Paul Lofties, CEG Worldwide
Co-host, The Preeminent Financial Advisor podcast

Cathy McBreen, CEG Insights
Co-host, The Preeminent Financial Advisor podcast

Key Takeaways:
• Around half of advisors’ clients aren’t getting what they need from those advisors.
• A deep discovery process can differentiate your practice from the rest.
• Conducting re-discovery with existing clients can be a huge business development tool.

Your clients think you’re terrific, right? And you’re certain that you’re giving them an experience that means they’ll stay loyal and tell all their affluent friends about you?

Not so fast.

The fact is, far too many advisor-client relationships are in trouble these days. Here’s a way to get back on track—and take steps to attract new clients who aren’t happy with their current advisors.

Face The Facts
Recently, CEG Insights asked advisors’ clients with at least $1 million in investable assets about the quality of their relationships with their advisors. Here’s some of what those clients had to say:

• 61.4% completely or somewhat agreed with the statement “My advisor understands what is really important to me and my family.”

• 50.6% completely or somewhat agreed with the statement “My advisor reaches out to me on a regular basis.”

• 56.3% completely or somewhat agreed with the statement “I have a high degree of trust in my advisor.”

Frankly, these findings are shocking—and more than a bit dispiriting. The numbers for these statements should easily be in the 80% range or higher. Instead, around 40% to 50% of advisors today are (in their clients’ eyes) failing to deliver on some fundamental aspects of a high-quality advisor-client relationship—such as knowing their clients on a deep level, proactively communicating with clients and building high levels of trust.

Maybe that’s why so many affluent clients are looking to switch advisors or are open to the idea of switching.

Of course, it’s easy to see numbers like these and think to yourself, “That’s not me they’re talking about,” But unless you’re regularly surveying your client base or checking in with them frequently, you have to ask yourself an important question: How can I be sure?

Insights Into Action
The good news: There is one thing you can start doing right away to ensure that you fully understand what’s important to your clients, communicate proactively and build greater trust with them.

It’s called the discovery process, and it’s designed to help advisors develop a very deep and thorough understanding of their clients so they can ultimately create a total client profile.

This discovery process involves asking a series of questions in seven key categories—only one of which is about financial assets and “the numbers.”

1) Values. What is truly important to you about your money and your desire for success, and what are the key, deep-seated values underlying the decisions you make to attain them? When you think about your money, what concerns, needs or feelings come to mind?

2) Goals. What are you most proud of achieving in the past and, going forward, what do you want to achieve with your money over the long run—personally and professionally, from the most practical to your biggest dreams?

3) Relationships. Who are the most important people in your life—including family, employees, friends and even pets?

4) Assets. What do you own and with what liabilities —from your business to real estate to investment accounts and retirement plans—and where and how are your assets held?

5) Advisors. Whom do you rely on for advice, and how do you feel about the professional relationships you currently have? Is there a need to find new trusted professional advisors? Wealth management is designed to work in partnership with all of your trusted advisors to arrive at comprehensive recommendations that complement each other.

6) Process. How actively do you like to be involved in managing your financial life, and how do you prefer to work with your trusted advisors?

7) Interests. What are your passions in life when you are not working—including your hobbies, sports and leisure activities, charitable and philanthropic involvements, religious and spiritual proclivities, and children’s schools and activities?

This discovery process becomes a true differentiator for advisors who take prospective clients through it. Those prospects walk away realizing that no other advisor has ever asked them such important questions about themselves or made such an effort to understand them so comprehensively.

Re-Discover Your Clients
But this isn’t simply an idea for new prospects. Best advice: Conduct re-discovery interviews with your top existing clients—you know, the ones who you’re certain think you’re amazing and have a high degree of trust in you. CEG Worldwide has found that re-discovery is the best strategy to build better client loyalty and generate new revenue (through discovering and capturing additional assets as well as getting referrals and introductions to prospects).

If you start conducting re-discovery meetings now, your practice could look a whole lot stronger in six months to a year—both in terms of the top clients who stay with you, and the ideal new clients you attract to your door.

Watch the full episode here.

Catherine McBreen and Paul Lofties are leading innovators in wealth management research.