Add a personal touch to client contact

“The concept of technology is that you reach far more people,” MacPherson says, “but the quality of that reach is diminished.”

So, while email and social media make it easier to get in touch, their impersonal nature makes their messages that much easier to ignore.

MacPherson provides three steps to creating a more personal experience for your clients:

1. Capture personal information
Proving that your relationship is special requires knowing details about your clients that are unique to them. It’s a matter of showing interest in your clients, MacPherson says, as opposed to trying to make yourself sound interesting.

You should enquire about the topics that matter most: family, occupation, recreation and money. Notice that “money” comes last on that list. It is the most expected topic because that is the reason you have connected with the client. You are more likely to impress this person if you can remember his or her children’s names or favourite hobby.

As your relationship develops and you update this information, store it in your client relationship management system so it is always handy.

2. Appeal to their interests
The details you’ve gathered will play a pivotal role in how you attempt to contact your clients throughout the year.

For example, if you enjoy organizing events, avoid those large-scale generic gatherings.

Says MacPherson: “There’s an old saying that you can’t bore someone into buying something.”

What you want to do is concentrate on designing an entertaining event that will hold clients’ attention and make a connection to the relationship you have with them.

So, shun the typical lecture on diversified portfolios in a beige hotel conference room. Instead, invite your foodie clients to “diversify” their cooking skills, with a culinary class on making appetizers from various cultural cuisines. You can then connect that topic to the importance of a portfolio that provides access to domestic and international markets.

3. Use technology to complement your outreach
Email and social media are efficient ways of keeping in touch with clients outside of scheduled meetings and events. So, use these technologies in a way that still conveys your personal interest in the client.

Strive to surprise your clients. They will be expecting occasional emails from you that ask, “How are you?” What will set you apart, MacPherson says, is using those emails as another expression of how well you know them.

So, maybe a client has mentioned how stressful his or her job has become. You have recently happened upon a great review of a local spa. Why not send the review to your client by email? Include a note acknowledging that while it’s important to save for retirement, his or her financial plan will ensure your client has a comfortable lifestyle today.

Again, you will have connected your relationship to your client’s personal life — and shown yourself to be considerate and approachable.