From the minute a client signs on, your key to success is to keep yourself hired. Stay hired by enough clients for a long period of time and you’ll do well.

How can you stay hired? From the minute you meet a prospect, consistently execute these points that differentiate advisors who stay hired for long periods of time from those who get fired sooner than later.

Be Attractive. The evolutionary function of “attractiveness” is to pull people toward you, so from the first second you meet a prospect, make yourself attractive to them by being your “physical best.” Few of us have movie star looks, but studies show that in that first blink, physical appearances influence how people judge you. Then, proceed to make yourself likable. Do so by showing a good sense of humor, listening to your clients and exhibiting a confident posture. When was the last time you told a client a joke?

Demonstrate Expertise. In early times, nobody went to the town fool for advice. The more a client perceives you as “expert,” the more likely they are to continue to seek your advice. From meeting one, let your client know your qualifications and show them on your wall, desk, cards, emails and other business correspondences. When you update your training by attending a tax or social security professional seminar, let your clients know.  

Keep Expectations Realistic. Expectations are akin to “mental bets,” probabilities that specific future events will or will not occur. A client follows your advice because he or she is betting on what you say will come to be: Advisors keep their clients happy by meeting or exceeding their expectations. The caveat is that in order to do so, client expectations must be realistic—that means your skill more likely than not will determine your results. Thus, from the day you are hired, identify your client’s financial expectations to see whether or not you can perform accordingly.

Many advisors make a fatal mistake: They tell the client they can meet their “unrealistic” expectations, usually because they want the client’s business. When these expectations are unmet, the client experiences disappointment and anger; Trust declines and the advisor is often terminated. Take some time to assess the expectations of your clients. What data are you using to determine if you can meet them? 

Keep in mind that expectations are best kept fluid. Two years ago, data might have suggested that your client is realistic in expecting a six percent return. Today, that might be unrealistic. Thus, keep your client informed about the changing reality of their financial expectations and how it impacts achieving their financial goals. In other words, clients don’t like surprises.

Frequent Communication. How often do you speak with your clients? If you want stay hired, I suggest you do it frequently. Most advisors are reluctant to give their clients bad news or for that matter, to take the time to give a “status quo” call. Advisors who stay hired communicate often and thus stay “connected” with their clients. 

Frequent communication also provides you with the opportunity to practice relationship stabilizers: reiterate realistic expectations; review progress report for financial goals; explain rationale for maintaining or adjusting financial strategy; listen to client's needs; and be likable. Take note: Emails do not take the place of phone calls.

Add Value. These days, clients want to know what exactly they are getting for their fees, especially if their portfolio has been going south. Advisors who stay hired make sure that their clients perceive they are adding value to their financial welfare and more broadly to their life. Perhaps this comes in the form of a referral to an excellent accountant or lawyer. Maybe it is with assistance for refinancing a loan or securing a loan. It could also be providing information for an assisted living home for the client’s parents or a lead for a summer internship for their college kids. The point: Continually think of different ways you can be helpful to your clients. The more you help them, the more attractive you become and the more they want to stay with you.

Know The Family. Take a few minutes to think about how much client family knowledge you have. Stay hired advisors know a lot about their client’s family business, and it helps them in several ways. First, knowing how many kids are going to camp, how many need braces, how many family vacations the family plans, when college tuition is due helps you assess the clients financial needs that if to be realized, require adjusting a financial strategy or expectations. 

Second, knowing about the family and periodically asking about them shows care and concern to your client and thus deepens your relationship, making it that much harder for the client to terminate. It also shows you listened to them in earlier conversations.

Third, many advisors lose clients when the next generation takes control because the son or daughter does not know you, let alone trust you. He or she is more apt to use the advisor their friends recommend. Stay hired advisors prevent this from happening by developing relationships with the client’s family members who will eventually need financial services. When was the last time you asked a client to bring his or her recent college graduate so you could give them some tips on investing some of their money early on?  

Seek Client Criticism. Most advisors shun criticism from their clients and when they can’t, typically respond defensively. Their reaction is prompted by their perception that a client’s criticism threatens their job security. Stay hired advisors appraise criticism differently: as information that can help them do better, and thus become more valuable to their client. Acting on this perception, they often ask their clients: "Besides making you more money, how can I be a better financial advisor?" If you're lucky, their responses will tell you ways of how you can increase your value and increase their value of your stock. If they are void of ideas, be sure to tell them to let you know when something crosses their mind. Your solicitation of criticism will facilitate authentic communication between you and your client resulting in greater trust.

Enthusiastic Commitment. Stay hired advisors do not need to see the research that indicates being enthusiastic in client interactions makes you more attractive to your clients. Being enthusiastic in your client interactions energizes the relationship and demonstrates that you are interested in helping your client. In turn, your clients will perceive you as being more committed to their welfare and more likely to use your services. 

Training yourself to speak with enthusiasm, increasing your smiles, and animating your behavior are some of the strategies you can use to increase your feelings of enthusiasm during a client encounter.

For self-help, you might want to rate yourself from 1 (low) to 10 (high) on how well you perform each behavior. If you are objective, your ratings will tell you what behaviors need improvement.

Applying all of these simultaneously is how to get your clients to yell: “Stay hired!”

Hank Weisinger, Ph.D., is trained in clinical, counseling and organizational psychology. Weisinger is the author of several successful books and has conducted executive development workshops for dozens of Fortune 500 companies. To find out more about his workshops, click here: https://courses.hendrieweisingerphd.com/courses/demo-performing-under-pressure-the-eworkshop-experience/