How to develop deep relationships with every client
By AdviceBridge
Helping clients to achieve their ambitions in life is the ultimate goal of a financial planner.
Usually, this will involve numerous meetings over many years, during which you’ll develop close relationships with your clients. These relationships can prove mutually beneficial and may even turn into deep friendships.
But when it comes to smaller clients – those who are just starting out on their financial planning journey and/or who haven’t accumulated a great deal of wealth – this type of comprehensive financial planning has traditionally been uneconomical. As a result, smaller clients often miss out on valuable financial advice.
Thanks to new technology, this is no longer the case. It’s now possible to develop deeper relationships with every client – even those who you might otherwise have overlooked.
By integrating technology into your business, you could help more clients and increase your profitability. Here’s how.
Identify your client groups
The first step is to identify the clients you currently have. In general, financial advice can be split into the following groups:
- Clients with simple financial advice needs, such as setting up their first pension
- Clients who are starting to build wealth and need advice on saving, investing and planning for retirement
- Wealthier clients seeking comprehensive advice on tax-efficient investing and retirement planning.
Clients with very complex financial affairs and considerable wealth. Most financial planners concentrate on groups three and four because these people have the most wealth and are therefore considered the most profitable.
Groups one and two make up the bulk of the UK’s unadvised market – and that’s where there’s an opportunity for financial planners to increase their profitability. People with simpler finances or who aren’t as wealthy still have an advice need. Financial planners just need to find a way to provide this advice in a profitable way – and that’s where technology can help.
As Sarah Lord, chief client officer at Succession Wealth, recently wrote in FTAdviser: “Many may wish to challenge the view that this is a key market to focus on due to the perception that it is harder to deliver value for money to these individuals when compared to the clients of today.
“However, we need to remember; 20 to 30 years ago the baby boomer generation were the clients of the future.”
Find a way to service smaller clients economically
For many financial planners, the easiest way to deal with less profitable clients is to disengage them. And there are scores of online articles explaining how to do just that.
However, finding a way to look after the needs of smaller clients is not only more ethical than disengaging them. It can also help to open up advice opportunities, grow your revenues and future-proof your business.
Remember, these are clients who you’ve already spent time getting to know and providing initial financial advice to. If you can re-engage with these clients and service them economically, they could prove to be extremely valuable in the future. By looking after their needs today, they’ll be far more likely to approach you for help tomorrow.
According to research by Brooks Macdonald, approximately £372 billion of wealth is set to be passed from baby boomers to 300,000 potential clients over the next decade. The report warned that advisers who aren’t prepared and don’t regularly engage with inheritors face ‘significant and growing threats’ to the sustainability of their client relationships.
Integrate technology into your business
Integrating technology into your business can help you develop deeper relationships with your smaller clients in an economical manner.
For example, AdviceBridge’s retirement planning app lets you deliver automated and personalised financial advice to all of your clients. The white label app shows clients what they need to consider when planning for retirement. It helps them to avoid the pitfalls, make the most of their savings, check their goals are on track and improve their financial resilience.
By offering an intuitive, personalised service to your clients, you can make financial planning more accessible, affordable and profitable. And by engaging with younger and smaller clients, you can demonstrate the real value of financial planning.
Get in touch
If you want to find out how AdviceBridge can help you grow your business, please get in touch. Email hello@advicebridge.com or call us on 020 3925 3850. You can also visit our website at www.advicebridge.com to book a quick demo with our friendly team.
