Dr Jim Taggart, a former President of the Association of Financial Advisors, Australia, founded a personal financial services practice and built it to over 5,000 clients, with a lapse rate of just 1% in 25 years. He shares some techniques he used to build meaningful relationships and grow his client base over the years.
1. Plan your appointments and set agendas
Few people set agendas for their meetings, but it is important for an agent to let a client know what he intends to discuss in advance, so he will come prepared. The agenda also becomes a good framework for the agent to take notes of the meeting--this eventually also serves as a good record for both adviser and client, and for compliance purposes.
2. Reinforce your values
Be it excellence, or the vision of helping families grow their savings, reinforce your values each opportunity that you get. For example, many continue to be skeptical that life insurance won’t play claims, but it’s your duty as a life adviser to reinforce the fact that it does. Over time, when people see, or hear your name in the industry, they will know who you are immediately and associate you with the values that you represent.
3.The piggy bank
Mr Taggart’s firm used to give piggy banks to contacts when their children were born and he would frequently make the trip personally. In each piggy bank was some money for the child, as a symbol of the importance of saving up for one's future. Mr Taggart was of the view that it was a more meaningful gift than flowers, which have become a norm as a gift for many occasions, and are often given without a thought to it.
Be it a piggy bank, or any other gift of choice, your gift to clients to celebrate an occasion should be something meaningful, that conveys a message or value your advisory would like to get across.
4. The handwritten letter
Very few send handwritten letters today, yet we long for them. They have a personal touch and take more effort to send than emails. Mr Taggart is of the view that the occasional handwritten letter makes a connection and leaves a deep impression on the prospect.
5. Visit client premises
Meeting prospects at their premises could be a good way to help advisers understand their prospects or clients' business operations. People, in particular business-owners, are generally proud of their work and usually keen to show others around.
6. Every person is an appointment
As an adviser, you should share your business story with everyone you meet. This could be when you are attending an event ostensibly not directly relevant to work, or even just chatting to your dentist—who knows, these people could one day become your clients.
7. Look for other opportunities to help people
For people who share their problems with you, help them think about their pain points and also look for different solutions to address it, because not everyone can afford to do something about it straight away, like buying the product you have in mind. But be helpful--even if they cannot be clients now, that doesn't mean they won't be forever.
8. The premium client
For the “A-class” client, which is what most of us know as the premium or High Net Worth client, often business-owners themselves, tailor the approach. Dr Taggart used to invite them for a morning tea--not a quick cup of coffee, but a professional tea session--as it takes time to talk to them and understand their business and priorities.
9. “Value” events
Hold events that serve as inspiration for clients, and which represent the values which are important to you. Dr Taggart used to invite notable speakers to share their experiences, such as young people who suffered permanent disability in accidents to speak about their recovery process. He would invite clients to bring their contacts to these sharing sessions. The collateral effect of these sessions were that they eventually led to a lot of new business.
Financial advisories should also have a marketing budget for standard events such as movie nights or the annual Christmas party.
10. Advisor metrics as guidelines
Most large agency forces would implement some sort of performance indicators, but smaller firms without such formalised processes should also monitor your closing rates, and those of the advisers under you closely as guidance.
11. Sit down with underwriters
Underwriters are partners in the business, but how many advisers meet them regularly to understand their work? They should.
12. Don’t rush the appointments
Dr Taggart, who likens the adviser-client relationship to courtship, said that it sometimes took him two years to get an appointment, but he never rushed those prospects. He prefers business “to stick”, rather than gun for the quick closing of a deal, he prioritised establishing long-term relationships.
He would express caution taking on the portfolio for some of the more "difficult" client heavyweights-- “I’m not sure I want you as a client”. The result? They mostly ended up wanting him as an adviser. Guess that's reverse psychology!
The moment
And with all of that effort, it’s now up to you to create that right moment during your meeting, for the prospect to accept--or reject you. Pop the question!