7 Financial Planning CRM Best Practices for 2025

By Adrian JohnstonE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
7 Financial Planning CRM Best Practices for 2025
As financial planning becomes increasingly commoditized, relationships are the new foundation upon which advisors must build their practices. But as firms grow, offering the kind of personalized care, attention and nuanced support today’s clients expect becomes a significant challenge – without the right CRM, that is.
Heading into 2025, it’s no longer good enough to treat your CRM like a digital Rolodex or a box to check. Below, we’ve compiled seven of our top tips for turning your CRM into a powerful growth engine for your financial planning firm:
- Capture the “nice-to-know” along with the “need-to-know”
Your CRM should be more than a repository of account numbers and investment preferences. Make it a habit to record personal details that make conversations more meaningful – from hobbies and favorite sports teams to children’s names and important milestones.
These personal touches help transform transactional relationships into lasting partnerships. When a client feels remembered and understood on a personal level, they’re more likely to view you as a trusted advisor rather than just a service provider.
- Build workflows around life events, not just transactions
Rather than focusing solely on financial transactions, create comprehensive workflows for significant life events – marriage, birth of a child, retirement planning or selling a business.
Your CRM should trigger not just the technical tasks associated with financial planning but also appropriate touchpoints for emotional support and strategic guidance, a holistic approach that demonstrates your understanding of the full context of your clients’ financial decisions.
- Use data to drive proactive communication
Use your CRM’s analytics capabilities to identify patterns and triggers for meaningful outreach. For example, setting up alerts for significant portfolio milestones, upcoming life events or changes in risk profiles enables you to reach out at precisely the right moment. Whether you’re providing relevant insights or offering congratulations, timely touchpoints show clients you’re actively engaged in their financial journey.
- Create multi-generational connection points
With $84 trillion set to change hands by 2045, using your CRM to track and nurture relationships with clients’ children and grandchildren is a powerful way to future-proof your firm.
Record their educational milestones, career progress and financial goals. This information helps you facilitate meaningful family financial discussions and positions you to maintain relationships across generations.
- Automate routine tasks to prioritize personalization
Implement automation for routine tasks and communications, but use the time saved to enhance personal interactions. Your CRM should handle meeting scheduling, document collection,= and basic follow-ups automatically, freeing you to focus on high-value activities like strategic planning sessions and relationship-building conversations.
- Use integrations to see the full picture
Take full advantage of your CRM’s integration capabilities with other tools in your tech stack. When portfolio management, financial planning and risk assessment tools feed data into your CRM, you can better understand the complete picture of your clients’ financial lives and provide more informed guidance.
- Develop a systematic approach to capturing client insights
Make it standard practice to record key takeaways after every client interaction. Beyond just meeting notes, document:
- Changes in personal or professional circumstances
- Emerging concerns or aspirations
- Feedback on your service or communication style
- New opportunities for deeper engagement
Taking this systematic, comprehensive approach ensures you continue building a richer understanding of each client’s evolving needs, exposes potential gaps in service and support and makes it more likely you’ll be able to capitalize on ways to improve your relationships.
Turning Client Relationships Into Your Biggest Differentiator
As we mentioned earlier, the value you bring to your clients is shifting from wealth management advice to more holistic guidance dependent upon deep, authentic relationships. To stay ahead of this evolution, your CRM needs to work like a relationship amplifier, helping you remember the small details that make big impressions and identifying opportunities to add value before clients even ask.
The future of financial planning and wealth management belongs to those who can combine technical expertise with genuine personal connections. Your CRM, when properly leveraged, becomes the bridge between these two crucial elements, helping you deliver the kind of service that not only retains clients but turns them into enthusiastic advocates for your practice.
Practifi is purpose-built to act as your personal relationship assistant, surfacing key client insights to help you prepare for meetings, identifying the right referral targets, and putting you in ultimate control of your financial planning firm’s retention and growth. Want to learn more? Get in touch with us here.