Most advisors have a few centers of influence (COIs), the accountants, attorneys, and other professionals who once shared clients or sent referrals, that they simply lost touch with over the years. If you have recently narrowed your practice to a niche, those dormant relationships are easier to reopen than you might expect. You already have history with these people, and now you have a reason to reach back out: your practice has changed in a way that is directly useful to their clients. Lead with that change, be specific about who you now help, and open with value instead of an ask. Here is how to do it.
Why a New Niche Makes Reconnecting Easier
Reaching out to someone you used to talk to regularly but have not spoken to in years feels awkward when you have nothing to say beyond “remember me?” A niche removes that awkwardness. “I have refocused my practice on [niche]” is legitimate news, not a fishing expedition. It also makes you more referable. A COI cannot easily refer “a financial advisor,” but they can refer “the advisor who works with [niche].” Specificity is what makes you memorable and makes their referral easy.
Start With Your Message
Before you reach out, get your message straight. Review the Messaging Formula and Niche Positioning Statement in your Blueprint in the OnNiche® app so you can describe who you help, the problem you solve, the solution you provide, and the outcome you deliver in a clear, consistent way. That clarity is what makes your reintroduction connect, and it is what a COI needs in order to identify a potential client to refer.
Tip: Copy and paste your Niche Positioning Statement into your preferred AI platform and ask for a range of natural, conversational elevator pitches to use with COIs.
Build Your List, but Do Not Rule Anyone Out
Next, decide which relationships to reopen first. A niche changes which COIs are most valuable to you: the ones who have access to your ideal client. You may not know for certain which of your COIs actually serve your niche, and that is fine. Make your best guess, rank them by how likely their clients are to fit, and start at the top. But do not cross anyone off the list. A COI you assumed was a weak fit may have more access to your niche than you realize, and a short conversation is the best way to find out.
Reach Out by Email or LinkedIn
Keep the first message short and specific. Acknowledge that it has been a while, share your new focus, and frame the conversation as a two-way street: you are as interested in sending referrals as in receiving them. The same template works whether you send it as an email or a LinkedIn message. Drop the subject line for LinkedIn.
Reconnection Template (Email or LinkedIn)
Subject: Reconnecting: a new focus for my practice
Hi [Name],
It’s been too long, and I’ve been meaning to reconnect. I recently refocused my practice on [niche], and it made me think of you.
I’d love to catch up and hear what you’ve been working on lately. Would a 30-minute call work, or would you rather grab coffee sometime in the next few weeks?
Either way, it would be great to reconnect.
[Your name]
Bonus: If You Have Also Joined a New Firm
Some advisors narrow into a niche around the same time they move to a new firm. If that is you, the move is a second, equally natural reason to reconnect, and the two updates are stronger together than apart. A few ways to work it in:
Combine the news. "I’ve moved to [firm] and refocused my practice on [niche]" is a clean, forward-looking update that explains what has changed and why it matters.
Keep it positive. Frame the move around what it lets you do for clients now, such as better resources or a more focused service, and skip any commentary on your old firm.
Make sure they have your current details. A COI cannot send a referral to an old email address or phone number, so use the reconnection to update your contact information with them.
What to Cover When You Meet
Whether you meet over Zoom or in person, keep the conversation about them and their clients, not a sales pitch. A few points to hit:
Reconnect first. Ask what is new with them and their practice before you talk about yours.
Explain your niche clearly. Use your Messaging Formula: who you serve, the problem you solve, the solution you provide, and the outcome you deliver.
Describe your ideal client. Paint a specific enough picture that they can recognize a good referral when they see one. The Ideal Client Persona tab in the Blueprint menu of your OnNiche® app is a good reference.
Ask about their clients. What challenges are they seeing that overlap with your niche? Their answers tell you how strong the fit really is.
Look for ways to help them. Relationships are a two-way street, so think about which people you could send to them, or opportunities you could introduce them to.
Brainstorm ways to market together. Beyond referrals, consider cross-marketing ideas like a joint event or webinar, guesting on each other’s podcast, co-writing an article, or cross-promoting each other’s content.
Agree on a next step. A resource you will send, an introduction, or simply a plan to stay in touch.
Questions to Get the Conversation Going
You do not need to ask all of these. Pick a couple that fit the moment and let the conversation breathe.
What has changed in your practice since we last talked?
What kinds of clients are you working with most these days?
Where do your clients tend to run into financial questions you would rather hand off?
When a client needs a financial advisor, what makes you comfortable making the referral?
Which other professionals do you lean on for your clients?
Is there anything I could help you or your clients with right now?
Follow Up After the Meeting
Send a short thank-you within a day or two, while the conversation is still fresh. This is also the natural moment to give them something to remember you by and to invite them into your world.
Post-Meeting Follow-Up Template
Hi [Name],
Great catching up [today/yesterday]. As promised, here is a one-page overview of who I help and how: [link to your one-page brochure].
If it would be useful, I’d also be glad to add you to my [niche] newsletter so you can see the kinds of questions and topics I help clients work through. Just say the word and I’ll add you.
Thanks again, and let’s keep in touch,
[Your name]
If you do not have a one-page brochure, link to your website or your niche landing page instead.
Once you have sent the follow-up, log the relationship in the OnNiche® app so it does not slip off your radar:
Add the COI by name under the Influencers tab in the Strategy menu, so you have a running record of the relationships you are rebuilding.
Go to the Dashboard and click +Add Task. Set the date you want to reach out to this COI again, and be sure to select the person under the Associated Contact field.
When that date comes around, the task shows up in your plan, so your next touch is already scheduled instead of left to memory.
How far out you set that date depends on how promising the relationship looks. Plan to reach out to your most promising COIs about once a quarter, and touch base with the rest roughly once a year, in case something in their business has changed.
Keep the Relationship Warm
One meeting does not rebuild a dormant relationship. When a reach-out task comes due, make the touch worth their time: share a useful article, invite them to lunch, or pass along an introduction. If they opted into your newsletter, that keeps you visible between touches. The goal is to be the advisor they think of the moment a client in your niche needs help. Consistency beats intensity.
The Bottom Line
Your niche is the reason to reach back out to the COIs who knew your old practice. Get your message straight with your Blueprint, make your best guess at who serves your niche without ruling anyone out, reconnect with a specific and low-pressure note, and follow up with something useful. Do that consistently, and the referrals follow.