How to Get More Clients as a Financial Advisor

Getting more clients in the financial services and technology sector is no longer driven solely by referrals.

With more competition, stricter compliance, and longer decision cycles, you need a repeatable, data-driven approach to client acquisition.

If you’ve ever wondered:

• How do I build a targeted prospect list in fintech?

• How do I find decision-makers in banks or fintech companies?

• How do fintech companies find new clients?
  

• Attract high-value clients consistently

• Build a more predictable pipeline

• Use data and technology to support scalable growth

TL;DR

What is the best B2B data provider for fintech?

Each platform serves a distinct role within financial services organisations. The right choice depends on how data is used across client acquisition, product development and risk management.

A summary of common use cases:

• Cognism - Provides compliant, high-quality data to identify and engage relevant Fintech companies and decision-makers across global markets, supporting consistent revenue workflows.
• CB Insights - Offers market intelligence on company performance, funding activity and exit trends to support strategic decision-making.
• Plaid - Enables access to financial data infrastructure to build and enhance financial products.
• Refinitiv - Supports compliance, market monitoring and access to public financial data, including mergers and acquisitions activity.
• Feedzai - Focuses on fraud prevention and anti-money laundering (AML) through risk analysis and transaction monitoring.
• Mixpanel - Provides product analytics to understand user behaviour and optimise digital customer experiences.

Each of these platforms addresses a different layer of the financial services ecosystem, from data infrastructure and market intelligence to compliance and product optimisation.

Why traditional client acquisition in finance doesn’t work

Referrals have historically been the foundation of wealth management growth. A recommendation within an existing network was often sufficient to sustain a practice.

However, this model introduces a structural limitation. Growth becomes dependent on the size and activity of existing clients’ networks, creating a natural ceiling.

Many financial advisors reach this point without recognising it.

At the same time, client behaviour has changed. High-net-worth individuals no longer rely solely on introductions. They research independently, compare advisors, technology and investments before forming opinions or taking any direct action.

This evaluation process often happens without visibility. A prospective client may review your digital presence, assess your expertise and move on without engaging.

The implication is clear. Passive referral strategies favour established practices and limit those looking to scale.

Growth now depends on a different model - one built on visibility, targeting and timing.

Advisors who are successfully expanding are not relying solely on intuition. They are using data to identify potential clients earlier, understand when circumstances are changing and engage with greater precision.

This shift from relationship-led growth to data-informed acquisition enables more consistent, scalable outcomes.

This is why financial advisors, investors, and fintech vendors are turning to B2B data providers. 

How can a B2B data provider help find clients in the finance industry? 

Client acquisition in financial services has shifted from relationship-led intuition to data-informed decision-making.

Advisors who are consistently growing are no longer relying solely on timing or referrals. They are identifying behavioural signals that indicate when an individual may be entering a financial decision point.

These signals, often called intent signals, provide early indicators of potential demand.

Examples of common fintech sales triggers include:

Capital and Growth Triggers (Lending & Investment Focus)

• Funding Rounds (Series A-D, IPO): Signals an influx of capital and a need to manage new liquidity, invest in growth, or comply with new investor reporting standards.

• Major Client Wins or New Contracts: Indicates expansion, increased revenue, and potential cash flow management needs.

• Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): A primary trigger for high-value services. It forces the consolidation of banking, treasury services, insurance policies, and debt restructuring.

• Expansion/New Facilities: Opening new locations or moving headquarters indicates a need for capital expenditures (CapEx) financing, commercial leasing, and local banking services.

People & Leadership Triggers (Banking & Wealth Management Focus)

• New Executive Appointments (C-Suite, VP): A new CFO, CEO, or Treasurer often brings a “clean slate” approach, reviewing current banking partners, credit lines, and insurance providers.

• Hiring Spree (High Headcount Growth): Signals expansion requiring payroll services, expanded employee benefits, and potential retirement planning services.

• Champion Job Changes: When a known decision-maker (e.g., a CFO you worked with previously) moves to a new firm, offering a “warm”  entry point. 
  

Operational & Financial Triggers (Risk & Management Focus)

• Changing Job Role/Title: A promotion or lateral move for a key decision-maker often leads them to review vendor contracts.

• Regulatory & Legislative Changes: New compliance laws or tax changes create an urgent need for advisory, restructuring, or new financial products.

• Technology Stack Changes (New SaaS adoption): A company switching to a new ERP (e.g., SAP, Oracle) or financial system often needs help integrating treasury or payment technologies.

• Negative Events (Negative Press, Lawsuits, Poor Results): Companies in distress may need debt restructuring, cash flow loans, or bankruptcy management services. 
  

How AI sales intelligence improves financial services prospecting

Modern data providers apply artificial intelligence to aggregate and interpret these signals at scale. Large volumes of behavioural and contextual data are processed to identify individuals who match a target client profile and are likely to be in a decision window.

This enables a shift from:

Who might need advice?

to:

Who is likely to need advice now?

In practice, this means layering intent signals with demographic and professional data to prioritise individuals based on both suitability and timing.

When intent signals are applied effectively, engagement becomes more relevant and timely.

Approaching a prospect after a merger or career transition enables a more informed conversation. The interaction is based on observable changes in circumstances rather than broad targeting.

This improves engagement quality and increases the likelihood of meaningful client relationships.

Want to see how it works? Have a look at Cognism in action: 

Types of fintech and financial services data platforms

B2B databases provide a range of insights for financial services. These are the most important:

Funding and private market data

Track investment flows, acquisition activity, and market trends.

