This case study is based on the situation of a client of the Covenant Group. Names and details have been changed to preserve client privacy.



“In the words of an old TV show, Henry,” I said, “I love it when a plan comes together!”

I was congratulating Henry on the “pipeline management” process for prospective clients he had just outlined. We had been working together for a number of weeks on redefining his business to take it to new heights and were nearing the completion of a detailed plan. Henry had articulated a new vision for his practice, created a strategy to achieve it through a solid marketing plan and now had laid out his relationship-building process.

“You have identified four primary sources of new prospects — introductions from existing clients, referrals from centres of influence, networking and targeted marketing activities such as seminars,” I said by way of review. “For each of those sources, you have specified what will be said and done, from the time the prospects enter your pipeline until you either do business with them or they exit the process — whether by your choice or theirs.

“You have your ‘script,’ if I may call it that,” I continued, “which generally outlines the key points of the discussion you will have at various points along the way, the collateral material you will give the prospects, when each prospect will be invited to a seminar or client event, the advisory work you will do at each stage and the resources needed — people, technology, information and communication.

“This is a very well articulated plan. How did you come up with such a thorough process?” I asked.

Henry responded with pride: “It took a while to identify all the appropriate pieces and get them in the right order. However, the exercise itself was relatively straightforward. Recall, at the end of our last session, how I said all I had to do was put myself in the shoes of a prospective client and think about how I would like to be treated?

“Well, that’s what I did,” he continued. “I tried to imagine I was someone who fit my ideal client profile — a professional or business owner or retiree — and then I asked myself what would make me want to continue through the process. I came up with a series of messages and interactions that I felt would deepen and strengthen the relationship.

“At every step along the way,” he explained, “I tried to add value with some new information, delivered in a way that wouldn’t make me feel pressured and which would increase my confidence in this growing relationship. There were some variations, depending on whether I came into the pipeline as an existing client, a personal introduction from an existing client or a referral from another professional advisor. But, basically, the process was the same — progressively demonstrate the ability to make my financial life better.

“At some point in the process,” Henry went on, “I would decide the time was either right to do business or I would be eliminated from the process. If I was exposed to the best the firm had to offer me and still didn’t see value, my unwillingness to proceed would become increasingly obvious. For example, if I repeatedly declined invitations to seminars or didn’t return phone calls, I would be sending a signal that I wasn’t interested. The system had to identify that and automatically transition me to a different contact-management protocol: for example, remaining on the mailing list with a follow-up phone call in, say, three months.

“On the other hand,” Henry con-tinued, “if I progressed further through the system, I would eventually participate in a detailed examination of my situation and the development of an action plan to meet my objectives. I might still reject the offer, but the probability of me doing that would be significantly diminished. I would more likely become a client as a result of the thoroughness of the process.”

“I am very impressed,” I congratulated Henry. “You nailed this. And if you apply the same type of thinking to the next step, you will have the complete value proposition for taking your business to a new level.”

@page_break@“Next step?” Henry asked, with a little fatigue showing in his voice. “I thought I was finished. I developed the strategy to realize my vision. I am implementing a marketing program to attract the right type of people and I have an awesome process for converting them to clients. What’s left?”

“Nothing,” I answered, “as long as you want to keep grinding more and more people through your incredible process in order to grow your practice. If you want to build a really sustainable business, however, you must ensure that those top-quality people who come to you through your process stay with you, not only as great clients but also as raving fans of you and the way you do business. That will happen only if your client service standards are as rigorous as everything else you have described.

“So, my next question to you is: what is your service promise, and how are you going to deliver on that promise?”

“We have always had a high service commitment to our clients,” Henry responded.

“Of course, you have,” I said. “At this point, however, you have spent a considerable amount of time redefining the other aspects of your business. Doesn’t it make sense to do the same with respect to client service?

“As your business plan unfolds, you will be attracting increasingly higher-calibre clients with correspondingly higher service expectations,” I explained. “How are you going to meet those expectations? Will all clients receive the same level of service? Or will some get the ‘royal treatment’? If I am an ‘A’ client, for example, what commitment are you willing to make, in terms of my access to you, priority of my service requests, frequency and nature of contact, and so on?”

“As much as my heart tells me that everyone deserves the highest level of service, my head tells me that is impractical,” Henry acknowledged. “Intellectually, I know that higher-value clients generally expect and should receive the highest level of service. It works that way throughout society.”

“Of course, it does; it is human nature,” I assured him. “If your best client walks into your office, everyone snaps to attention in recognition of the value of that client to the business. The real challenge is seldom to make your top clients feel special but to make everyone else feel they are getting your best, too.”

“And just how do we do that?” Henry asked.

“By following the same process you did for your internal marketing activities. Use your client segmentation as the basis for varying service levels; outline a standard of service for each segment,” I explained. “For example, your ‘A’ clients might be promised same-day turnaround on a service request, immediate and direct access to you, and quarterly reviews, two of which are face to face. Your ‘B’ clients might get 24-hour service response, direct access to your client-service manager and semi-annual reviews, one of which is face to face.

“Your ‘C’ and ‘D’ clients are primarily served by other members of your team. This is how lower-level clients can receive royal treatment. It’s just that it is provided by your team rather than you. Chances are,” I joked, “they will be better at it anyway.”

“No doubt,” Henry conceded. “But what do I do about all those clients who are used to talking directly to me? Won’t they feel slighted?”

“Most won’t if they experience better service from someone else,” I replied. “There will have to be some training to make sure that is the case. But if a staff member can deal with the client’s issue on the spot, compared with the two or three days it might take you, it won’t be long before the client recognizes this is a better solution. Keep in mind, too, that this will never be a perfect system. There will be times when you will be involved in service issues with other than your highest-value clients. It is the nature of your work and your personal character to help people. However, to the extent possible, we want to free you up to work with your best clients.”

“My assignment, then, is to define those service levels according to my client segmentation?” Henry asked, seeking confirmation.

“Yes,” I answered, “and I suggest you use the same strategy you did for your pipeline-management process: ask yourself what you would expect as a client, given the ‘value’ you bring to the firm.

“Your task as CEO, then, is to balance those expectations with what you are prepared to deliver, considering the human resources you’ll need to do so. Bottom line: every client relationship should be a profitable one.” IE



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George Hartman is a coach and
facilitator with the Covenant Group in Toronto. He can be reached at george@covenantgroup.com.