Keeping your clients engaged helps strengthen your relationships with them and can prevent the unexpected loss of business.

Most of the time, when advisors lose a client, the advisor doesn’t realize there’s a problem until the transfer papers arrive, says Keith Weber, a certified financial planner and president of Weber Consulting Group in Fort Collins, Colo. That’s why you should always be reaching out and connecting with your clients.

Follow these tips to help keep your clients engaged:

> Categorize your book
Segmenting your client base can help ensure you are spending your time wisely.

“Not all clients are created equal,” Weber says. “And you should have different communication plans for your ‘A’ clients as opposed to your ‘B’ or ‘C’ clients.”

Segmenting helps ensure you are spending the appropriate amount of time and resources on each client.

> Ask deeper questions
Stay connected with clients by developing a better understanding of their financial goals and what they expect from your business.

When a client can tie a specific life goal to your financial recommendation, Weber says, that client will be more committed to the plan you created for him or her.

To do that, you need to have a deeper conversation with clients, Weber says — one that goes beyond numbers. For most clients, it’s not about the dollar amount of their savings, but what that money represents to them or will allow them to do.

> Stay in touch
A structured communication plan will help you stay organized.

According to Weber, you must contact a client at least 17 times in order to be considered a trustworthy advisor who is an integral part of that client’s financial planning. During tougher economic times it may be a good idea to reach out to clients even more.

These contacts, or “touches,” Weber says, can take the form of a monthly newsletter, quarterly phone calls or a semi-annual meeting.

> Get organized
Keep track of your clients and their goals with a contact management system.

Using a management system will keep a client’s goals at your fingertips. You can then refer to those goals, Weber says, whenever you contact that client by phone or meet them in person. You can discuss the client’s objectives and, if necessary, immediately make adjustments in the system.