Analysts, founders, and sales teams use these tools to prioritise well-funded companies.

Market intelligence and risk monitoring

With market intelligence, you can stay ahead of M&A activity, leadership changes, and regulatory red flags.

This is crucial for compliance teams, VCs, and high-stakes B2B dealmakers.

Open banking and transactional APIs

Understand user behaviours and build fintech products with embedded finance.

These tools power back-end workflows for lending, budgeting, hedging or investment platforms.

Sales and marketing data tools

Find, contact, and convert buyers with verified, compliant outreach.

Revenue teams use these tools daily to generate pipeline, nurture accounts, and track market shifts.

6 Fintech and financial service database tools

Let’s review the top six platforms that can help you identify and contact decision makers for the financial services industry.

1. Cognism

Cognism offers GDPR and CCPA-compliant data enriched with intent, funding signals, and human-verified mobile numbers.

With extensive EMEA coverage and integrations into CRMs and sales tools, it’s ideal for prospecting, CRM enrichment, and cross-regional GTM campaigns.

Financial service providers such as Mollie have found Cognism’s data to be 30% better than that of any competitor they considered. Their Managing Director, Dave Smallwood, said:

“Cognism’s data quality was about 30% better than everything else we were looking at.” “With ZoomInfo, the data quality in Europe isn’t what we would need. With Lusha, we get something, but when we dial, it’s not at all where we would expect it to be.”

Read the full case study

Dave Smallwood
Managing Director @Mollie

80%

improved connect rates

Top features for fintechs:

• Verified data contacts (a feature that similar tools don’t have)
• Real-time buying signals
• GDPR and CCPA compliance - data is scrubbed against 15 DNC lists
• Advanced segmentation and filtering
• Open API to integrate with your systems

Pricing:

Cognism’s core packages are designed to provide predictable, organisation-wide access to high-quality, compliant European data, supporting scalable and consistent revenue execution.

Organisations can choose between Standard and Pro plans, each including five user seats and access to Cognism’s Sales Intelligence.

Cognism divides its pricing into two main packages:

• Standard provides access to Cognism’s core European contact and company dataset, including phone-verified mobile numbers and CRM enrichment via CSV. It offers reliable, compliant data for teams that need to maintain accurate CRM records, support market coverage, and execute consistently across regions. The plan includes an annual data allowance per user (10,000 credits), with the flexibility to scale as data requirements expand.
• Pro extends this foundation with additional capabilities, including on-demand verification, premium mobile coverage, company hierarchies, API access, and intent data. It includes 12,000 credits per user annually. This supports more advanced segmentation, prioritisation and timing, enabling revenue teams to operate with greater precision across complex European markets.

You can configure additional options, including user seats and CRM enrichment, based on organisational scale and data requirements.  

2. CB Insights

CB Insights tracks venture capital rounds, startup trajectories, market maps, and M&A.

Investors and strategy teams use it to spot trends and map emerging ecosystems.

Top features for fintechs:

• Startup and investor tracking
• Market maps and industry research
• Company comparison and benchmarking
• M&A and exit tracking

Pricing:

Enterprise pricing is available upon request. CB Insights offers custom packages based on user needs.

3. Plaid

Plaid connects consumer financial accounts with fintech apps for real-time access to balances, transactions, and identity verification.

Top features for fintechs:

• Open banking APIs
• Account aggregation and balance checks
• Income and employment verification
• Identity authentication

Pricing:

Tiered pricing model based on usage. Offers a free sandbox and usage-based enterprise plans.

Financial service providers already use Cognism for accurate data. 

“Results have roughly doubled. I’ve gone from booking one to two meetings per week since we switched from Lusha to Cognism.”

Read the full case study

Jack Hooper
Sales Development @Lockton

30 mins

of time saved a day

4. LSEG Data & Analytics (Refinitiv)

Refinitive, now LSEG Data & Analytics, is a powerhouse for public company data, regulatory filings, ESG metrics, and global risk data. It is widely used by corporate finance and compliance teams.

Top features for fintechs:

• Global market and financial data
• ESG and regulatory intelligence
• AML/KYC screening tools
• Risk modelling and analytics

Pricing:

Enterprise licensing is based on access level and vertical. Contact LSEG Data & Analytics for bespoke pricing.

5. Feedzai

Feedzai uses machine learning to monitor and prevent financial crime. Banks and payment platforms worldwide trust it.

Top features for fintechs:

• Real-time fraud detection
• AI-based transaction scoring
• AML/KYC monitoring
• Integrated case management

Pricing:

Custom pricing for enterprise deployments. Feedzai works with Tier 1 banks and fintechs.

6. Mixpanel

Mixpanel helps teams track how users interact with fintech apps, from onboarding to feature usage and retention.

Top features for fintechs:

• User event tracking and funnels
• Cohort analysis and segmentation
• Product experimentation tools
• Real-time dashboards and reporting

Pricing:

A free plan is available. Contact Mixpanel to learn about its paid plans that scale with event volume and advanced features.

Financial services prospecting FAQs

Try Cognism’s data for your fintech services

Want to see how context-rich, compliant data can power your next fintech campaign? Cognism’s got what you need.

• Verified contacts
• Real-time buying signals
• GDPR and CCPA compliance
• Advanced segmentation and filtering
• Open API to integrate with your systems

Book a demo and see why financial brands like Mollie, PeerNova and Lockton trust Cognism.