (15%)
Key Activities
- Cold calling financial advisors: You make 50-70 calls per day to advisors from purchased lists or scraped LinkedIn data. Most calls go to voicemail. You're trying to catch them between client meetings. You'll get a lot of "we're happy with what we have" brush-offs.
- Email sequences and LinkedIn outreach: You send personalized emails and LinkedIn messages referencing their practice size, client base, or current tools. Response rates are low (2-3%). You're constantly testing subject lines and hooks.
- Qualifying interest: When someone responds, you ask discovery questions about their current planning process, what they like/don't like about their current software, and whether they're open to seeing something different. You're trying to determine if they're worth an AE's time.
- CRM admin and follow-up: You log all activities in Salesforce or HubSpot, update lead statuses, and follow up with prospects who showed mild interest. You have regular 1-on-1s with your manager reviewing pipeline and call quality.
The Honest Reality
What's Hard
- Financial advisors are busy and protective of their time - they get pitched software constantly. Many have used the same tool for years and see switching as a hassle.
- You're selling to a skeptical audience who needs to see clear ROI before they'll even take a meeting. "Show me why this is better than eMoney" is a common pushback.
- The financial advisor market is specific and finite - you can't just blast generic messaging. You need to understand their world (RIAs vs broker-dealers, fee-only vs commission, practice size).
- Rejection volume is high. Most calls end quickly. Email open rates are 15-20%, response rates under 3%.
- Your success depends on AE close rates - if they don't close deals from your meetings, you'll hear about meeting quality.
What Success Looks Like
- Booking 15-25 qualified meetings per month that AEs accept as legitimate opportunities
- Maintaining a 60%+ show rate on booked demos
- Getting promoted to AE role within 12-18 months if you hit quota consistently
Who You're Selling To
Primary Buyers:
- Independent RIAs (Registered Investment Advisors) with 2-20 advisors on staff
- Solo practitioners or small teams managing $50M-500M AUM
- Wealth managers at independent broker-dealers
What They Care About:
- How much time it saves vs their current tool - can they build plans faster?
- Client experience - do the visual outputs look modern and help clients understand complex concepts?
- Data integration - does it connect with their CRM (Wealthbox, Redtail) and custodians (Schwab, Fidelity)?
- Switching cost - how painful is migration from their current system?
- Price - is it meaningfully cheaper or does it justify premium pricing?
Requirements
- Comfortable making 50-70 cold calls per day and handling rejection
- Previous experience in sales, customer service, or client-facing roles helpful but not required
- Willingness to learn financial advisor industry terminology (AUM, RIA, fee-only, financial planning)
- Self-motivated - you'll have daily/weekly activity metrics to hit
- Coachable - expect regular call reviews and coaching on messaging
- Hybrid work means some days in office (location not specified in post)