by hank berkowitz
wealth management
new research shows that high-performing financial advisors communicate more frequently with clients than their less successful peers.
more berkowitz: don’t be cheap or lazy with client communications
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one of the key reasons: they know the secrets of the most effective channels.
public speaking and writing books (including ebooks) are among the top three channels used by all advisors, but other channels have proven especially effective for high-performing advisors. according to our new wealth advisor confidence survey™ 2017, conducted in association with the financial awareness foundation, advisors with double-digit growth expectations in 2018 are more likely than their less optimistic peers to place a high value on the following:
- writing articles for publication
- being quoted in the press
- blogging
- producing videos
- publishing articles on linkedin
% of respondents finding channels “very” or “extremely” valuable
| channel | advisors expecting to grow by double-digits in 2018 | all other advisors | gap in % points |
| writing articles for publication | 69% | 48% | +21% |
| being quoted in the press | 54% | 30% | +24% |
| blogging | 48% | 29% | +19% |
| producing videos | 48% | 17% | +31% |
| publishing on linkedin | 32% | 20% | +12% |
source: hb publishing & marketing co, llc and the financial awareness foundation,2017
still not convinced that frequent client contact is critical?
a ceg worldwide study of more than 200 wealth advisors found that the highest-earning financial advisors contact their top clients an average of 28 times a year (2.3 times per month). by contrast, the next most successful group—those earning $500,000 to $999,999 a year—contacted each client an average of just 13.2 times per year (1.1 times per month). the least successful financial advisors were even less likely to communicate with clients.
“the fact is, today’s clients greatly value regular outreach from their financial advisors—and will reward those who excel in this area,” concluded ceg researchers.
so step up your game when it comes to reaching out and touching clients—just don’t “carpet-bomb” them. our research found that hosting webinars and social media posts (with the exception of linkedin), were considered among the least effective client communication channels.
and while you’re busy reaching out, don’t forget that october is national estate planning awareness month. as my survey co-author val sabuco points out, 120 million americans (half the adults; rich to poor) don’t have estate plans. that’s way too many. “remember,” said sabuco, “our goal is to touch the majority of the general public, high net worth individuals, financial service and nonprofit professionals and their organizations at least twice a year to get (and keep) their financial, estate, and gift plans in order.” let’s all do our part.