/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
We’ve frequently stressed the importance of building deep and trusting relationships with clients. Practically speaking, the stronger and more enduring your client relationships, the greater their lifetime value to you in terms of repeat business, growing assets under management, referrals, and family legacies. For financial advisors, the profit truly is in the relationship.
The most successful advisors seek to take the relationship even deeper—to the point where they become a trusted confidant of their clients. They want to be the first person their clients think of when any significant issue arises, be it a family milestone (i.e., birth, college graduation, engagement), family tragedy (i.e., divorce, death), career change, or any major family decision (i.e., new home purchase).
To some, that may seem like going above and beyond. After all, isn’t it enough to have the family’s trust to act in their best interests in helping them manage their money? Is it appropriate to try to insert ourselves into every aspect of their lives? What do we gain from that? What does the client gain? Why would a client want their financial advisor as a trusted confidant?
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How to Become Your Client’s Trusted Confidant
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
We’ve frequently stressed the importance of building deep and trusting relationships with clients. Practically speaking, the stronger and more enduring your client relationships, the greater their lifetime value to you in terms of repeat business, growing assets under management, referrals, and family legacies. For financial advisors, the profit truly is in the relationship.
The most successful advisors seek to take the relationship even deeper—to the point where they become a trusted confidant of their clients. They want to be the first person their clients think of when any significant issue arises, be it a family milestone (i.e., birth, college graduation, engagement), family tragedy (i.e., divorce, death), career change, or any major family decision (i.e., new home purchase).
To some, that may seem like going above and beyond. After all, isn’t it enough to have the family’s trust to act in their best interests in helping them manage their money? Is it appropriate to try to insert ourselves into every aspect of their lives? What do we gain from that? What does the client gain? Why would a client want their financial advisor as a trusted confidant?
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Goal Setting: Not Just About the Numbers. It’s About Emotional Connections.
/ 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.
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For Great Financial Advisors, the Profit is in the Relationship
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
The industry pressures that have weighed on financial advisors over the last few years will continue into 2021 and beyond, especially with the lingering effects of the pandemic. Fee compression, increasing regulation, heightened competition, and the commoditization of services are all part of an inevitable trend that threatens the survivability of many advisors. From now on, advisors who fall short of clearly differentiating themselves will have a difficult time bucking the trend, and advisors who fail to put their entire focus on their client relationships may be doomed.
Unfortunately, many advisors learn too late in their careers what I have stressed numerous times—that this isn’t a money business. It is a people business! For the first several years of an advisor’s career, the focus is almost solely on acquiring product knowledge, investment expertise, and planning skills. While that is essential for building necessary competencies, too few advisors come to realize that money management is not the lifeblood of their business—their clients are.
For financial advisors, the profit is not in the financial analysis or the transactions they conduct; it’s in the relationship.
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5 Reasons Why You Need to Connect with Clients on an Emotional Level
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
As an advisor you’re no doubt good with numbers; you’re an objective thinker. But to succeed in this business you also need to be able to create meaningful relationships with your clients. You need to have not only a high IQ but a high level of EQ (Emotional Intelligence).
According to a study by Harvard Business Review emotionally connected clients are more than twice as valuable to your business as ‘highly satisfied clients’.
Here are 5 reasons why rather than focusing on their financial plans you should get to know your clients on a personal level.
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Make Yourself Irreplaceable by Making Yourself Different
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
If you do what every other advisor is doing, you’ll be just like all other advisors. To become successful, you need to offer something different – something that makes you worthy of being talked about.
Don’t be intimidated by self-perceived ‘smarter’, ‘more experienced’ or ‘more confident’ advisors. Don’t try to ‘better’ them. Think instead about what you can do differently.
Make it your aim to do what other advisors don’t do, and you’ll attract and retain clients for the long term. Here are a few things you can do to make yourself different.
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How to Connect with Clients Emotionally
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
As financial advisors we’re objective thinkers. We use the left, logical, side of our brains, to work out the technical aspects of financial planning. But simply being able to do the math won’t differentiate you from the competition – even robo-advisors are pretty good with interest rates and algorithms. The way to stand out is to make an emotional connection with people.
Your clients won’t make big decisions based on the numbers. They will base them on how they feel about you, using the right (emotional) part of the brain. To form a connection with clients you need to work out what it is you have to offer them on an emotional level.
Here are three suggestions to help you connect with clients emotionally.
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How to Win Over Clients by Becoming More Likeable
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 3 comments
People will only do business with you if they like you and trust you. Human decisions are generally subjective. Even if you are the most professional financial advisor out there, if people don’t warm to you they won’t commit to you. Prospects will not choose you simply because you are competent; they will choose to do business with you because you are competent and likeable.
By becoming likeable you will stand head and shoulders above other advisors. And you don’t need innate talent to become more likeable. You can learn how to radiate confidence and charisma.
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Why You Need a “Who I Am” Story to Succeed
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
When someone tells you they want to ‘think it over’ it’s a sign they haven’t invested in you. They are most likely not deciding about your recommendations. They are deciding about forming a relationship with you. Remember, the three most important things in this business are to be likeable, smart and trustworthy. A great way to be likeable and build trust is to tell a ‘who I am’ story to prospective clients. By telling them a story about yourself you can influence people and establish your credibility. A great story will resonate with clients, stir up their emotions and get them to act.
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