Maintaining high-touch communication with clients

August 21, 2017 by Tyler McNaughton

A group of young clients communicate with their advisor.

About the author

Tyler McNaughton

Strategic account manager

Tyler is a strategic account manager in the Canadian market. A graduate of McMaster University, Tyler has spent his 17 years helping businesses find the best technology solutions for their workflows, employees, and clients.

A familiar saying that one often hears in sales is that it is "a numbers game." A common belief shared by business people is that the more an individual attempts to connect with clients and prospects, the greater chance of success in making a sale.

In truth, there are many factors that come into play that determine sales success - timing, quality of interaction, and reputation to name a few. Conversely, one can also argue that too much communication - that idea that your unwavering persistence will prevail - can actually be counterproductive.

The impact of high-touch communication

The basic tenet that the more activity or communication an advisor has with their clients and prospects is still a very important factor in determining the success of financial advisors. When at an advisor conference hosted by a large client of Advicent a couple of weeks ago, that fact was on full display.

During the keynote speech on the first day of the conference, this financial services organization shared with their advisors that they had performed analytics on the  Net Promoter Score  of their client base. Those clients who received multiple touches over the course of the year from their advisor rated a much higher NPS score than clients who received no communication over the course of the year from their advisor. The difference between the two scenarios presented was stark, and there were many approving head nods in the room as I panned the audience of advisors.

You might be saying to yourself, "Well yeah, of course that would be the case." As an advisor, it is easy to make the connection that the more communication you have with your client, the more top of mind you remain with the client and the more likely you are to uncover opportunities to help your client.While this might be common sense, the ability to be “high touch” with your clients is still a challenge that most advisors experience.

Digital enablement within a communication strategy is crucial

As your book of business grows, the time you have to proactively communicate with all of your clients on a regular basis becomes increasingly scarce. Digital technology is trying to help solve this challenge. While nothing can replace human touch when your client is in a time of need or when they need to discuss the implications of a major life change, a digital strategy to augment the number of touch points with your clients is becoming a must have for savvy advisors . Those savvy advisors recognize that technology can be an ally in managing their client relationships without being a threat to their value to their clients.

At Advicent, we recognized the need for a tool to supplement our industry-leading planning software that can become a communication hub for clients who desire a layer of communication that can be accessed at any time without having to directly reach out to their advisor.

As the emphasis on improving client experience and interaction influences many aspects of the advisor business, the arrival of NaviPlan ®  client portal  demonstrated our intention to establish a new standard in client-advisor collaboration. The platform provides advisors' clients with a readily-accessible means of reviewing their entire financial plan, including all related accounts. Additionally,  NaviPlan ®  APIs  allow third parties to build their own tools and applications using the Advicent platform as a base.