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20 Ways that Financial Advisors Can Improve Client Interactions

By ClientWise | May 9, 2013

What are the principal challenges that financial advisors face vis-à-vis their client interactions?

Generally, financial advisors have the best of intentions with respect to their overall client engagement. It seems to be in the “advisor DNA” to want to interact with, and help, their clients. Yet, given the increased demands and stressors that have been placed on advisors today, things can fall through the cracks.

What follows is a list (unranked) of the key challenges that advisors face when interacting with their clients:

 

Key Financial Advisor Challenges vis-à-vis Client Interactions

 

  1. Not enough client-facing time.

  2. Disorganized client information. Also, client information is not easily accessible.

  3. No formal discovery process for potential new clients.

  4. No documented integration process for on-boarding new clients.

  5. Not knowing the true needs and concerns of the clients.

  6. Delivering client services that the client doesn’t want or need.

  7. Not delivering client services that the client wants and needs.

  8. No formal process to survey clients with respect to how they feel about the services provided.

  9. Lack of alignment and communication with a client’s other professional advisors hinders a “holistic” wealth management solution.

  10. Disorganized and/or unclear investment process.

  11. Services and products too generalized, i.e. the advisor has not kept pace with the increasingly complex needs of their clients.

  12. Advisor has not maintained and upgraded relevant designations and accreditations, in parallel with the needs of clients.

  13. Client reports and progress-to-goals are not presented consistently or with clarity.

  14. Advisor has not built a consistent process to manage and monitor portfolios.

  15. Advisor conversations with the client are superficial, i.e. never get to the heart of the matter and what the client is most concerned about.

  16. Lack of direct communication, particularly when direct and straightforward information is warranted and needed.

  17. Inconsistent, haphazard and/or self-serving client communications.

  18. No client service standards.

  19. Poorly articulated investment philosophy.

  20. No attempt to know clients on a personal level beyond their investment concerns.

 

As a successful financial advisor, do any of these points resonate with you and your practice? What would you like to do to change or improve about how you interface with your clients?

 

Client interaction and engagement is one of the areas over which advisors have the greatest control. By advancing your organizational behaviors in this area, you can make great strides in differentiating yourself from the run-of-the-mill advisor.

Topics: Client Engagement

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