If the provider’s process does not meet their standard, an advisor shouldn’t consider making a recommendation. Equally important, best practices suggest that providing three suggestions for a client to vet minimizes any appearance of a potential conflict for the advisor.
Build A Digital Rolodex
Once you’ve gathered a more detailed level of intel on each of your clients’ jobs and businesses, it’s important to build a digital infrastructure that makes these detailed records available to the entire firm about professionals within your client base.
All the information in the world won’t matter if you aren’t providing the digital tools that enable advisors to make connections quickly between different client relationships.
The system should include details of a client’s business, length of the relationship with the firm and relationships the firm helped facilitate in the past.
This last part is critical. Keeping track of referrals and engaging in appropriate follow-up will determine if the introduction proved fruitful while reinforcing the primary relationship.
Educate, Advocate And Engage
Existing and new clients should know that their financial advisors are connectors and can be relied on for these kinds of introductions.
From hosting more frequent and regular business-to-business meetings to organizing more opportunities for clients interested in getting to know one another in a social setting, a successful client network model requires time, thought and energy from the advisor on an ongoing basis.
As part of their regular engagements with clients, advisors can have a straightforward discussion about making connections and the value this service can deliver.
Meanwhile, each client must have the freedom to opt out if they want to leverage the financial advisor but don’t want to become part of the network.
Towards The Future
The toughest part is getting started. But once the ball starts moving towards a networked approach to wealth management, advisors and clients will immediately see the benefits accumulate. This logical next step in the advice model can help set a firm apart from the competition.
Robert Amoruso is CEO and managing partner of Gideon Strategic Partners, a Santa Monica, CA-based independent wealth management firm with over $500 million in assets under advisement.