How's Your Bedside Manner?

A common misconception is that when problems occur, effective communication becomes necessary. In fact, the reverse is true. Where there is not effective communication, problems, suspicion and misunderstandings occur. Frequent and ongoing communication is key and paramount to a strong and trusting advisor-client relationship. It also allows you to identify and address small issues before they reach crisis proportions.

When your clients are not actively pursuing you, do not construe that to mean there is no need to communicate. Besides the usual quarterly financial reports that you provide to them, there also needs to be personal and human interaction on a regular and recurring basis. To generate some meaningful communication and productive dialogue during these meetings, have some useful open-ended questions prepared. Open-ended questions fuel dialogue as wood fuels fire.

Good questions to ask are: “What are some of your thoughts about how our relationship is working for you?” “What aspects are you particularly satisfied with? And why?” Other questions to ask may be: “If there was one thing that we could improve on, what would that be?” “What are you most concerned about currently?” Important follow-ups include: “How do you see the current strategy aligning with your objectives?” “What has changed or may change in the foreseeable future that may require us to revisit our initial strategy?”

When conducting client meetings, be sure to listen attentively and adopt a mindset of curiosity, open-mindedness and willingness to learn. You will uncover a treasure trove of information that will allow you to connect to your clients on a very personal level.

Provide Reassurance

As a pilot, I often fly with passengers on board who have not flown in smaller aircraft before. They are usually apprehensive and it is my job as pilot-in-command to reassure them that they are absolutely safe. For example, before reaching cruise altitude, I will tell them that I will be reducing power and they will hear a change in the engine pitch, which is normal. If we encounter some rough air, I will reassure them that although uncomfortable, they are perfectly safe. By doing so, I am able to mitigate their anxiety and infuse them with confidence in me and my piloting skills.

As a financial advisor, it is similarly important that you manage your clients’ anxieties and infuse them with confidence in you and your skills. At times of market fluctuations or economic turbulence that could potentially be cause for concern, send a memo to your clients. Let them know that you are aware and monitoring the situation, and in your opinion they are perfectly safe. Share your reasoning with them where possible. Of course, if in your opinion there is truly legitimate cause for concern — where decisive and corrective action needs to be considered — share this with them too. It will be reassuring for them to know that you are doing due diligence and will also inspire them with confidence in you.

When you introduce availability, ongoing communication and reassurance to your quiver, you will add the value of feeling attended to, connection and confidence to your clients’ experience. By doing so you will be balancing strong professional services with individual client attention — a distinctive and authentic differentiator to your brand.

Raphael Lapin is a Harvard-trained negotiation and communication specialist. He is the principal of Lapin Negotiation Strategies, a training and consulting company, and author of Working With Difficult People, part of DK Publishers’ (Penguin Books) Essential Managers Series. He can be contacted at [email protected].