Webinar polling question:
Are you documenting personal interests of clients, their parents, kids, friends?
This is good news. Financial Professionals need details about their clients lives to have personal conversations. The question is: Are you using a consistent process to capture the the details you need?
Source: Get Your Clients Talking: How Word of Mouth Can Help Your Business webinar, Hartford Funds webinar poll, 9/12/18.Most Recent Data Available
The car’s loaded for vacation and you’re pulling out of the driveway when it hits you: That feeling that you’ve forgotten something important. You start going through your mental checklist: wallet, check; underwear, check; toothpaste, check. You keep driving, but you’re still anxious that you’re not completely prepared.
Similarly, feelings of anxiety can creep in before client meetings. You’re busy gathering their investment performance, portfolio analysis, financial plan, etc. But you’re still anxious about the small talk that’ll kick off the meeting, because you don’t have the details you need to engage in a personal conversation. Here’s how to avoid that apprehension and make sure you have the info you need at your fingertips.
First, The Importance Of Emotional Connection
Many financial professionals tend to keep client conversations focused on finances. That’s what clients expect. But by doing so, the relationship stays strictly business, without an emotional connection. This is a problem because clients who are emotionally connected are more valuable to your practice. Here’s why.
Emotionally connected customers buy more of your products and services, visit you more often, exhibit less price sensitivity, pay more attention to your communications, follow your advice, and recommend you more—everything you hope their experience with you will cause them to do. So how do you build emotional connections with clients? You show your clients that you care about more than their finances by having conversations about personal topics. Here’s how to get the info you need to connect emotionally with clients.
Second, Gather Information About Your Clients’ Key Relationships
If you’re going to have personal conversations with clients, a good place to start is to discuss their family and friends. And rather than say "How are the grandkids?" ask, "How are Olivia and James?" Knowing the names of family members shows you care and is much more personable.