Advisors don’t necessarily need to go to great lengths to optimize their relationships with clients. Sometimes very simple practices can build effectiveness and client trust. Dave Petzke, an advisor education specialist and senior vice president at Capital Group, shares three ways advisors can almost immediately boost their connection with clients.

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I’m Dave Petzke, Senior Vice President at Capital Group. Let me offer three standard operating procedures you can implement into your practice right away.

Here’s tip number one: According to research conducted by neuroscientist Robert K. Cooper, using two words, “as promised,” at the beginning of any follow-up correspondence is a subtle reminder you are reliable and you do what you say you’re going to do. “As promised, here’s the information you requested,” will really resonate with clients.

Here’s tip number two: Using the word “performance” can unwittingly encourage short-term thinking and unhelpful comparisons to benchmark indexes. Using the word “results,” instead, indicates a clear and concrete understanding of what the client is trying to achieve and places the focus on outcomes.

Lastly, tip number three: Have a follow-through procedure. Issues that might take more than a few days to resolve are potential stress points in a client-advisor relationship — when clients begin to wonder, “What’s taking so long?” or “I wonder if they forgot?” Establishing a formal policy for timely communication and then delivering on that expectation, by providing a status update within that prescribed timeframe, can turn this potential stress point into an opportunity to build trust.