Congratulations! You’re meeting with a prospective new client. This relationship could impact your business and your client’s life significantly. But, like all relationships, you need to establish trust before your partnership can be successful. When you ask the right questions at the beginning of the process, keep digital records of what you learn, and follow through on that information, your understanding of your client’s values, goals, and preferences can help you tailor your services to the client.
Most new clients expect a financial advisor to ask about their investment history and financial goals. But if you move beyond money inquiries and get to know your clients on a personal level, you’ll show you care about them as individuals. Although qualitative information may not be as measurable as quantitative data, it can be useful in helping you build long-term relationships.
So, how do you know what questions to ask, how to track that information, and what to do with it? There are three steps: gather information, store it, and create a strategy that offers your clients personalized advice.
The Right Questions
Start by asking questions about clients’ values, goals, and preferences. You can gather information yourself by interviewing your clients, but you can also rely on software like PreciseFP’s FactFinder tool to create customized questionnaires that your clients can fill out at home. This creates a more convenient experience for the client and automates administrative tasks (such as flagging incomplete fields in your questionnaire). Here are a few sample questions to get you started:
Values
- What’s most important to you in life?
- What do you imagine yourself doing in the future?
- What role do you hope to play in the lives of your children and grandchildren?
- How do you hope to contribute to the world?
- How do you feel about money? What do you teach your children about money?
Goals
- At what age do you hope to achieve certain milestones (value of portfolio, retirement, home purchase, etc.)?
- What will achieving your goals allow you to do?
- As you look toward your bigger goals, what incremental goals will help you know if you’re on track?
- What level of loss in your portfolio would make you uncomfortable/anxious?
Preferences
- How do you currently keep track of your money and investments? What financial tools do you use? Are they working well for you?
- How would you prefer we communicate with you? How often? What kind of information is most important for you to know?
- Are you comfortable with and do you prefer digital documents, electronic signatures, etc.?
How Digital Tools Can Help You Manage Client Information
Once you’ve gathered the information you need about your clients, your data should be accessible and retrievable. With a document management system, gathering all your information in a unified platform is easy. Using outdated technology to manage information and documents is tedious, not only for gathering information, but also for later retrieval. It’s smart to ask the right questions, but that information won’t be helpful if you can’t access the answers.
Using Your Client’s Answers to Build a Stronger Relationship
The conversation about a client’s values shouldn’t just guide your advice — it should also lead your interactions. If you’re talking casually with your clients about their favorite sports team, it may seem trivial on the surface, but when you store that information in your client’s file, you can use that information to discuss last night’s game the next time the system reminds you to contact your client. If your client hopes to purchase a home in five years, you can send them regular updates to show their progress toward that goal. The financial plan you create for your client should be uniquely tailored to their values, goals, and preferences.
If gaining new clients is part of your growth strategy, asking the right questions will help you customize your advising strategy to match your clients’ needs. The right technology can help you collect, manage, and apply information more easily.
Ready to learn more about how Docupace can help you build strong client relationships? Contact communications@docupace.com to learn more about how document management solutions like PreciseFP can help you gather, process, and use information to attract and keep new clients.
