Client Engagement Model: 10 Key Areas for Financial Advisors
Client engagement defines how a financial advisor, and their team, chooses to engage and serve clients.
Breaking it down even further, ClientWise research has identified 10 distinct touch points of client engagement:
New client on-boarding. New client on-boarding is the transition phase that begins as soon as a prospective client agrees to become a client. This is a critical phase for the advisor, as it occurs at a time when the client-advisor relationship is still in its infancy. How new clients are greeted and introduced to the advisor’s practice can set the tone for the life of the entire relationship.
Client segmentation. All clients should be treated fairly. This does not mean they should be treated equally. Tiered models of client service allow the advisor to allocate their finite resources, which may mean that they practice the 80:20 Rule, i.e. focusing on those clients who matter most.
Ideal Client Types. Who do you want as a client? For advisors to deliver customized and targeted service models, they need to first identify who they best serve, as well as who appreciates and benefits from their differentiated service model.
Client Communication Plan. Client communication is much more than a transaction involving the currency of words. For advisors, this means listening to your clients, asking powerful questions, as well as motivating them and leading them to take action. Putting all of this together in a plan eliminates the guesswork and randomness that can hold you back, and allows you to scale your model efficiently.
Client Meetings. Our research indicates that the most successful financial advisors create client meetings that are meaningful and memorable. Client meetings are the skeletal structure that supports the overarching client engagement process.
Client Events. To the extent that advisors want to create a sense of shared community with their clients, client events are one of the more effective means of accomplishing this. Client events can be big or small, simple or dazzling, selective or inclusive…and are only bounded by the creativity and effort of the financial advisor.
Loyal Client Advocates (LCA’s). LCA’s are clients who: appreciate and understand what you do, can articulate what you do to others and are actively engaged in partnering with you to make the necessary introductions to prospective clients.
Trust. Seems obvious, but trust is the foundation of the wealth management relationship. Today’s clients increasingly seek to connect with trustworthy and authentic advisors who differentiate themselves by their behavior and actions. Building trust is not a sales ploy to garner more business.
Coaching Skills. By learning coaching skills from a ClientWise coach, who is a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF), and who has learned the tenets, skills, and principles of a professional coach, you can further solidify the client relationship. These skills include: establishing trust and partnership with your clients, being fully engaged in the conversation, listening, asking powerful questions, direct communication, as well as many additional potent aptitudes.
“Ritz Carlton” Service. Ritz-Carlton type-service has almost become a cliché term that is synonymous for high-end attentiveness and luxury. Indeed, certain client types may assume that this level of service is a minimum expectation for doing business with an advisor. Nonetheless, financial advisors who embrace this service ethic embrace a commitment to service that is second-to-none.
Many advisors talk about their client service as being an important and distinctive feature of their practice. The practical truth is that not all advisors deliver on these intentions.
For those successful financial advisors who truly want to use their client engagement model as a key differentiator, take a reflective moment to consider these touch points, and evaluate if you are meeting, and exceeding, your clients’ expectations.
For additional client engagement thoughts, please feel to download the complimentary ClientWise Learning Tool below:
Topics: Client Engagement