August 31, 2020

How often do elite advisors communicate with their best clients? 

How do often do elite financial advisors communicate to their best clients? This is a question I get often because financial advisors are either feeling guilty about not talking to their ideal clients enough or a client has decided to leave them because of a lack of communication. Having a communication plan in writing can eliminate your guilt and client departures.

How many communications do my best clients want?

According to comprehensive research done by Business Health in Australia https://www.businesshealth.com.au/  (key-value drivers 2018 USA ), Ideal clients want 10 or more contacts per year. Those advisors who do earn 68% more than advisors who do less than 10 contacts per year. Yet only 38% of advisors have 10or more contacts per year, despite all of the technology and tools available to them. How many contacts per year do you have with your best clients? What happens when you communicate more with your best clients? A better understanding of clients, better relationships, referrals, and more revenue. Do you have a list of your ideal clients segmented?

Improving your communications for financial advisors

First off take a look at the list below and determine the type of communications you want to do with your best clients and frequency.  (remember always check with your branch manager or compliance officer before proceeding with any communication activity and get approval in writing) Print this article off and use it as an exercise for your team. 

Contacting ideal clients checklist

___ Meetings per year – frequency per year ____  ( coaching tip- 2-4 meetings per year, can be done online or face to face and name the types of meetings eg planning and goals, tax and investment and risk and estate )

___ Non-investment communication -frequency per year ____  ( coaching tip-calling your best clients 2 times per year to touch base and ask one question, how was your summer? Building regular rapport and relationships)

___ Personalized emails -frequency per year ____  ( coaching tip- this can be a mass email sharing what is new with you, your team and your firm, in a casual less formatted way, and is personal, which builds tremendous loyalty)

___ Ideal client appreciation ___ frequency per year ( coaching tip- in the current environment, large events may be difficult, so small intimate client events produce rave reviews)

___ Ideal client feedback and events ____ frequency per year ( Coaching tip according to Business Health Pty Ltd only 15% of advisors have a formal feedback process, not just an online survey, and the financial professionals that do earn 52% more than advisors who don’t do feedback)

___ Newsletters with engaging calls to action __ frequency per year ( coaching tip – this is where you can deliver more communication to clients who want more communication, not all clients want it, but appreciate hearing from you. This is where the message is to join your webinar on updating your go-forward plan and ideas to think about in the coming year as a webinar. Most ideal clients will NOT join your webinar but appreciate hearing from you and knowing you are on top of the latest information, giving them more confidence in your and your team. It is what I call “delivering more confidence”)

___ Personalized communications and special events ___ frequency per year ( Coaching tip- elite advisors are on top of birthdays anniversaries and special occasions such as thanksgiving)

___ Special events ___ frequency per year ( coaching tip- due to the pandemic, a lot of special events have been canceled. Financial professionals are struggling to connect with people- Take the same events you did in the past and deliver them online. Be creative- also consider social distancing activities such as fishing, hiking biking, golf, picnics, depending on your area and check with your compliance office)

___ Regular newsletters ___ frequency per year ( coaching tip- regular newsletters are not usually recommended for your best clients, since they are full of things to worry about. Unless it is personally written, and you get great feedback, don’t send to your best clients. These are usually reserved for prospects)

Now add up your communications to your best clients

Your number of communication per year total _____   Is it 10-15 touches per year? If not, book time to work on your communication plans in writing. What technology do you need to enhance your communications?  Now you know how to become an elite communicator from your ideal client's perspective. Now you can say to your best clients, prospects, and COI’s,” we have a process to deliver 10 or more contacts per year to our best clients”.

If you would like help with your communications, contact me at grant@ghicks.com for a 30-minute discussion on how to implement more communication or click on our online calendar click the following link  https://my.timetrade.com/book/JMTNJ  and let’s talk.

Grant Hicks, CIM is President of www.advisorpracticemanagement.com where financial advisors and financial firms go to acquire more ideal clients and implement elite practice management processes in their practices. 

Enthusiastically yours,

Grant Hicks, CIM, President
Advisor Practice Management
www.advisorpracticemanagement.com

Suite 1625-246 Stewart Green, SW
Calgary, Alberta  T3H 3C8
Cell 403 970 8895
Email grant@ghicks.com   

PS Where do you want to be in 3 years?

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