Marketing & Client Acquisition
At Capital Group, we have identified three primary areas on which financial advisors need to focus to build stronger, deeper relationships with clients: credibility, consistency and connection. Of the three C’s, consistency is, by far, the one that advisors are most likely to overlook.
There is nothing exciting or interesting about doing things the same way over and over again. Developing processes for how everyday functions will be handled is tedious, and training your team on these procedures can seem like a major burden. But as uninspiring as consistency may seem, we have found that consistency, particularly in terms of how you interact with clients, is one of the biggest differentiators between struggling firms and those that thrive.
For successful advisors, consistency means doing the things that you and your team already do most of the time — regularly communicating with your clients, returning calls in a timely manner and conducting client meetings in a particular order — but doing them all of the time in a thoughtful, intentional manner. It is critical to share this commitment with your clients so that they fully appreciate the value you deliver. Do not take for granted the power of this step. Predictable, reliable service gives clients a sense of security that can withstand volatile markets. This kind of consistency also conveys the rigor with which you run your practice. It further inspires confidence in your team’s infrastructure, not to mention trust in you as an investment professional.
How to reinforce your reliability
The difference between a good client experience and a great one has more to do with relationship management than portfolio management. Consistent processes and engagement strategies will help you keep your promises and demonstrate your reliability.
To achieve that level of consistent, repeatable service, there are three main areas that you need to focus on in your practice:
Investing in consistency
Many advisors undervalue consistency and avoid developing SOPs because advisors believe that creating procedures and training the entire team to follow them won’t be worth the effort. Also, some advisors think that having too many policies in place may get in the way of building a personal connection with clients.
We believe that devoting the time and energy toward developing procedures and policies is one of the best investments you can make in the growth of your firm. A corollary of this is that not having these systems will significantly limit your ability to scale and grow and will hurt your ability to provide reliably excellent experiences for your clients. Remember, your reputation with clients will be built not in a single meeting but by consistently delivering on your promises year after year.
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