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According to PEW Research, about 51% of Americans are satisfied with their jobs. Only about 12% are very dissatisfied.1 CBS reports about 12% would like to stop working at age 61.2 When a person establishes a relationship with a professional, they often do it with the expectation that professional will be around for a long time. Who wants to find a new family doctor, lawyer or accountant? When clients reveal their personal details in the financial planning process, they usually want that advisor to be committed for the long term.
Your client might be in the 12% who can’t stand their jobs or the 12% that cannot wait to leave work forever, but they want you to keep looking after their needs, probably for the rest of their life. How do you let them know you are committed?
1. Stay with the same firm. Some advisors leave a firm, sign a contract at another firm, work through their contract and then look for another firm offering another attractive contract. The message clients get is the advisor is putting their needs ahead of their clients.
Message: Staying at the same firm in the same city shows a commitment to your firm and your clients.
2. Always have an upbeat personality. Smile a lot. My accountant has this attitude. He might mention work is crazy, but he never panics. His unspoken attitude is “We will get through this.” The stock market is unpredictable, but it moves in cycles. It is not like a subway train that announces it is going out of service, discharging all the passengers onto the platform. The markets keep moving. You go with the flow. Tell your clients you enjoy your job. Give them reasons why.
3. Demonstrate you have a stable family life. The job of a financial advisor can be difficult. Clients leave for a competitor. Others yell at you. Some complain. If you can return home to a loving, supportive family, it gives you respite from the difficulties of the day. An advisor I knew in California had a lage B+W framed photo of him, his spouse and children over his desk. He would mention how many years they have been married and the age of their children. This conveys stability.
4. Are you financially comfortable? You would not want a financial advisor with a gambling problem or one at the edge of bankruptcy. You would question their motivation. At the other extreme, you don’t want to come across as wildly richer than your clients. If you talk about the vacations you take, the private schools your children attend or your weekend house, clients rationalize you can afford these luxuries.
5. Always be ethical. No one wants to worry their financial advisor might be arrested by the FBI or on the front page of the newspaper covering a major fraud story. Always play by the rules, holding your clients to the same standard. Clients should feel you are here for the long term because you “keep your nose clean.”
6. Share your long-term plans. You know when your client plans to retire. You probably even know what they plan to do on Day #1 of their retirement. What are your future plans? Will you keep working until you are carried out on a stretcher? (It might be more tactful to say “as long as I can.”) Do you plan on merging your practice into a team within the office? Your client does not want to hear one day you suddenly decided not to come into work anymore.
7. Bring your children into the business. This is a succession plan many clients can accept. You consider your practice “the family business” and intend to bring in the next generation. Clients can understand they will gradually get to know your children, then one day their son or daughter will be their advisor. Clients want to know you have a succession plan.
8. Work regular hours. Some people who dislike their jobs. They only go through the motions. There was a saying in the former Soviet Union, “They pretend to pay us, we pretend to work.” Some advisors might take long weekends every weekend, take long lunches and generally leave the day to day work to their overworked sales assistant who eventually quits. The client has an advisor in name only. Who is watching the store? If you don’t like your job, why don’t you just quit?
9. Stay in shape. The life of a financial advisor can involve lots of luxury. You have lunches and dinners with clients. You attend industry conferences. The dry cleaner might be shrinking your suits. Becoming overweight and not getting enough exercise can lead to health problems or worse. Staying in shape delivers the message you enjoy life and intend to live a long one.
10. Show a commitment to the local community. Many clients give back through charitable contributions. They become part of “the great and the good,” respected members of the local community. This is their home. If the advisor does the same, it shows they give back and intend to keep doing so. Their professional success makes this possible.
Most clients prefer long term, not transactional relationships. Let them know you are seeking the same type of relationship.
Related: Twelve Reasons for Financial Professionals To Feel Optimistic