You can have as many know-your-client forms as you want, but the only true way to understand client motivations and desires — and, in turn, serve clients in the best possible manner — is through conversation.
While the elements of good conversation remain the same whether they’re with your colleagues or your clients, you must make sure your dialogues with clients go deeper than a discussion of the latest episode of The Walking Dead. Understanding clients’ goals, hopes and fears is key to better service and client retention.
Betty-Anne Howard, a financial planner in Kingston, Ont., says delving deep with clients is essential to good client service: “It’s a way of conveying to clients that it’s about more than the money.”
Here are some ways you can have more meaningful conversations with clients:
> Let your paperwork do some of the work
Make sure that the questionnaires you provide to clients explore “values based” aspects of life, says Stephen Whipp, an advisor with Manulife Securities Inc. in Victoria.
Manulife’s sustainability survey, for new clients, asks 40 questions that cover issues ranging from acceptable labour practices to the use of conventional fuels. Because the survey forces clients to reflect on their own values, Whipp says, it digs up a wide range of topics that most clients love to expand upon.
Says Whipp: “People open up way more than they ever did before we had this tool.”
> Pick up on emotions and send them back
Listen for any emotion-based words — “love,” “hate,” “afraid” or “excited,” for example — and play them back for your client, Whipp says. These words often reveal some telling facts of which the client might not be fully aware. By directing the conversation back to those emotions, you can help your clients unearth attitudes that will affect their financial decisions.
“You have to pick up on those words,” Whipp says. “Don’t just let them go.”
> Don’t fear the tears
Sometimes, clients cry when overwhelmed. Some advisors might become uncomfortable and look away, or even leave the clients alone, to give the client privacy.
Instead, says Howard, who was a social worker before becoming an advisor, look the client in the eye and tell him or her that tears are natural.
“Let clients know that you’re willing to listen,” Howard says, “and that you want to do what you can to help.”
> Have strategically selected “toys”
Use props to indicate your open-mindedness. Whipp, for instance, has several feng shui-related items scattered around the office — from dragons to frogs with coins in their mouths — which are often helpful in changing the direction of a conversation.
Howard, meanwhile, plans to showcase a blue elephant on her desk (from a program by the Mood Disorders Society of Canada) to jumpstart conversations about feelings.
> Be mindful of boundaries
There is such a thing as going too far, Howard warns, and advisors are not counsellors. If a situation has gone over your head emotionally, admit it and ask the client who he or she has in their life for support.
Keep a list of counsellors and support services in your community on hand so you can pass it on to clients.