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Web Strategy Sessions: Creating Alpha in Your Practice For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public ©2009 Wilke & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. Communicate Effectively and Efficiently with Affluent Clients Presented by Maureen Wilke President, Wilke and Associates, Inc. and Author of The Connected Advisor For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public ©2009 Wilke & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. What have affluent investors shared? 81% of investors with $1 million or more in investible assets plan to take money away from their current advisor. 70% plan to leave their advisor altogether. Source: Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2008, Russ Alan Prince For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Seize the Opportunity Take a proactive approach when working with affluent clients (and prospects). • Reinforce the reasons clients work with you – the Trust Factor. • Be consistent communicating important updates. • Educate affluent clients on investment topics such as diversification, risk management, and asset allocation. • Create and execute a solid communications plan. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public The Difference One Degree of Change Makes What happens to water when the temperature goes from 211 degrees to 212 degrees? Having a client-centered practice for your clients is the one degree of change. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public One Degree of Change For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Communicate Effectively and Efficiently with Affluent Clients Good communications are critical to the success of your practice. Develop a focused plan and commit to executing it. Step 1: KNOW Your Top Clients Step 2: SELECT Your Plan Components Step 3: BUILD A Communications Plan Step 4: ROLLOUT Your Plan to Staff & Clients For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Step 1: Know Your Top Clients To provide quality, valued communications to your top clients, you need to know a lot about them. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Know Your Top Clients Create a Top Client Background Chart to facilitate capturing important information. Other members of your team can be involved in collecting the data. This chart is the foundation for your internal and external communications and it will help you develop the communications calendar. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Know Your Top Clients Example Top Clients’ Background Chart Client/Age Charles & Jean Watters (Age 55) Investable Assets/ Pension/401(k)/ Stock Options Family Goals Referral Prospects Lifestyle Interests & Financial Concerns $2,000,000/ Son(15) Asset Accumulation Sue James (sister) Retirement Planning $900,000/$200,000 Father(80) College Planning Bob Smith (brother) Pro Tennis Event $3,500,000 (current value) For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Budget during college (parents and children) The Value of a Client Investment Process Helps advisors understand where the client is in the investment process and: • Sets client’s expectations. • Positions the value of working with you. • Aligns the right investment process for each client. • Streamlines working with clients and prospects. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public A Client-Centered Practice INVESTOR PROFILE: Risk Analysis Time Horizon Financial Needs PORTFOLIO MONITORING: Review Client’s Goals Progress Review Managers Performance Rebalance Portfolio Holdings Re -Profile Client as needed CLIENT & Client and Financial FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL Professional INVESTMENT MANAGER SELECTION For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public PORTFOLIO STRUCTURE: Diversification Asset Allocation Strategic Models Step 2: Select Your Plan Components Advisers often share that lower-level clients can consume most of their time. It is critical to create a two-tiered communications plan with a focus on top clients and a plan for all others. This allows you to manage clients’ expectations and your time. Components for your lower-level plan might include an annual review, a quarterly newsletter mailing or email, and one seminar invitation each year. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Start with Affluent Client Communications • Select components for plan that incorporate items from the ‘Lifestyle Interests and Financial Concerns’ column of the Top Client Background Chart. • Plan your seminars and events around topics that are of known interest to a number of clients. • Annual communications should also include in-person reviews and written or email communications such as newsletters and market updates. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Affluent Clients and Prospects For Top Clients (the top 30-50 clients) At least two client reviews annually. Seminars and appreciation events of two to four per year such as a client appreciation lunches, tennis event, gardening seminar, college budgeting seminar, retirement planning. Birthday lunch with a top client and their friend. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Written Communications Plan on four to six written communications per year: Send a birthday card (www.corporategreetingsinc.com). Mail a compliance approved quarterly investment newsletter (Emerald publications or Morningstar). Lewis Walker’s monthly newsletter strategy. Industry white papers and research documents (MMI). Send a lifestyle magazine or newsletter. Establish a market update communication procedure to communicate by e-mail to all clients and then by phone starting with top clients. