More on Related Themes
2013-04-09 Four Bold Innovations that will Revolutionize Financial Planning by Bob Veres (Article)
What it would be like for an advisor in the 1980s to be magically transported to our 21st century? The changes would be dazzling: the Internet and social media, exchange-traded funds and Morningstar data, Skype conferences and the virtual cloud, plus a few million mobile device apps that do everything but vacuum your house.
2012-11-20 Getting in Front of Your Top Clients this Holiday Season by Dan Richards (Article)
The single best use of your time is regular reviews with your top clients. But periodic informal conversations with clients over coffee or lunch are an equally powerful way to build deep bonds. With the holidays approaching, this is a great time to arrange those meetings.
2011-11-29 The Best Way to End Client Meetings by Dan Richards (Article)
When it comes to leaving clients with a positive recollection of meetings, two things matter the most: 'peak events' - the highs and lows they experienced, and 'the end' - what happened at the conclusion of the meeting.
2011-11-22 Three Steps for Effective Client Meetings by Dan Richards (Article)
Unless you achieve a few key objectives, your client meetings will be unproductive. You need to calm your clients' nerves, reassure them about their portfolio and instill confidence that they're working with the right advisor. Here's a three-step process to make that happen.
2011-10-04 Two Minutes that Cost a Client by Dan Richards (Article)
Just because you haven't heard from clients doesn't mean they're not stewing about the impact of market events on their portfolio and wondering why they haven't heard from you. Recently, an advisor's failure to take two minutes out of his day made this point painfully clear.
2011-07-19 Getting Prospects to Return Voice Mails by Dan Richards (Article)
Given the unrelenting demands on everyone's time, we can no longer take it for granted that prospects will return our calls - and even clients are slower to return calls. That said, there are two things that will increase the chances of your calls being returned.
2011-03-29 A Call That Will Blow Clients Away by Dan Richards (Article)
Many businesses point to a commitment to service as their competitive advantage ... although many more companies talk about exceptional service than actually deliver it. That's why I was struck by a financial advisor's story about a shopping excursion for hiking boots, with a key message about delivering service that truly stands out.
2011-03-15 Nine Words that Saved $600,000 by Dan Richards (Article)
Nearly 15 years ago, the owner of a successful Chicago restaurant realized that no-shows were costing him $900,000 annually. Then he made one simple change that cut his no-show rate by two-thirds, from 30 % to 10% ... saving him $600,000 yearly. This change has powerful implications for advisors trying to advance relationships with prospective clients.
2010-12-28 Incorporating a Signature Charity into Client Communication by Dan Richards (Article)
Many advisors do lots of things to give back to the community but aren't rewarded for it in terms of how clients view them. If you want your charitable efforts to register with clients and help position you as someone who is genuinely community spirited, there are some things you have to do beyond just writing checks.
2010-10-26 Investing $15 to Create an Unshakeable Client Bond by Dan Richards (Article)
Recently, Dan Richards hosted a roundtable lunch with a group of affluent investors. One attendee was a senior partner in a leading law firm and made a comment that revealed how his advisor turned a $15 investment into a lifelong client relationship.
2010-10-05 Five Strategies to Land a $50 Million Client by Dan Richards (Article)
The fact that you have a $50 million prospect is a positive sign, writes Dan Richards. He offers five strategies for demonstrating value for truly big prospects. When investors have this kind of wealth, there are often things beyond returns that concern and motivate them - your task is to find out what these are.
2010-09-21 Say What You Need To Say by Mariko Gordon (Article)
Frequent and direct client communication is a critical (and often overlooked) element in the success of a money management firm. Daruma's Mariko Gordon explains why, and offers five specific suggestions for staying on track.
2010-09-14 The $100 Million Nightmare by Mark Matson (Article)
About 20 years ago, the financial advisory industry began a mass exodus to what it believed was a promised land. Thousands of advisors from coast to coast switched from commissions to fee-based planning, aiming to gain $100 million of assets under management. In this guest contribution, Mark Matson discusses what went wrong with that transition, and how advisors can deal with the problems it created.
2010-08-24 Telling Your Team Story to Prospects by Dan Richards (Article)
One of the things that high net worth clients look for in selecting advisors is a sense that they are part of a strong team, with backup should they be unavailable and a broad array of expertise behind them. For some advisors, however, effectively communicating the team behind you can be a challenge. Dan Richards provides a solution.
2010-07-20 Lessons from a $1 Million Misunderstanding by Dan Richards (Article)
A recent conversation between Dan Ricahrds and an advisor drove home how easy it is to cross wires when communicating with existing and prospective clients. That miscommunication almost cost the advisor a million-dollar account.
2010-06-29 Five Minutes to Drive Your Day by Dan Richards (Article)
For most successful advisors, the number one issue each day is how to compress 40 or 50 hours of work into 8 or 10 hours. Dan Richards doesn't suggest that advisors add items to their daily to-do list lightly, but he does offer one novel idea from a top-performing advisor.
2010-06-29 The $0 Marketing Plan by Kristen Luke (Article)
Many advisors find themselves in a difficult quandary - they need to market their businesses, but they don't have budget to do so. Instead of finding ways to market on a dime, they throw up their hands and hope that business will magically appear. Kristen Luke shows how you can market your business on a zero-dollar budget.
2010-03-23 Financial Reform and the Fiduciary Standard by Tom Brakke (Article)
In this guest contribution, Tom Brakke of TJB Advisors updates the status of financial reform and, in particular, the fiduciary standard. This article is geared to clients, not advisors, and it may help you formulate your communications with your clients.
2009-08-04 A New Way to Measure Technology Adoption – Return on Service by Frank Reilly (Article)
In this guest contribution, advisor Frank Reilly of Reilly Financial Services explains how technology helped provide his clients better, more personalized service. Along the way, he discovered that the truest measure of successful technological innovation isn't necessarily Return on Investment (ROI), it's what he thinks of as Return on Service (ROS).
2009-06-23 New Rules for Growing Your Book of Business: Reach Clients and Prospects Through Their In-Boxes by Dan Sommer (Article)
E-mail marketing is no longer a new marketing channel, but if used effectively it can become a powerful marketing and relationship building tool for financial advisors. In this guest contribution, Dan Sommer explains the benefits of e-mail-based marketing and provides tips to get started down this path.
2009-05-12 Lessons from Winning Athletes by Dan Richards (Article)
Dan Richards analyzes the characteristics of successful professional athletes and offers several lessons for advisors. When you watch top-performing athletes and winning sporting teams, it's tempting to attribute their success entirely to talent. And yes, talent is of course essential, but other less obvious characteristics matter just as much when it comes to achieving success.
2009-04-28 Twitter Your Way to New Clients, Part Two by Kristen Luke (Article)
Building your business is based on developing solid relationships and you know there is no quick way to attract clients. Twitter is no different- it will expose you to people you never would have met otherwise, but you will not see instant results. Kristen Luke provides the second installment in her two-part series on how to get started with Twitter.
