Your 25-year-old advisor might not be ready to bring in clients. But they're perfectly positioned to build the relationships that will.

I see advisory firms struggle with this question: What marketing should our youngest advisors be doing, if anything? They're too early in their careers to have real credibility with prospects. They can contribute to the firm's content marketing, but there is an even better marketing activity these young advisors are uniquely positioned to do: building relationships with future centers of influence (COIs) who can become referral partners.

Think about it. Your 25-year-old advisor can't easily connect with a 55-year-old business owner who needs exit planning. The credibility gap is too wide. But they can absolutely connect with a 26-year-old attorney at a large law firm or a 27-year-old CPA at a local accounting practice. Because they are peers, the relationship is natural and not forced.

Here's what makes this so valuable: These young professionals are building their own careers at the same time. In five or ten years, that attorney might be a partner bringing in estate planning clients who need wealth management. That CPA might have their own book of high-net-worth clients. And when they do, who will they think of first? The advisor who built a real relationship with them early, before everyone else was competing for their attention.

The key is setting the right expectations. You shouldn't set the expectation with your advisors that anything will come from these relationships in the short term. These young COIs aren't established enough yet to be consistent referral sources. Some might work at firms where they can occasionally refer, but that's not the point. The point is building strong relationships now, during a unique window before these professionals already have referral partners locked in.

This is relationship-building without the pressure of immediate results. Your young advisor can focus on building genuine relationships, staying connected, and establishing trust over time. They're not asking for referrals. They're just building a network of peers who will grow their careers together.

The takeaway: You don't need to wait until your youngest advisors have credibility with prospects to start their marketing efforts. Put them to work building relationships with future referral partners now, while they're peers. It's an investment that compounds over years.