Uncovering key drivers of advisor success on the SmartAdvisor platform through research
Project Timeline: 4 weeks
My Role: UX Researcher
Methods: Email Surveys and Virtual Interviews
Team: Product Manager and Account Managers
Tools: SurveyMonkey and Google Meet
Background
SmartAsset is the leading marketplace that connects consumers with financial advisors through the SmartAdvisor platform. With thousands of individual and enterprise advisors nationwide, we specialize in matching advisors with high-intent consumers. However, we faced significant advisor churn (~12% per month). To tackle this, I was tasked with identifying the primary factors driving advisor performance and retention on the platform.
Goal: Understand factors influencing advisor success on the SmartAdvisor platform
Research Process
To uncover key success factors, I surveyed and interviewed high-performing advisors - selected based on satisfaction ratings. Deliverables included an insight report, interview summaries, and a persona to better understand our high-performing advisors. See research plan for more details.
Methods Overview:
Surveys: Sent to 326 advisors to define success and their approach.
Interviews: Spoke with 8 advisors to explore deeper insights on performance.
I analyzed quantitative data for trends and coded qualitative feedback to identify themes, cross-referencing findings with internal metrics and existing insights for a complete picture.
Insights & Findings
1. How do advisors define success?
Success was defined as achieving a positive ROI.
Internal data revealed that advisors with consistent substantial monthly budgets ($2,000+) and a tenure of 6–9 months were most likely to achieve a positive ROI.
This contrasted with our findings that most churned advisors left within their first six months and typically had smaller budgets of less than $1,000.
2. What are the shared characteristics among our high-performing advisors?
Data-Driven Mindset: High performers prioritize ROI tracking and remain resilient despite one-off negative experiences with prospects.
Investment in Growth: Success correlated with higher budgets, often exceeding $2,000.
Strategic Nurturing: Our high-performing advisors utilize two highly tailored lead nurturing tactics that help convert prospects.
The Hare 🐇 : Rapid, multi-channel engagement for early conversion.
The Tortoise 🐢 : Strategic, slower outreach maintained over time.
Outcomes
The findings from this research were highly enlightening for stakeholders throughout the organization and served as a successful catalyst for our churn reduction efforts.
Findings informed product roadmap decisions, including the following:
Improved ROI visibility within the portal to address early churn.
Updated sales pitch, onboarding, and training protocols to ensure clients are set up for success from day 1.
Generated and shared out documentation on lead nurturing best practices and closing strategies.
Established the Advisor Success team to handle lead invalidation requests and account issues, which helped speed up the communication process and reduce friction for all parties.
Learnings
Collaborative Research Drives Impact: Success in this initiative was achieved through strong collaboration. By partnering with client-facing departments, we not only gained a deeper understanding of the problem space but also fostered internal and external engagement. This teamwork allowed us to quickly apply insights, driving positive outcomes more effectively.
