Best Framework to Build Meaningful Client Relationships

Financial Professionals comply with the “Know Your Customer” rules which require them to identify their clients and ascertain relevant information pertinent to doing business with them. It’s a mistake to confuse the due diligence requirement with actually knowing your clients. For example, a Financial Professional will review a client’s previous year’s income tax returns or ask for a copy of their client's will. This type of financial reconnaissance is a great start, but to really know your client, a professional needs to learn about more than just their client’s financial situation, risk tolerance, real estate investments, etc.

We recommend that you collect data about your top clients in these four categories: Family, Occupation, Recreational interests, and Money. This is FORM information. It’s no accident that ‘Money’ is last on the list – knowing about your top clients’ goals around money or how they spend it is given in your line of work. It’s your job to discover the rest of the story. Why does having this information matter?

Family, Occupation, and Recreation are the ‘WHY’, and why their goals matter to your clients.

Money is the ‘HOW’, the means to get them there. Whether the client wants to purchase their dream home, reduce their risk tolerance or focus on a retirement strategy. Focus on the “Why”.

F is family – The number-one concern to your client – the thing that matters most. The basic truth is that clients want to work with you if they know you understand that their family matters.

O is occupation – The client may aspire to a work-optional lifestyle or they may want to retire completely and be confident of their ability to do so, but whatever their focus, their occupation, past or future, is on their mind.

R is recreation – We all have a bucket list, things we want to do, and places we want to see, and having the time and security to do them is something we all understand. Your clients want to face the future with anticipation.

M is for money – Money is how you accomplish the previous three vital matters. The more emphasis you place on why their goals are important to your client, the more value they will place on how you get them there and, in the process, you differentiate yourself and become indispensable.

Knowing this information sets you apart from other professionals. The proprietary, non-money-related information you know about your clients is one of the main things that keep your competitors at bay. Without this, your competitors can only talk shop with your clients. Your clients are with you because they like you, not because of anything spectacular you have done with their money. They especially like you when you show an interest in their lives. When you combine extremely valuable, non-money information with a highly professional approach, your clients will feel like they are part of an exclusive club. The details you know about them are the ties that bind them to you. What if your client is working with multiple professionals? In most cases, this occurs because none of you has proven yet to be superior. How do you change that perception? Do you want to become your client’s exclusive professional? You have to differentiate yourself on something other than the performance of your core competency. The best way to do this is through building trust based on the knowledge you have about FORM.

What do you know about your best clients? What data do you collect? How do you track it? Where do you store it? How do you use it?

Do you review FORM information prior to every meeting or phone call with one of your BEST clients?

In the Toolkit CRM, we make FORM information a top priority! You can review or even print your Contact record prior to every meeting or phone call. Make sure this information is top of mind so that you can have engaging conversations and deliver a more personalized client experience.