"Know your clients and what they care about," Flaxington said. She suggested knowing hobbies and personal interests, affiliations, philanthropic interests, alma mater and communication preferences. She added, "A lot of times advisors capture this information but they don't remember to look at it."
Flaxington believes, "Advisors need to know the 'art of conversation' to serve clients more effectively and pick up more referrals." She gave an example of one advisor that did some research and found six women who love to bowl in his client base. Knowing this, he actually built in some referral programs around bowling.
In CRM software, it's OK to record what a client would like to drink when they first come to the office lobby, she said, but "You can't really build an event around green tea."
An advisor suggested that client Facebook pages can provide great information.
Flaxington also prompted advisors to get to know centers of influence. She gave an example of one advisor learning that a center of influence had a fear of giving public presentations. By knowing this, the advisor could help this individual and get in front of the COI's clients.
"Advisors didn't get their designations because they want to be in sales," she said. "They should potentially get a coach or a mentor within the firm. They should also ask, 'How can I develop my skills in each of these areas?'"
Building A Communication Program
To help advisors have a better sense of what they can do, Ozer set a baseline on educating clients on investments and wealth management. For this he suggested using a newsletter, quarterly performance letter and market updates. To go to the next level, he suggested adding client call-ins, webinars, podcasts, eBooks, seminars, other provider introductions and radio. "Know your audience and figure out what the right things are to experiment with," Ozer said.
For relationship building, Ozer suggested the baseline is periodic phone calls and emails. To go even further, he proposed following up on specific interests, relationship reviews and special "memorial" events. "There are points in time that you learn things about individuals, but we do not take time to do anything about it," he said. When you follow up on specific interests, those are the things clients talk about."
When it comes to events, Ozer said they should be based on the interests of clients. Event ideas he listed: holding weekend workshops at play spaces, volunteering at a soup kitchen, meeting with a golf or fishing pro, tailgating, hosting a cooking and baking night, having book signings, organizing museum tours, holding hayrides, setting up professor lecturers, giving city tours, offering coaches for kids, arranging fitness events and celebrating client anniversaries and birthdays.
This article was written by Mike Byrnes, who founded Byrnes Consulting to provide consulting services to help advisors become even more successful. His expertise is in business planning, marketing strategy, business development, client service and management effectiveness, along with several other areas. Read more at www.byrnesconsulting.com.