Clients have a myriad of choices, and they now apply the same ruthless standards to their financial professionals that apply to everything else: add real value or get cut. And contrary to industry messaging, value here isn’t just ROI or the product or service you provide—it’s the way they are treated before, during, and after the purchase.
To win in this environment, advisors need to understand how to build relationships that drive revenue and establish loyalty. They need to connect individually with each prospect and client—knowing who they are, what they like, and what they treasure. Support professionals need to be congenial and coached on how to engage with clients and prospects through informed, relational conversations. Service levels should be high-touch, memorable, personalized, and gloriously hard to duplicate. Advisors and support should create client experiences that mitigate questions about the fees they charge or commissions they earn through impeccable welcomes, thoughtful callbacks, remembered preferences, and memorable activities.
Most importantly, advisors (and leaders) need to build a culture of kindness, thoughtfulness, caring, and empathy. Genuine human connection and a sense of being in the right place with the right advisor (community) are the most coveted benefits of financially successful consumers today.
Having a meeting, leaders club, or association conference and would like me to speak and delve deeper into this topic? Reach out to me, and let’s talk.