Background. Communicating in a time of crisis is our theme this month.
Last week, we discussed how to assemble an advisory crisis communications team that can help you reach out at times like these. We’ve also discussed how to put together a simple, yet effective,
communications program that puts top clients first.
This week we’ll learn how to put the two concepts together.
The challenge. During markets like we are experiencing, communicating with clients is the most action an adviser can take. As we have emphasized, turn this time into an opportunity to reassure your clients, especially the top ones, that you are putting them — and their family and friends — first.
The challenge in being so client-focused is that there are only so many hours in a day and you can’t treat all your clients with the same attention. In fact, some advisers don’t seem to pay
any attention to their clients. A study by Prince and Associates of Shelton, Conn., revealed that in the 1997 market correction, fewer than one in five advisers contacted their clients. Why? A range of reasons were given, including busy “putting out fires” and fear of clients being upset.
The solution. Here is an effective way to leverage the crisis communication team (CCT) we developed last week: Conduct a biweekly Market Update Communications conference call or webcast.
Step 1: Focus on the top 20% to 30% of your clients and centers of influence. Send out an e-mail with a follow-up call inviting them to your Market Update conference call or webcast.
Emphasize that you are holding these calls and meetings for your top clients to hear their concerns and share a market update. If your practice has 250 clients; then there will be about 50 top clients to focus on.
Step 2: Develop your content and don’t reinvent the message.
Several wholesaling teams have retail compliance-approved market volatility pieces ready to go.
Have your assistant call the wholesaling teams, have the firm e-mail the PDF document and also send the actual pieces. The marketing pieces will be used at your in-person meeting.
Step 3: Hold your call this Wednesday or Thursday.
You can leverage a service like WebEx or Fugent to set up web casts. Again, if the set-up time feels daunting, keep it simple with a conference call. E-mail an agenda and the market volatility PDF file the day before.
Stay focused. Don’t waste time creating new materials; use the market volatility pieces from product companies that already have been reviewed and approved.
On every call and at every meeting:
* Open by introducing any guest speakers (CCT member or research analyst from a distribution company) and a brief market update.
* Reassure the group to stay the course with the financial plan you have laid out for them and the diversification program that is in place.
* Review the market volatility document — share two or three talking points and then let clients know you will cover another area on the next call or at the meeting.
Step 4: Follow-up after the call.
E-mail a recap with the market volatility piece and the date of the next meeting or call. You can use the market volatility piece in every meeting and call. Remember it takes time for investors to digest all the information in these documents.
In-person meetings. Hold these one-hour meetings with your best clients two weeks after the conference call or webcast. The meetings are essentially face-to-face versions of the call. Hold them in a conference room, club, or even a client’s office, but avoid restaurants because the location will cause the meeting to be perceived as a social event.
Promote your crisis communication team by having a member introduce your conference call or meeting, list the team on your e-mails and see if they would be open to sharing their client communication strategies with your other clients.
When clients are engaged, they feel empowered. Don’t lose your top clients because you haven’t communicated with them. Also, invite top clients to bring family and friends to the meetings. This automates referrals and captures prospects’ e-mail addresses for future communications. Follow up with phone calls to attendees within three or four days.
Next Week: Scheduling crisis portfolio reviews.
Maureen Wilke has helped thousands of advisers increase the value of their business. Her firm offers The Connected Advisor: 8 Steps to Building an Extraordinary Practice (connectedadvisor.com) for value-added programs, keynote presentations and effective practice-management systems for advisers. She has two decades of wealth management, marketing and sales experience with firms such as Nuveen Investments LLC of Chicago and can be reached at maureen@connectedadvisor.com.
