In 2023, MDRT interviewed me about how I keep clients over the long term. Most of my answer was about two stretches of time: before someone becomes a client, and the weeks between meetings, when there is nothing to sell.
Choose carefully at the start
The first step to preventing a breakup is marrying the right person. I said that in the interview half as a joke, but I mean it.
In a first meeting I explain how I plan and what clients get from working with me. I also set a few expectations of them. One is simple: when I send them a question, we agree they will reply within two days. I explain why: open communication lets me understand them properly, and that is what lets me fit the recommendations to them.
I also ask what they are looking for in an adviser, and I check honestly whether I can meet it. Some people want a recommendation for one specific product. Others want planning across their whole financial life. I work best with the second group, and with people who are open to a different perspective.
When someone already knows what they want and only needs a quote, I tell them early that I am probably not the best person for them over the long term, and I don’t take them on. There is nothing wrong with wanting that. I add the most value elsewhere, and saying so at the start is fairer to them than finding out halfway through the relationship.
Let clients see who you are
I am open with clients about being a father, and about trying to spend real time with my two children. That openness does a few things.
It makes it easier for clients to be open with me. Clients who are parents connect with me over what we share, and they introduce me to friends with young children, because they know I understand that stage of life. They also understand that evenings and weekends are family time, for them as much as for me, so many prefer to meet during office or lunch hours.
It also shaped what I offer. I once brought in a parenting coach to run a workshop for clients on connecting with their children and building emotional resilience in them. It did more for retention than most things I have tried, and it had nothing to do with money.
Stay in touch when there is nothing to sell
As a baseline, every client hears from me once or twice a month. Some of it is financial, like a monthly investment commentary. Much of it is about family, work and time off. At the start of the June school holidays, for example, I sent parents a list of places to take their children. Planning holidays can be stressful, and I would rather help someone make a good family memory than remind them, again, to save for retirement.
With a WhatsApp broadcast, sending to one person takes the same effort as sending to five hundred. Clients have told me they don’t always reply, but they read it and find a lot of it useful.
These messages do a second job. They show what I care about, which tells clients who to introduce to me. Better introductions mean a better fit, and a better fit is what makes people stay.
From time to time, when there is something good to share, my team also brings in outside coaches and speakers for clients, on travel hacking, parenting, career breakthroughs, leading teams and relationships. Most are webinars now, which makes them easier for everyone to attend. There is a cost, and I am glad to pay it. Clients value them, and many share the sessions with friends, which connects me with more people like them.
Decide where the extra effort goes
Every client gets the baseline. Beyond that, I score each client on three things:
- Their financial capacity.
- Their level of trust in me, and how much I enjoy our working relationship.
- How readily they connect me with people they know.
Clients who score well on all three are the ones I do the most for. When the right opportunity comes up, that can mean experiences and events, gifts on special occasions, or one-to-one sessions with certified coaches to help their careers move forward.
Written down, this can sound calculating, but every adviser already decides where their time goes. The matrix makes me decide on purpose, and be honest with myself about why.
What it comes down to
Being careful about who you take on stops you spreading yourself too thin, and it means you work with people you like. You turn up with more energy, you give them your full attention, and you end up doing more for them. Over years, that is what keeps clients.