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Written by: Micah Shilanski
Wine is the same in a red solo cup as in a Baccarat Crystal wine glass—but the experience is so much different.
As a financial advisor, you should not pass out red solo cups to whoever shows up at your office.
Instead, you want an exclusive, five-star client experience where only a few choice prospects and clients are invited to imbibe using the finest crystal.
How do you provide a top-notch service such as this?
It’s more straightforward than you may realize.
Let’s break down four guaranteed approaches you can implement to improve your client experience and increase your prospect conversions by creating exclusivity, setting client expectations from the beginning, sticking to your process of success, and practicing your interactions.
Create a client experience of exclusivity
Too many advisors think they have to be readily available every time a client calls, or their clients will leave, and they’ll end up living in a van down by the river.
That’s not true—you need to kick this bit of head trash to the curb.
Your clients are already conditioned to wait for professional services. After all, if your prospects make appointments six months in advance to see their dentist, they can wait a few weeks or several months to see you.
When a prospect calls to ask for an appointment with you and you offer a meeting for the next day, it tells your prospect that you’re either not that busy, desperate, or both.
You force your prospects to ask if you’re really the best professional to help them when you wreak of desperation.
And to make matters worse, you shoot yourself in the foot every time you answer a client call only to tell them to wait to see you. They have you on the line right now—why should they wait?
To avoid this issue when I was starting, I had my wife call and schedule meetings with prospects and clients while I was in the next room playing with our kids.
I simply can’t be the one taking these calls, or I make exceptions for each one and mess up my entire schedule. It was too easy for my passion for helping to come off as desperation when I handled the appointment calendar.
Now, I have my team handle client calls—I don’t touch the phone. If you’re still answering your phone, this task must be at the top of your delegation list.
Set client expectations from the get-go
If you need the extra affirmation, here it is:
You can tell clients (and prospects) that they need to wait x number of months to meet with you.
They won’t leave you for it—so long as you set that expectation from the beginning of your relationship.
When transitioning a prospect to becoming a client, you should include your practice’s client communication policy as part of your onboarding process.
Your one-page communication policy needs to have three main things:
- Emergency contact information so your future client can call you during an emergency. Instruct them to call and tell whoever picks up that they need to speak to you, and they’ll get you the same day.
- Include your firm’s email address for less pressing issues can handle waiting a day or two for your team.
- Information about scheduling appointments as these will be your clients’ primary communication method with you. Tell them these meetings will be scheduled twice a year and give info about Surge cycles and why you do it.
When you set expectations like this from the get-go, your clients won’t be shocked when they have to book a meeting with you months in advance. In fact, they’ll be expecting it.
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