Every year, we make new year’s resolutions as a catalyst to bring needed change to some aspect of our lives. But just in case you haven’t gotten around to making New Year’s resolutions for your business, here are 12 you might want to consider for 2008 — six relating to existing clients and six to new clients.



EXISTING CLIENTS

1 Use Meeting Agendas.

Advisors who use meeting agendas report that using them to outline what will be covered in client meetings achieves a number of important objectives. An agenda focuses meetings and makes them more productive, ensures that all of the important issues are dealt with and increases the value clients perceive that they get from meetings. (See page B4.) The bottom line: agendas help you get more done in less time.



2 Send Monthly E-Mails.

E-mail has transformed the way we communicate. Yet many advisors still send clients hard copies of newsletters, articles and research reports. While hard copy may be suitable for clients who haven’t adapted to today’s online age — and age is no determinant; even some older clients exchange
e-mails with grandkids — most of your clients will be happy to receive e-mailed updates.

By using e-mail, you decrease turnaround time and reduce costs. Even if all you do is send a link to an article from the New York Times, the Economist or the Wall Street Journal with a cover note, e-mail lets you get in front of clients more often in between meetings and phone calls.



3 Offer Quarterly Conference Calls.

Even though I suggest you consider monthly e-mail updates, there’s still no substitute for the human voice. As telecommunications costs have plummeted, it’s now affordable to invite clients to listen in on conference calls in which, for example, you and someone from your firm’s head office update clients on market developments and answer their questions. Even if clients can’t listen in at the scheduled time, you can give them the opportunity to listen to the call later or archive calls on your Web site. This is not only a good way to stay in front of existing clients; you also can invite prospects to listen in, advancing your conversations with them as well.



4 Get Feedback From Key Clients.

Every advisor experiences client defections. Sometimes the advisor sees it coming, but all too often it comes as a surprise. Consider starting client meetings by asking clients to complete a short report card on how you’re doing — and then use that feedback to trigger a conversation on what you could be doing to serve that client better. (For more on this idea and a sample report card, go to my December column on IE’s Web site, www.investmentexecutive.com. )



5 Note Special Occasions.

Years ago, I heard the line “Clients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Here’s the problem: even if you truly do put clients’ concerns first, if all of your conversations relate to their investments and financial affairs, you run the risk of clients seeing you as being interested only in things on which you’ll make money.

Consider starting each day by setting aside 15 minutes to call clients celebrating their birthdays and telling them: “I just wanted to be among the first to wish you a happy birthday.”

Or consider following the path of a successful advisor who invites one of his key clients out for lunch each week by saying: “You’re one of my very best clients. Next month marks the fourth anniversary of the date we began working together. I’d like to buy you lunch to say, ‘Thank you’.”

6 Include Notes With Client Statements.

Even if clients ignore all the other mail they get from you and your firm, most still open their statements. One advisor takes time each month to write notes on the statements of selected key clients, even if all she says is: “We’re on track; nothing here to change” or “Let’s talk about this when we meet next month.”

Doing this lets clients know you’re on top of their situation. If we don’t let clients know we’re monitoring their accounts, we run the risk that they will assume we’re asleep on the job. That’s especially true for advisors who have moved away from a transactional business model and have fewer occasions to call clients to discuss new investment ideas.

@page_break@NEW CLIENTS

1 Develop An Information Package.

From the moment you begin interacting with prospects, your No. 1 objective should be to reinforce your trustworthiness and professionalism. Consider developing an information package that prospects receive before you first meet. Contents could include background on you and your firm, and samples of the ongoing communication clients receive, as well as one or two newspaper articles in which you or your firm are mentioned. (See page B6.)



2 Know Key Clients’ Other Advisors.

The research on sources of new clients is conclusive: the single best way to get introduced to a client is through a referral from his or her accountant or lawyer.

Consider asking key clients for permission to contact their professional advisors so that everyone is on top of their financial affairs. When you call the advisor, start by saying: “We have John and Jane Smith in common as clients. When talking to them last week, I suggested that you and I meet to ensure that their financial affairs are completely coordinated.”

Not only will that send the right signal to your existing clients, but it can open the door to conversations with your clients’ professional advisors that can lead to mutually beneficial referral relationships down the road.

And if you’re looking for opportunities to break the ice by making the first referral, when meeting with prospective or current clients, consider asking: “Are you entirely satisfied with your existing accountant?” — the operative word being “entirely.”


3 Have A Process For Meeting Prospects.

Research shows that one thing that prevents clients from providing referrals is the fear that their friends will be pressured and have an unpleasant experience. When meeting with clients, one solution is to say: “Recently, a client asked what the next step would be if he introduced me to someone he knew. Can I take two minutes to walk you through what happens if you refer me to a friend or relative?”

One advisor describes a three-meeting process with prospective clients. The first meeting is a brief get-together over coffee to see if advisor and prospect can find a basic comfort level with each other; the second meeting is to go into detail about the client’s goals and current situation; it’s only in the third meeting that the advisor makes specific recommendations. In the meantime, either party can decide that there is not a fit and end the conversation — with no hard feelings on either side.

4 Use A Target Client Profile.

The key to successful conversations with clients about referrals is, in fact, to make them conversations rather than one-way monologues. One approach is to tell clients that you’ve developed a profile of the kind of clients with whom you work best — clients just like them. Ask if you can take two minutes to review the qualities of the clients you’ve found you can help the most.

5 Expand Your Prospect Network.

A common complaint among advisors is that the people they meet on a day-to-day basis aren’t typically the kind of people they’d like to have as clients. If that applies to you, you may want to make 2008 the year in which you take a leadership role in a charitable organization in your community.

Perhaps you’re already involved but have resisted making a bigger time commitment. By taking a high-profile role, you build visibility and credibility and extend your network to people with whom you otherwise wouldn’t have contact. (Just be sure that your commitment is genuine. Being involved just to meet prospects is transparent and seldom works).

6 Narrow Your Prospecting Focus.

In the spring of this past year, I wrote a series of columns on why specialization is the way of the future. (These columns can be read on IE’s Web site). Perhaps this is the year in which you take a hard look at your client base. Are there two or three clients with a profession, ethnic background or age profile in common? Ask yourself how you can position yourself as one of the best resources for people who share that profile and then get the word out to other members of this group.

Whether you like one or two of these ideas or have your own initiatives in mind, consider making two resolutions for 2008 — one relating to existing clients, the other to new clients.

Next month, I’ll delve deeper into what you need to do to translate these resolutions into reality. IE

Dan Richards, president of Toronto-based Strategic Imperatives Ltd., can be reached at richards@getkeepclients.com. For other columns in this series, visit
www.investmentexecutive.com.