The annual review might be the only in-person conversation you have with a client for the year. So, you need to make the most of it.
If you’re going to provide clients with good advice, says Keir Clark, branch manager and senior investment advisor with ScotiaMcLeod Inc. in Fredericton, you will have to engage them in the conversation. “The quality of your advice is dramatically changed,” Clark says, “if you don’t know what’s going on in your client’s life.”
Follow these tips to make the most of an annual review meeting with a client:
1. Plan together
Give clients a chance to set the meeting’s agenda to ensure their concerns are addressed.
Send your client a copy of the agenda three or four days in advance, Clark says. Leave the first two or three spots blank, and ask the client to fill them in with anything he or she would like to cover during the meeting.
“It’s really good to know that you’re not just droning on about the things you have to cover,” Clark says, “but making it a meaningful session for the client.”
2. Don’t rush
Allow plenty of time for each meeting to avoid feeling hurried.
It’s not uncommon for Clark’s review meetings to run to an hour and 15 minutes. “I try not to push [clients] in and push them out as quickly as possible,” he says.
During the meeting, you want clients to feel comfortable talking about their concerns whether they’re listed on the agenda or not, he says, and that could take time.
As well, says Rosemary Smyth, owner and coach of Rosemary Smyth and Associates in Victoria, leave enough time for clients to ask questions.
3. Customize each review
Tailor your presentations to suit the learning skills of each client, Smyth says. For example, if you have a client who is a visual learner, make sure the review includes charts and graphs.
“Know what your clients are looking for,” she says, “and customize [the presentation] for them.”
4. Review last year’s goals — then look ahead
Take a look at the previous year’s review.
Were last year’s goals met? If the goals were missed, Smyth says, talk with your client about why that happened.
However, you should avoid getting bogged down in last year’s review, she says. Make sure that you continue to move forward on the goals for the year ahead.
5. Get feedback
Take the opportunity to ask clients for their opinions on your business.
Find out what clients think about your newsletters, emails, statements, Smyth says, and anything else you want feedback on.
Treat the meeting as a kind of check-in with clients about your services. For example, you might ask: How could we be doing things better? What would work better for you?
This is the first of a two-part series on conducting annual reviews.