Roberta Quentin believed her clients were generally satisfied with the level of service they received from her. But there was no evidence — beyond the absence of negative feedback — that her clients were truly wowed by her service.

While learning about the merits of a service-level agreement, she learned that:

> in today’s competitive marketplace, lack of complaints is not an adequate indicator of client satisfaction;

> advisors need a tool that places their fingers on the pulse of client satisfaction;

> the process of developing a service-level agreement provides access to important information about each client, such as how they prefer to be contacted and how often;

> the agreement can open up a discussion about referrals.