In a webinar at the Broadridge Fi360 Solutions Annual Conference 2021, Jean Fidone-Schroer, Vice President of Regional Branch Development at Benjamin F. Edwards, suggested ways that advisors can build stronger relationships with their clients.
Advisors need to make a point of scheduling meetings at the times that clients have the most energy. Some people feel more energized first thing in the morning, she noted, while others may need a few hours before they’re ready to discuss complex or emotional financial decisions.
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“Some people in that group may not have as good of energy levels as other people, so you want to really pair that together, not only with your energy level, but with the client’s energy level,” she said. She suggested including ideal meeting times on new client questionnaires.
Benjamin F. Edwards conducted a survey of 401k participants recently that found most respondents expressed little interest in specific asset allocations in their plan.
“They say to us, ‘I don’t really care about the asset allocation … . I need to be further educated on it, but I need way more help on my wellness, on my budgeting, on how I save better, those types of things, versus just the financial part of it,'” Fidone-Schroer said.
Participants are interested in communications about how they will live in retirement—where they might live, how they will access healthcare—which can be a significant source of stress for some participants. Women in particular may fear losing all of their savings and ending up a “bag lady out on the street.”
Advisors may “know from looking at their finances that they will not be, but they are concerned about that.”
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Advisors can show they’re listening by repeating what their clients are telling them. Fidone-Schroer encourages advisors to rephrase comments as open-ended questions to get them to open up and share more about their concerns.
Appreciative inquiry is a tool to help advisors identify and address clients’ concerns.
Fidone-Schroer outlined the five D’s of appreciative inquiry: definition, discovery, dream, design and delivery. Advisors who want to serve as coaches should work with clients to create definition around a concern so they can see it clearly, ask open-ended questions, envision an ideal outcome, design steps to get there and implement those steps in a way that the client can actually execute.
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