client relationship Archives - Page 2 of 5

Conducting Client Research to Boost Prospecting Results

May 29, 2023 / by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

Highly successful advisors have long determined that the traditional shotgun approach to prospecting using blast emails no longer works. They have found that prospecting with a more targeted approach, focusing more narrowly on clearly defined ideal client types based on a readily identifiable market segment or niche, increases both efficiency and results. These segments or niches are identified by demographics, businesses, careers, interests, or shared financial concerns that distinguish them from others.

We’ve written about the many advantages of niche marketing, including the more efficient use of resources, the ease of establishing one’s authority within a niche, and the built-in networking apparatus of well-connected clients residing in a niche.

However, the most significant marketing advantage is the ease of conducting research to gather intelligence about your market. Through market research, you can uncover critical information enabling you to develop more effective communication methods that appeal to your target market while honing your value proposition to touch their pain points.

How to Turn Data Collection into a Process Your Clients Will Appreciate

May 22, 2023 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Financial advisors love data—until it’s time to collect it from a new client. Advisors know that data collection is an essential component of the planning process, without which they can’t get an accurate picture of their client’s current situation. But mining all the critical data needed to connect current circumstances to future aspirations can be tedious—for both advisors and clients.

It can also be a point of tension in a new advisory relationship, as new clients may still be working through trust issues. Advisors must understand this and continue working fervently to earn their client’s trust by expertly shepherding them through the process. While getting the data is important, advisors need to use this moment as another opportunity to engage their clients on a deeper level, focusing as much on the qualitative side as the quantitative side of data collection.

Goal Setting: Not Just About the Numbers. It’s About Emotional Connections.

May 15, 2023 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Goal setting is the second step of the client data-gathering process —unquestionably the most critical step in solidifying the client relationship and the key to setting your clients up for success. Beyond offering the technical expertise to help clients navigate the complex realm of financial planning, the most valuable service financial advisors bring to the table is helping them align the use of their resources with the things that are most important to them.

Yet even though advisors are well-positioned in this stage of the relationship to have these critical conversations, encouraging their clients to discuss their financial goals and understanding on a deeper level why those goals are meaningful to them, is a significant challenge for many. They then wonder why the client later chooses to abandon their financial plan or the relationship.

Clients not Giving You Referrals? Here’s Why That May Be

May 1, 2023 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

We devote a lot of space here on how to generate referrals, and with good reason. Generating quality referrals is critical to building a sustainable and profitable practice. Many of our articles address the ‘how,’ even addressing how to overcome the reluctance to ask for referrals. Based on my decades of experience, I’m confident that advisors who study those articles and incorporate the tips and practices into their process can generate more referrals.

For Highly Ambitious Advisors, Influence + Credibility = Thought Leadership

April 17, 2023 / by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

Becoming a thought leader enhances your personal and professional stature within your industry and community, making you much more appealing as an authority and person of influence. When an advisor is viewed as a true thought leader, they attract the attention of influential clients who use their influence to refer other influential people.

As previously discussed on the blog, content is the key to building influence. Producing compelling, thought-provoking content delivered through your website, a blog, and emails, is how you establish your authority in the field. The more it is viewed, the more influence you can build, which is where social media comes in. Posting your content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites expands your potential audience and builds your online influence.

But that’s just the beginning. While influence is critical, without credibility, it can be fleeting. Blogging and social media engagement are essential for building thought leadership, but when you can share your thoughts in high-profile settings you gain invaluable credibility.

To Win More Prospects, Show Them You Are the Goals-centric Advisor Clients Want

January 16, 2023 / by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

As a financial advisor, you have one job and one job only—to help your clients achieve their financial goals. At least, that’s how your clients see it. That’s according to a research study by Morningstar, which revealed what clients value most in an advisor. Advisors would be well-served to keep that in mind in their efforts to win over more prospects.

Next on the list of what clients value most from an advisor is “skills and knowledge,” followed by “maximizing returns.” Unquestionably those are essential attributes. However, the study indicates that prospects may put less weight on them if you fail to check off the one they deem most important—helping them to achieve their goals.

Advisors Who Don’t Want to Sound “Salesy” Need to Master Soft Skills

January 9, 2023 / by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

Many financial advisors don’t like to be thought of as salespeople. In fact, they despise it. In part because they work hard at earning the distinction of being an “advisor.” Also, the public has been conditioned to avoid salespeople masquerading as financial advisors. But in reality, anyone in the business of building a clientele and offering services has to be able to sell.

To convert prospects into clients, advisors must sell themselves and then their solution. To make money, they must get their prospects and clients to act on their solution, which requires sales skills. Most advisors understand that, but their greatest fear is coming across as a salesperson or sounding too “salesy.”

If that is your fear, let me put your mind at ease. First, it’s important to understand what it means to be “salesy.” That term is generally applied to a high-pressure approach that makes prospects uncomfortable. People don’t want to deal with salespeople who are pushy and don’t listen to them.

That’s not you.

The Inevitable Frustration of Success

December 26, 2022 / by Diana Marinova / Best Practices, Connelly Corner / 0 comments

Let’s talk about the inevitable frustration of success, about building a business slowly. I have one piece of advice if you’re still building your business: Don’t be in a hurry to become a success. If you become impatient, the impatience will wear you down. I’m not suggesting we sit back and wait for success to […]

How to Raise Conversations Your Clients Don’t Know They Should Have

December 12, 2022 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Most clients hire a financial advisor because they expect him or her to know more than they do about planning their future. They willingly pay you to leverage your expertise to educate them and guide their financial decisions based on your understanding of their circumstances, goals, and concerns. They expect you to help them navigate obstacles that pop up unexpectedly.

Most clients don’t know what they don’t know, which is their greatest vulnerability. That means they don’t know enough to ask their financial advisor about things that could potentially impact them. If they’re left in the dark about such things, the financial advisor takes the blame when bad things happen. What is their defense when a client asks, “Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

The Fee Discussion: It’s Not the Fees That Bother Clients. It’s the Mystery Surrounding Them

September 12, 2022 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

For many advisors, discussing fees with their clients is about as comfortable as going to the dentist. They know they have to do it, but they’d much rather be doing something else. Why is that? Is it because they don’t feel their fees are justified? Are they afraid the client will balk at them? Are they concerned they will ruin the rapport they built up to that point?

It may come as a surprise to advisors, but clients expect to talk about fees. In fact, for most clients, it’s not the fees that bother them; it’s the mystery surrounding them when they don’t get the whole story. Some clients have a hard time understanding how fees work, which makes them feel uncomfortable. But they feel worse and may presume the worst when they don’t feel they’ve received all the information.

The fee discussion is a pivotal moment in the process and can set the tone for the relationship going forward. It’s also an opportunity to differentiate yourself if you do it right. That’s why it’s essential that advisors be well-prepared with a practiced presentation and the confidence to deliver it with the highest degree of transparency and professionalism.

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