This post comes from the RelSci 5, our weekly newsletter for and about wealth management advisors. Its curated articles and insights revolve around a different theme each week and will help you do your job better. This week’s theme is Client Acquisition and Retention. Sign up for the RelSci 5 with this link.
1. When was the last time you had stellar service? You might think investment ideas are the key to getting and keeping clients. And you’d be wrong. For advisory clients, first-rate customer service has become table stakes. Two simple steps toward achieving that standard, according to consultant John L. Evans, Jr.:
- Paying attention to the small, personal details clients almost expect you to ignore.
- Encouraging initiatives that create a firm-wide norm of client-oriented behavior.
2. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Managing online reputation is getting ever more complicated. Fortunately, the same sage advice that applies to large-scale consumer marketers applies to advisors and their firms, too.
Speaking of taking action…
- Email this link to your two smartest (or favorite) friends so they can sign up, too: go.relsci.com/relsci5_WM
3. The secret to effective mentoring. Clients understand that advisors in your firm range in age and experience, but that doesn’t mean they’ll let newbies off the hook. Young advisors need to be mentored—and it turns out the best coaching is as much about what you don’t say as it is about what you do.
4. How not to be “that” kind of leader. And while we’re on the subject of things not to say, here’s a fantastic list of traits to avoid that is a must-read for leaders of any size firm. We know you never want to be “that guy” (or girl).
5. In search of a scrapbooking sector fund. A recent study by BMO Private Bank revealed that more than half of all wealthy Americans engaged in “hobby” or “passion investing.” It’s just one more reason why many advisors may be fooling themselves about their clients’ investing motivations.