Implanting the value of advice in the minds of clients at every step of the financial planning process, especially at the first stage, will reduce the difficulty of opt in and achieve a higher level of continued ongoing advice.
Leyla Banaei, director of skills training and professional development business AdviserQuest, says financial planners need to focus on client engagement and relationships from the very moment they sit down with a client.
“Where advisers are not selling the value of their ongoing service, they will struggle with opt in,” she says.
“They’re not planting the seed all the way through the advice process.”
The 2011 National Client Relationship Survey conducted by AdviserQuest found that almost half of surveyed planners primarily use their financial services guide (FSG) as an opportunity to complete a compliance obligation compared to less than 9 per cent who use it as a golden opportunity to build a relationship with their client.
Banaei says the large gap demonstrates that many planners are missing out on an opportunity to set the tone of the relationship right at the beginning.
“The FSG is part of the first 20 minutes and is the basis for our relationship – the first impression,” she says.
The survey also found that only 30.6 per cent of planners had more than five touch points per annum, that is, contact with clients between regular reviews. The remaining percentage contact clients fewer than five times per annum.
“You’re not going to sell opt in if this is the way you’re [practising],” Banaei says.
“Relationships are about regular contact and communication. There are a number of ways in which advisers can have meaningful contact with their clients. It can be a newsletter, it doesn’t have to be a phone call.”
She says planners should start utilising technology such as videos as “clients will feel closer to you because it’s like they’ve seen you in person”.
The cost of opt in will reduce significantly and the number of clients that wish to continue receiving advice will increase if planners can revamp and sell their value proposition well, according to Banaei.
Clients will be more likely to opt in if they understand the value of what a planner is providing, eliminating the need to chase them up.
It will also help planning businesses develop referrals if clients advocate your businesses’ values to their family and friends and, importantly, it’s an enormous differentiation of your client relationships when compared to others in the market.
“What clients remember when they leave their accountants, dentists et cetera is not what you’ve said but the feeling that they’ve left with – unsure, happy, relieved, excited to return,” Banaei says.
“Money is emotional and advisers are not focusing on this emotional [factor] to have success with opt in.”
To see and download the full survey, visit www.adviserquest.com
