In the age of instant gratification, Millennials and people from Generation Z are not your average clients. They want what they want when they want it. While this may be daunting, it also provides us with an opportunity to connect with them in the place where they are most likely to be found; online.
The Coronavirus has only served to drive more people into the online realm, and this has become the place where your current and future clients will be looking to interact with you. To succeed in any industry these days, it all boils down to keeping up with the times and being agile enough to accommodate your clients’ needs.
Here’s my advice on how you can form good connections while running a virtual financial planning practice.
First – Be Selfish and Focus on the Advisor Experience
So much is said and written about the Client Experience that most advisors forget to address the Advisor Experience. All too often advisors focus on trying to create an amazing Client Experience but neglect to consider how doing so may negatively impact their own lives and business.
It never made sense to me that so many advisors essentially put their lives on hold only to help their clients realize their hopes, dreams, and goals.
Advisors who focus on creating an amazing experience for themselves first are empowered and positioned to create a really great Client Experience.
Just like when flying, make sure to put on your oxygen mask first, then help those around you.
Be the example your clients are looking for. Make it a point to be happy, excited, motivated, and living the life of your dreams. This will resonate with your clients more than anything else.
Once you have this sorted then the following tips are crucial.
Embrace Technology
The first step to better serving your clients is to embrace technology. Yes, it is fast-paced and ever-changing, maybe even confusing, but connecting with your clients requires an understanding of the environment where they are most comfortable.
Whether this means communicating with them on a platform that they choose or learning to use a new app, embracing technology is paramount to maintaining a good relationship with your clients.
Create A Virtual Relationship
Forming a relationship with your clients online includes building trust with them from scratch. Without face-to-face interactions, building trust in a virtual environment needs to be intentional because, ultimately, this will be your key to success.
Get to Know Each Other
Make sure you get to know your clients personally – tell them about yourself and arrange video calls with them. Fostering any good relationship begins with getting to know someone and being genuinely interested in their lives.
Proactively Communicate
Without real-life meetings, clients can feel like they’re getting lost in the fray, so it’s crucial to actively communicate with them and make them feel important to you.
Set a reminder to check in with your clients regularly, to touch base and reconnect. Even if it means sending out some useful tips or some extra personalized advice – providing value to your clients is also an excellent way to connect and maintain a good rapport.
Work with Their Needs
Chat with your client about how they’d like to work, whether that be seeing a presentation, a monthly video call, or simply an email. Making them feel comfortable involves finding out their preferences and molding them with your own.
New-age clients often like to see their stats and information in real-time, so be prepared for that and find software that could allow for that.
Set Clear Goals
At the outset, make sure that you know your clients’ goals and explain how you can work together to achieve them. This will show your client that you’re committed to understanding them and what drives them. Show them that you’re invested in their needs.
Spending some extra time on creating a solid relationship with your clients will go a long way to building trust and creating a dynamic where you can lead your clients towards making the best financial decisions.
Show A Robust Digital Footprint
Clients are now particularly interested in your digital footprint, which is essentially how you appear online. To gain new clients or build trust with current ones, I advise having a robust digital footprint.
This includes being active on social media channels, having a great website, and communicating a variety of content (personal and professional) through these channels. People tend to trust someone who has an influential digital presence over someone who doesn’t, and it’s quite simply because they can see what you’re all about. Don’t be a creeper, be a creator!
Tell them about who you are, what your focus is, and how you can help them. If they can find you in a quick Google search, you’re on the right track. Let’s face it; we all Google someone before we go ahead and use their services or buy their product. Adding in social media channels and a blog, would further solidify your digital presence and add to your credibility.
Conneqtor can help
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of adjusting to this digital world, I can help. My virtual advisor system, Conneqtor, teaches you how to leverage all the tools that you need to transform your business into a virtual or semi-virtual one.
My system will lead you step-by-step into the virtual space, and help you get more leads by showing you how to establish a digital presence.
Get in touch with me. Let’s get you set up in the virtual financial planning world so that you can meet your clients where they’re at, foster your current client relationships, and build new ones, the modern way.
I hope you found this of value!
Kind regards,
Derek Notman
