How Financial Advisors Can Improve Client Engagement

Finding new clients can take up a significant amount of time and energy in your business. And once you get them, you have to keep them. That's where client engagement becomes paramount. Engagement is part of an overall marketing strategy and it's essential for building long-term relationships. When it's well-executed, financial advisor client engagement can allow you to create consistent revenue from your existing base, while potentially helping you to bring in new clients through referrals.

The advisory industry is highly competitive, there's no doubt. How you approach client engagement can be critical when it comes to attracting new business while holding on to the clients you have. If your client relationships are superficial or bordering on nonexistent, your clients might not think twice about moving on to another firm. They're also far less likely to offer you as a suggestion to friends and family who might be looking for an advisor.

Engagement is an opportunity to get to know your clients and better understand their needs and goals. The better you know them, the easier it becomes to offer advice and solutions that are tailored to their individual situation. That can lead to better outcomes for the client, which in turn, may encourage them to continue using your services and refer others to you.

In short, good client engagement can:

• Build trust and strengthen client loyalty.
• Create repeat business and ongoing revenue for you.
• Provide you with the type of information you need to best serve your clients.
• Drive referral traffic.

You don't necessarily have to become your clients' best friend. But your efforts to engage clients can let them know that you're an ally and that they can count on you to be there when they need you.

Improving client engagement can be an ongoing process as you test what works and what doesn't. With that in mind, here are some of the best ways to boost engagement as you interact with clients.

Engagement begins when you first connect with a prospective client and it's important to make a good first impression. Gathering some background information before your first meeting is one way to do that.

For example, you can ask them to complete a simple questionnaire before the meeting detailing things like their name, the number of people in their household, their income, assets and overall goals. When it's time to meet, you'll have a framework for guiding the conversation that's personalized to their situation.

Once a client decides to work with you, the next step is guiding them through the onboarding process. This is another opportunity for you to engage as you walk clients through what they can expect and fill out the necessary paperwork.

The onboarding process shouldn't feel burdensome, however. Keeping the process simple and being able to answer client questions as they move through the different stages can help them stay engaged so they're not tempted to look elsewhere for advice.

Clients come to you because they need advice with financial planning, but they don't want guidance that's generic. Another key aspect of financial advisor client engagement centers on creating a personalized experience that focuses on individual needs and goals.

It's important to ask the usual questions, of course. For example, if a client comes to you for retirement planning advice, then you might ask if they have a target savings number in mind or how they've invested up to this point. But it's also worthwhile to ask broader questions, such as:

• What is your motivation for pursuing your financial goals?
• What do you value most when it comes to developing your financial plan?
• Is there anything you fear or that causes concern about your ability to reach your goals?

These kinds of questions can help your clients feel engaged and they can also offer you a better view of what they might need. As they move through different life stages, you can revisit these questions to see how their perspective may have shifted and what type of adjustments you might need to make in guiding their financial plan.

Part of client engagement as a financial advisor is simply showing up. How often you need to do that can depend largely on what your clients need.

You can develop a schedule for meeting with clients simply by asking them what their preferences are. For example, a client who's going through a divorce may want to meet monthly if they're sorting out some challenging financial issues. On the other hand, a client who's put their financial plan on autopilot may prefer meeting once every six months.

If you're not meeting as often in person, you can still maintain engagement through other means. Sending out a weekly email newsletter or jotting off a quick text message lets clients know that they're on your radar and just a phone call or email away.

Referrals can provide an important source of revenue for your business. The happier and more engaged your clients feel, the more likely they might be to refer you to friends, family or coworkers.

One way to encourage referrals is by offering some type of incentive. It's important, however, to go about it the right way. You don't want to seem desperate or pushy and any incentive you offer should provide sufficient value to justify the referral.

Clients want to feel appreciated and there are a number of ways you can accomplish that goal, while simultaneously fostering engagement. It can be something as simple as sending a card on their birthday or sending them a handwritten thank you note on their anniversary of becoming your client.

You could also scale up and plan something larger, like a client appreciation event. The event could be social in nature, such as a bourbon tasting at a local distillery. Or you might choose something educational that provides a tangible value, such as a free estate planning workshop.

Scheduling these kinds of events once or twice a year is a great way to say ‘thank you' to your existing clients. It's also a chance for you to interact with them outside of the traditional meeting space on a more personal level.

Investing in client engagement efforts can yield impressive returns in the form of long-term business and recurring referrals. Your clients could reap the benefits as well if feeling engaged and valued helps them to become more confident with their financial decision-making.

• Focus your efforts. Finding clients can take up a sizable chunk of your time. Using a service that allows you to connect you with prospects directly can leave you free to focus on other things, including client engagement.
• Expand your digital footprint. More people are increasingly turning to search engines to find financial advisors to work with. If you're not leveraging the power of search yet with a website, blog or social media, using an online lead generation service like SmartAsset can help you scale your business as you work on establishing your online presence.

 Photo credit: ©iStock.com/VioletaStoimenova, ©iStock.com/skynesher, ©iStock.com/ViletaStoimenova

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