November 29, 2011
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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.
I have written about the role of the “peak-end effect” in shaping how consumers remember any experience – be it vacations, restaurant meals or meetings with their advisors.
In light of this, advisors need to give serious thought to how you wrap up client meetings in the most positive way possible – especially during markets that cause anxiety.
The key things you want clients to take away
A good place to start is to clarify the key things you want clients to take away from your meeting. Depending on your own approach and on the individual client you’re talking to, these could include:
- Reassuring clients that they’re on track to achieve their goals
- Putting clients’ recent performance in broader perspective
- Reinforcing your expertise and that client portfolios are well positioned
- Instilling confidence that to the extent anyone can be on top of what’s happening in markets, you are
- Ensuring that clients feel truly listened to and believe that their always needs come first
- Driving home that clients’ business is important to you and they’re not taken for granted
Let’s suppose you’ve got an important meeting coming up and have identified two attributes off this list that are particularly critical to convey. Now you have to think through how you go about making that happen.
One potential approach builds off an idea that I wrote about last week, relating how to begin a meeting effectively.
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