You have had a successful meeting with a client during which you discussed all aspects of that client’s financial plan, agreed to make adjustments to his or her portfolio and talked about anticipated milestones in the client’s family. What comes next?
Sending a follow-up email or letter to the client after a review meeting provides another opportunity to stay in touch, says Sara Gilbert, coach and founder of Strategist Business Development in Montreal.
That follow-up communication is an additional element to providing a positive client experience. “If we get [clients] to have good meetings,” Gilbert says, “we’re going to be a step ahead in our industry.”
Like an agenda, a follow-up letter is a consistent service your clients should come to expect after every meeting with you. Therefore, you may have to decide if only some clients will receive a follow-up, to ensure you will be able to maintain this commitment.
Once you have decided which, if not all, of your clients will receive a follow-up letter or email after each meeting, consider the content. These are the three objectives you should fulfill through your follow-up letter:
1. Thank the client
Showing appreciation should be a standard procedure when communicating with your clients. While you will probably have your own strategy of organizing events or sending gifts, it never hurts to say or write the words.
It is another simple way to show you care and continue building your relationship.
2. Recap your meeting
Provide three to four points that summarize your meeting. The points will be brief and serve as a reminder of what was discussed.
For example, if you and your client decided to sell his or her investment in six specific securities, you don’t have to list those securities in the follow-up letter. Simply state that the decision was made to sell six stocks.
Refer to any new topics introduced during your meeting. You can also send related articles so your client can continue to learn more about that subject.
Invite further questions. This summary may inspire questions that the client did not think to ask during the meeting, which is a positive result that may produce further communication.
“As soon as you contact somebody,” says Gilbert, “it’s an opportunity for them to just hit ‘reply’ with a quick question.”
3. Summarize your action plan
At the end of the meeting, you and your client probably discussed the next steps you would take. Your follow-up letter should provide three or four bullet points listing those steps.
Remember that your client most likely did not take notes during your meeting and is busy with his or her own career and family. These brief notes act as a reminder of what the client agreed to do to move the relationship forward, whether it is to provide you with documentation for an updated financial plan or to fill out a client-feedback survey.
This is the third installment in a three-part series on planning client meetings.
For part one, see: Creating value by planning client meetings
For part two, see: Seven steps to a successful client meeting