4. Error identification and correction. I say this tongue-in-cheek, but I love it when our staff makes a mistake. Why? Because it gives us the chance to fix it.
As soon as we discover an error (which doesn’t happen often), we contact the client to say, “We just found a mistake and wanted to let you know that we’ve fixed it. Here’s what we’ve done. Everything is fine now. No worries.” Clients love this. It shows we’re human, but that we’re paying attention and tending to their needs.
It’s far worse to have a client discover the error first.
5. Formal letters. We send formal letters to our clients several times a year, and more often if events warrant it. Some are regulatory in nature (every three months, we ask if anything has changed) while others are more informative. One letter in particular is my annual “year in review” message each January covering the past year, offering advice for the new year and highlighting an area we think clients ought to emphasize in the year ahead.
You might also send a formal letter to inform clients if you’ve made a significant change or upgrade in your practice, whether it’s a new office, organizational changes, staff expansion or even an honor you’ve won. (You do win them from time to time, right?)
6. Newsletters. My monthly 16-page newsletter provides a lot of personal finance news and advice that we couldn’t provide as efficiently via other methods. If your firm lacks the scale to produce this, consider hiring an outside firm to assist you.
To put it succinctly, my firm’s communication policy is quite simple: We focus on our current clients more than prospective ones. We talk to our clients, not at them.
If you want to be a successful advisor, make your clients your focus, too. After all, without them you wouldn’t be in business.
Ric Edelman, Chairman and CEO of Edelman Financial Services LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor, is an Investment Advisor Representative who offers advisory services through EFS and is a registered principal of, offering securities through, SMH. Advisory services offered through Edelman Financial Services LLC. Securities offered through Sanders Morris Harris Inc., an affiliated broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. You can connect with him on LinkedIn or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RicEdelman. Follow him on Twitter at @RicEdelman.