Make sure your clients know they are way more than just an account number.
These days taking photos of people is simple and very straightforward. Everyone assumes you have a camera in your pocket, on your phone. People who become clients will be fine with your asking to take their photo, and it is so helpful to actually have a visual of them!
When I come home from a conference, I’ve obviously engaged with a number of people and had great conversations with them. When I then pull out their business cards, and look up their websites, and see their photo, that whole conversation immediately comes flooding back. All the nuances we spoke about, their family, what their children are doing, what their spouse might be doing with an upcoming work project – that all comes back to mind as soon as I see a visual of them.
And the same thing will happen for you as an advisor, if you have a visual of your clients. It’s not going to seem out of place to take a photo of them and have that pinned to a folder, like we would have done years ago. But now, have that photo uploaded to programs like MoneyGuidePro or eMoney, where there is space for actual images of your clients.
So,
1. Don’t be afraid to ask your clients to take their photo. They’re not going to be surprised when you ask.
2. Take their photo, and make sure you pin it to the appropriate places on your software, where you will be able to see that image immediately when you come to do their next review or even have them on the phone. When you pull up an image of that person, now you are talking to a three-dimensional person.
3. Make sure, if you’re working with a team, they all know those people and that they see who your clients are as people – that they have a snapshot of that person coming into your office in ten minutes’ time, so there is more of a realization that this is a normal person who we have the honor to help.
It’s a way to endear your clients more to you as an advisor, and it’s a way for you to come across as way more interested in them as people.
