How meaningful conversations strengthen client relationships

• Ask open ended questions. 

Avoid closed questions that lead to a yes or no response. Ask questions that are open ended, encouraging clients to elaborate on the points they have raised.

• Ask for feedback. 

Ask questions at the end of your meetings such as, 'Was there anything you thought I misunderstood or what did you think of our meeting?'. This not only helps you develop the way you communicate with other clients, but shows that you care about their experience and helps to establish a relationship with that individual.

• Reflect. 

Reviewing, analysing, and evaluating your experiences; thinking about what worked, what failed and why the client behaved the way they did can help you develop new strategies. Ultimately, it allows you to understand yourself better and how you impact your work, as well as allowing you to understand your clients better and how to engage with them. 

Connecting to demonstrate your value

Since 2012, annual reviews with clients have become a regulatory requirement, but a welcome one, as it is an opportunity to have meaningful conversations.

Asking what your clients have been through over the past year and how their life has changed can allow deeper conversations to manifest, not only enabling a relationship to develop, but also allowing important information to come to light that may not otherwise.

Small changes and experiences over the course of a year may not seem significant to a client when having conversations about their investment portfolio, but as an adviser, this gives you an opportunity to collate rich information that can help you in ensuring better investment suitability. 

Research from Dynamic Planner found that those who worked with a financial adviser had higher levels of resilience and financial self-efficacy during the early period of the pandemic, demonstrating the potential value of working closely with an adviser.

Although it is important to ensure the plan you designed together is still on track and reassess your client’s circumstances and goals during the annual review, in order to clearly show your value, it is important to consider how you do this.

Asking what your clients have been through over the past year and how their life has changed can allow deeper conversations to manifest.

Psychological models of influence provide ethical and costless tips for helping clients understand your value and be on board with your plans: