This month we’ve tackled the challenge of organizing your practice in order to deliver the right service levels to the right clients.
We’ve helped you determine the level of service to give to your best clients, how to deliver it, what kinds of service to deliver to your other clients and how to communicate to both groups.
Week 1: Identifying a ‘platinum’ level of service
Week 2: Delivering ‘platinum’ service
Week 3: Creating service levels for second- and third-tier clients
Week 4: Communicating your service levels to clients
The challenge: Now that your service levels have been defined and geared to give your top clients — the 20% or so that generate 80% or more of your revenue — the majority of your team’s time, now comes the hard part: communicating your new service levels to your clients.
If done properly, lower-tier clients will be comfortable with the changes.
The solution: Taking a page from the airlines’ mileage programs and banks’ tiered customer service levels, create several client communications to be sent over a two-month period.
Make each letter all about your clients and how the service levels are designed to meet their needs.
Each communication could lead with: “Our team is committed to helping you reach and exceed the financial goals we have set. We have aligned our team and are dedicating resources and communications to better serve our premier clients. As one of our premier (or platinum) clients, here are the additional services you can expect and how they will be delivered” (use the chart you created in the previous steps).
The letters to your “gold” and “silver” level clients will be similar, outlining the services specific to them.
• Week One:
Send and e-mail a letter to top clients announcing the “platinum” service level, telling these clients how important they are to your business. If this group consists of 40 clients, you may consider calling the top 20 to let them know about the enhancements personally and to schedule a client review.
• Week Two:
Send and e-mail a letter to middle-tier clients announcing your “gold” service level and reinforcing the concept that the changes are being made to meet the demands of your best clients.
• Week Three:
E-mail a letter to your lower-tier clients announcing the refocus of your practice and explaining the “silver” service level they will receive.
• One month later: Send or e-mail a letter to all clients with your branding and mission statements on the front and the service levels on the back. If automating your services to lower-tier clients feels too drastic to do all at once (as many of them may be used to calling and meeting with you regularly), then introduce just two changes at a time. Using a slower approach may mean taking four to six months to implement all the changes. Keep in mind how successfully banks and airlines have gradually introduced changes to their clients.
• Post your practice’s branding or mission statement and service levels in your lobby, on your website, and include it in referral communications. Customers welcome knowing exactly where they stand and what services they can expect to received.
Review your plan with your internal team
Here are some suggestions to help your team understand the changes you are making to your service levels and the reason for doing so: dedicating resources to best clients.
Open the meeting by asking your team about the best customer experiences they’ve had. After team members have told their stories, you’ll find that the common thread is that excellent service stems from committed, dedicated and thoughtful staff.
Once your team members realize what you’re striving for, the next step is turning the concept of excellent service into daily practice. Here are some suggested steps toward that end:
• Share verbally and in writing the service levels your team is committed to delivering and the branding or mission statement for the firm.
• Assign team members their specific responsibilities in delivering each of the services.
• Set aside 15 minutes each week to check on execution of the service levels and ensure that newsletters, client reviews and events are on schedule.
• Once a month, have a team member walk through the office and evaluate the client experience including pulling into the parking lot, walking in the front door of the building, waiting in the reception area, the appearance of the office and departures. Service levels are only effective if clients feel that they are receiving what they expect to receive.
• Reinforce office best practices such as having neat desks and cookies in the reception area, for instance. Display corporate brochures and post clients or employees accomplishments (such as a newspaper article with a client helping a charity). Some firms will have an area called the wall of fame.
• Have your receptionist welcome all guests, take coats, offer a beverage and refrain from personal calls while clients or prospects are waiting.
Adviser success story
One adviser who decided to segment his clientele recently sent letters to clients in his three service-level groups and was surprised by the results.
Many of his middle-tiered clients immediately started moving assets and mortgages over to his practice — to the tune of about $1 million — so they could receive the “platinum” benefits they weren’t getting from their other advisers.
At the same time, the adviser made his lower-tier clients feel special by assigning them a special contact person. It was a win for everyone.
Next month
Uncovering retirement assets through client reviews.
Maureen Wilke has helped thousands of advisers increase the value of their businesses and now offers The CONNECTED Advisor: 8 Steps to Building an Extraordinary Practice (www.connectedadvisor.com) to distribution firms, wholesaling teams and advisers. She has spent nearly two decades in wealth management, marketing, sales and wholesaler training at firms including Nuveen Investments, and can be reached at Maureen@connectedadvisor.com.
This month we’ve tackled the challenge of organizing your practice in order to deliver the right service levels to the right clients. We’ve helped you determine the level of service to give to your best clients, how to deliver it, what kinds of service to deliver to your other clients and how to communicate to both groups.
