Do you often wonder, “why my client is not happy in spite of putting in my best?”
At times there are evident circumstances when you have not been able to deliver results and stand up to his expectations, but at times the client simply wants to switch to another advisor without any visible reason, leaving you wonder what went wrong.
The gap between what you are offering and what he is looking forward to, is the answer to your question.
The clients have various reasons to do so, which we do not recognize. The most common causes are listed as follows:
Mistakes: If you have committed mistakes in handling your clients' investments, it goes against professional standards. You tend to forget or overlook things about the client which might not be material for you but he is sensitive to. Even if you rectify the mistakes, repeated errors create a negative image of yours in the mind of your client. The investor entrusts you with his personal data and improper handling of the same leads to loss of trust.
Lack of like mindedness: The client is looking to hear what he believes in. A mismatch in personality can also lead to loss of clientele. The client might have a conservative approach and you are the one who believes in maximum wealth creation by investing in equities for a long term. Or because dissimilar outlook, you two are not able to strike a conversation. Your ideals do not match and therefore the client walks away.
Not sounding concerned: If you seem to place your product before the customer's goals, even if the product is best suited for him, he would stop believing in you. Your words should be carefully chosen and should convey that you are genuinely interested in his needs and goals. You should be all ears when he speaks. At any point you should not give the impression of diverting from your basic goal: Customer Satisfaction.
Overcommitment: Customers do not like advisors who overcommit and then underperform. Since no one knows for sure how will the investments fare, it is better to play safe. You can use historical performance as an illustration to market the product, you can narrate the strong fundamentals. But promising a certain percentage of future returns even when the markets are going good can put you in a fix if the winds change their direction.
Performance: This is an obvious reason for a dissatisfied client. The client would not want his portfolio to be a consistent underperformer. There are bad times in the market and all portfolios are bound to fall, though at different accelerations and there are good times, when the portfolios are supposed to rise. If the client is not able to make money even in good times, then there is a problem with his portfolio. So, you should stick to fundamentals of good investment while devising his portfolio.
Promptness: When the markets fall, your clients lose money and they are bound to panic. They need their advisor the most at this point, and the advisor doesn't respond to his calls or mails. At times, the advisors are so busy with their newer clients, that they lose touch with the existing ones. They do not call and are late in responding to calls or forget to call back at all. There are situations when you are targeting a lead, and he told you he would call back and doesn't call or call back too late at his ease. You don't feel too good about it, your client is also in a similar situation. So always be prompt in responding to your clients, make it a point to respond to calls or mails within a fixed time, say 2 hours. You will build a genuine image of yours in the mind of the client.
Communication Gap: This is another prominent cause which diverts the clients from you. You are trying to convey something and the client receives something else. You do not understand what the client wants and devise a plan which is totally of track. Quality and Quantity of communication matters in advisory role. You must make sure that he receives what you intend to give and vice versa. The client may not tell you directly but you have to understand from his gestures, you have to read his mind to be his perfect advisor.
A financial advisor is a friend for life. Your relationship with the client can last a lifetime if you do it right, try to avoid the mistakes as narrated above while dealing with your clients. Your client can take losses but he certainly can't take negligence, lack of responsiveness and communication and inefficiency on your part.
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