What’s the Best Way to Keep Clients With Your Firm? Talk to Them—Regularly

Now that we’ve touched on existing clients, let’s move on to communicating with their family members. You’re probably aware that including both spouses in discussions is an obvious way of minimizing the chances of a surviving spouse taking assets to another advisor. But what about including the adult children in those discussions?

Although focusing on millennials might not be a priority for your practice, you could be missing an opportunity to retain and continue growing assets you’ve already worked on with their parents. If you wait until the estate is settled, it’s too late. Your relationships with your clients have taken time to build and deepen. Relationships with their family members will, too. You might start by showing your interest in their family’s wealth management by suggesting that your clients bring one or more of their adult children into conversations about their long-term financial and estate planning discussions.

Engage the “alpha” child. If your clients have multiple children, there is probably one who tends to take the lead on financial matters. He or she is also likely to be the trustee on any trusts, be the executor of their wills, and/or hold power of attorney. I already know that I’m the alpha child (but don’t tell my brother) and will be the one having these discussions with my parents’ advisor—and your clients already know who their alpha child is, too.

Be proactive. With an aging client base, health directives and mental capacity questions need to be addressed. Proactively seeking the appropriate family contact for these issues opens the door for discussions that could start the process of building a relationship. It’s also far more preferable to have these introductory conversations in the planning stages and not during a health crisis—your clients will appreciate the extra time you devote to addressing their concerns.

Go organic. Building relationships with your clients’ adult children can feel a lot like asking for a referral, but it’s important to remember that these relationships need to grow organically. A formal program to include clients’ children can seem hollow and inauthentic. Instead, work within your existing routines and expand from there. Consider events (e.g., educational or social) that include families, and clearly communicate with your clients on the importance of including their adult children in their financial and estate plans.

Keeping Existing Clients Happy

If you plan on being in business longer than the average expected life span of your existing clients, let me ask you this: Is it easier to keep a client or to find a new one? The overwhelming evidence shows that keeping your existing clients happy and eager to stay your clients is much easier and cheaper than replacing them. By doing so, you’ll not only retain the assets of these clients but also create lasting relationships with the next generation.

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This post originally appeared on Commonwealth Independent Advisor, a blog authored by subject-matter experts at Commonwealth Financial Network^®, the nation’s largest privately held independent broker/dealer–RIA.