Week 1: Identifying a ‘platinum’ level of service
Week 2: Delivering ‘platinum’ service
Week 3: Creating service levels for second- and third-tier clients
Week 4: Communicating your service levels to clients
The challenge: Now that your service levels have been defined and geared to give your top clients — the 20% or so that generate 80% or more of your revenue — the majority of your team’s time, now comes the hard part: communicating your new service levels to your clients.
If done properly, lower-tier clients will be comfortable with the changes.
The solution: Taking a page from the airlines’ mileage programs and banks’ tiered customer service levels, create several client communications to be sent over a two-month period.
Make each letter all about your clients and how the service levels are designed to meet their needs.
Each communication could lead with: “Our team is committed to helping you reach and exceed the financial goals we have set. We have aligned our team and are dedicating resources and communications to better serve our premier clients. As one of our premier (or platinum) clients, here are the additional services you can expect and how they will be delivered” (use the chart you created in the previous steps).
The letters to your “gold” and “silver” level clients will be similar, outlining the services specific to them.
• Week One:
Send and e-mail a letter to top clients announcing the “platinum” service level, telling these clients how important they are to your business. If this group consists of 40 clients, you may consider calling the top 20 to let them know about the enhancements personally and to schedule a client review.
• Week Two:
Send and e-mail a letter to middle-tier clients announcing your “gold” service level and reinforcing the concept that the changes are being made to meet the demands of your best clients.
• Week Three:
E-mail a letter to your lower-tier clients announcing the refocus of your practice and explaining the “silver” service level they will receive.
• One month later: Send or e-mail a letter to all clients with your branding and mission statements on the front and the service levels on the back. If automating your services to lower-tier clients feels too drastic to do all at once (as many of them may be used to calling and meeting with you regularly), then introduce just two changes at a time. Using a slower approach may mean taking four to six months to implement all the changes. Keep in mind how successfully banks and airlines have gradually introduced changes to their clients.
• Post your practice’s branding or mission statement and service levels in your lobby, on your website, and include it in referral communications. Customers welcome knowing exactly where they stand and what services they can expect to received.
Review your plan with your internal team
Here are some suggestions to help your team understand the changes you are making to your service levels and the reason for doing so: dedicating resources to best clients.
Open the meeting by asking your team about the best customer experiences they’ve had. After team members have told their stories, you’ll find that the common thread is that excellent service stems from committed, dedicated and thoughtful staff.
Once your team members realize what you’re striving for, the next step is turning the concept of excellent service into daily practice. Here are some suggested steps toward that end:
• Share verbally and in writing the service levels your team is committed to delivering and the branding or mission statement for the firm.
• Assign team members their specific responsibilities in delivering each of the services.
• Set aside 15 minutes each week to check on execution of the service levels and ensure that newsletters, client reviews and events are on schedule.
• Once a month, have a team member walk through the office and evaluate the client experience including pulling into the parking lot, walking in the front door of the building, waiting in the reception area, the appearance of the office and departures. Service levels are only effective if clients feel that they are receiving what they expect to receive.
• Reinforce office best practices such as having neat desks and cookies in the reception area, for instance. Display corporate brochures and post clients or employees accomplishments (such as a newspaper article with a client helping a charity). Some firms will have an area called the wall of fame.
• Have your receptionist welcome all guests, take coats, offer a beverage and refrain from personal calls while clients or prospects are waiting.
Adviser success story
One adviser who decided to segment his clientele recently sent letters to clients in his three service-level groups and was surprised by the results.
Many of his middle-tiered clients immediately started moving assets and mortgages over to his practice — to the tune of about $1 million — so they could receive the “platinum” benefits they weren’t getting from their other advisers.
At the same time, the adviser made his lower-tier clients feel special by assigning them a special contact person. It was a win for everyone.
Next month
Uncovering retirement assets through client reviews.
Maureen Wilke has helped thousands of advisers increase the value of their businesses and now offers The CONNECTED Advisor: 8 Steps to Building an Extraordinary Practice (www.connectedadvisor.com) to distribution firms, wholesaling teams and advisers. She has spent nearly two decades in wealth management, marketing, sales and wholesaler training at firms including Nuveen Investments, and can be reached at Maureen@connectedadvisor.com.
Read our weekly online columns:
MONDAY:
IN Practice by Maureen Wilke
TUESDAY:
Tax INsight
WEDNESDAY:
OpINion Online by Evan Cooper
THURSDAY:
IN Retirement
FRIDAY:
Tech Bits by Davis. D. Janowski