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Lower-tiered client communications For All Other Clients Client reviews once per year by phone with you, or a junior partner. One financial seminar per year. A great topic is Planning Your IRA Rollover Today. Hold it right in your office’s conference room or the local library. Email a compliance approved, quarterly investment newsletter. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Step 3: Build the Communication Plan A calendar must be focused and tied to top clients’ interests. Look at the entire year and schedule your four most important events first: Two semi-annual reviews One financial seminar One lifestyle event Next, build out a complete 12-month calendar and start communicating 8-12 times each year with top clients. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Commit to Delivering the Plan Create 8-12 communications each year to stay connected: Quarterly newsletter - email or printed version. January – Update wills and trusts with client’s attorney. April – June – Post-tax time update or beneficiary updates. August - Client appreciation and lifestyle events. October through December – Year-end reviews. November – Charity event with a local artist, chef or wine tasting. Generations of Trust – Assisted living solutions. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Build a Top Client Communications Calendar Example Top Client Communications Calendar Quarter Event January - March Financial Seminars (Retirement Planning or College Funding) April - June Tax-time Reviews or Beneficiary Review July - September Lifestyle Events (“Gardening is Golden” or Pro Tennis Event) October December Annual Client Reviews (will follow-up) For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Effective and Efficient Client Appreciation Events Presented by Dennis Slott SVP, Vestor Capital Management For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public ©2009 Wilke & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. The Value of Client Appreciation Events To Retain High Net Worth Relationships and Gain Referrals Benefit for Advisors • Get to know more about top clients’ needs and interests. • Position your value by providing educational information. • Automate client referral opportunities Benefit for Clients • Educational opportunity. • Networking opportunity to meet other clients. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Preparation • Contact a restaurant two to three weeks prior to the luncheon. • Choose a local restaurant to support the community. • Select the menu and see if your company name can be added. • Call to invite the guests rather than sending an invitation. • Call two days prior to confirm guests and with the restaurant. • Estimated cost is $25 per person with tip. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Delivery •Greet guests at the entrance of the seating area and make introductions where necessary (consider place cards). •Sit down and ask the service to begin with appetizers. During this time provide a 10-15 minute market update or commentary. •Consider offering drinks or wine (rarely accepted). •Have a handout and emphasize your team’s value and services. •Thank them again for their business and emphasize their value to your business. Also, remind them about referrals. •Consider inviting a CPA or attorney as a guest. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Results Dear Dennis: It was a pleasure for me and Mary to attend the Client Appreciation Luncheon that you and Jill hosted yesterday. Your presentation was helpful in understanding the difficult economic conditions we have today. It is nice to know what we have your experience and expertise working for us. I would not hesitate to recommend you for money management. Cordially, For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Step 4: Rollout Your Plan to Staff & Clients • Communicate the plan with your team and top clients. • Meet with your staff to present the final plan and assign roles and responsibilities. Leverage costeffective outside resources. • Share the written plan with top clients during year-end reviews. Don’t underestimate the value of a plan and have clients save the dates for events. • Your top clients will see this ‘announcement’ as reinforcement of the fact that they can count on your practice and you – The Trust Factor. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Ask Clients for Opinions Our team strives to always be our best at creating informative seminars focused on your financial and lifestyle needs. We need your input to understand how we can better accomplish this. Please take a moment to answer these questions and return it by Friday, xxx. What were your impressions when you first started working with our financial practice? What would you tell a friend or family member about our financial practice that would encourage them to work with us? Our goal is to provide you with the best investment planning process designed around your financial goals. Are we on target to accomplish this? What are two topics you would like to hear more about? For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public To Re-Cap: Seize the Opportunity Take a proactive approach when working with affluent clients (and prospects). • Reinforce the reasons clients work with you – the Trust Factor. • Be consistent communicating important updates. • Educate affluent clients on investment topics such as diversification, risk management, and asset allocation. • Create and execute a solid communications plan. For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public Communicate Effectively and Efficiently with Affluent Clients Presented by Maureen Wilke President, Wilke and Associates, Inc. and Author of The Connected Advisor For Financial Professional Use Only - May Not Be Given or Shown to members of the General Public ©2009 Wilke & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.