Before you start filling your 2026 marketing calendar, let’s talk strategy.

It’s that time of year when many advisors start thinking about next year’s marketing plans. If that’s you, you’re in the right place. Over the next few weeks, I’ll walk through six key considerations to help you choose marketing activities that actually work for you:

Client Journey Stage
Operational Efficiency
Time Frame
Quality vs. Quantity
Marketing Preferences
Budget

Let’s start with the first one: Client Journey Stage.

Every prospective client moves through three phases before deciding to hire you—awareness, consideration, and decision. The best marketing plans include a little of each.

Awareness (Top of Funnel): At this stage, prospects don’t know your firm or even realize they have a financial challenge. Your goal is visibility and helping them recognize themselves in the problems you solve.
Examples: SEO, podcasts, social media.
Consideration (Middle of Funnel): Prospects now understand their problem and are exploring solutions. This is your chance to educate and show how you’re different.
Examples: Webinars, blogs, newsletters.
Decision (Bottom of Funnel): Prospects are ready to take action; they just need confidence in their choice. Help them feel certain you’re the right fit.
Examples: Online reviews, case studies, personal outreach.

It’s common for advisors to lean too heavily on middle- or bottom-of-funnel efforts and not enough on top-of-funnel visibility. A healthy mix often looks like 50–60% awareness, 25–35% consideration, and 10–20% decision.

The takeaway: A balanced plan keeps new people discovering you, current prospects learning from you, and ready-to-hire clients choosing you.

Need help building your marketing plan? Learn more about our annual marketing plan service.