The Affluent Client Experience

According to some, financial advisors that promise high level service are rarely ever consistent in providing a high level of service to their affluent clients. The solution to this problem is rather simple. A financial advisor might want to just provide personal experience and not orally promise a high level of service. As one financial advisor stated, “Don’t tell people about your service – show them.”

A financial advisor might want to do the following to create a more professional and personal environment.

• An advisor might want to be courteous and act as if he or she is a host at a party with his or her clients.
• An advisor might want to be available for his or her clients, which includes being able to respond to their inquiries quickly.
• An advisor might want to explain why he or she has to reject a clients requests thoroughly, and he or she might want to make sure that the person is more of a problem solver than someone who just rejects ideas.
• As the leader of a firm, the advisor might want to make sure that they take charge of the affairs of his or her clients.
• An advisor might want to make sure that he or she is authentic.
• An advisor might want to make sure that he does not spread himself too thin. It is important that an advisor only take the clients that he or she can handle to ensure that he can be equally loyal to all of that advisor’s clients.

See Matt Oechsli, Enhancing the Affluent Client Experience, Wealth Management, Apr. 5, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.