Advisor explains three ideas to help you keep in touch with clients and alleviate stress load
The Covid-19 market crash has hit investors fast and furious and this has led to a lot of concern – maybe even panic - among investors.
Some academics even believe that when investors experience losses, they experience the same or similar level of grief that we do from the loss of a loved one. All this to be said, our role as their advisor, their financial guide, very quickly becomes the role of financial psychologist.
Why is it that most do it yourself investors underperform the markets and good advisors? It’s because times like we are experiencing now trigger the parts of their brain that push them to avoid pain and to eliminate their fear at the source. As advisors, our job is to ensure they make educated decisions and hold their hand if necessary when it becomes difficult to do so. But we are also human, and we are also feeling the pain and the tendency of most advisors is to still avoid their clients and avoid the tough conversations.
In order to be successful, I would implore you to do the exact opposite. But that doesn’t mean you have to do it all by yourself either. Here are three ideas which I hope can help you to keep in touch with your clients and also alleviate your stress load.
Be fast
Especially when markets have been as volatile as we have seen over the last month. If you are thinking about getting in touch with clients, don’t hesitate. Rarely have I seen a situation where more communication worked out badly. Be quick and proactive. Your calming words will do wonders for easing your clients stress and will likely save you a lot of phone calls down the road.
Delegate
A lot of advisors feel that they must be the one that makes all the calls to their clients. This doesn’t have to be the case. One of my good friends in the business runs a large practice just outside of Atlanta. When markets started falling he immediately shifted some of his prospecting callers to clients calls and had them call on very simple script that went something like this:
“Grant asked me to reach out to you because we know that there is a lot of news out there right now and people might be feeling a little uneasy. With everything going on, we wanted to check in and see how you are doing?”
The callers were instructed that if the clients started asking any questions specific to their portfolio or the markets that they would be happy to arrange for a video chat or phone call with the advisor on the account. The point is, it’s ok to delegate. Not only will your clients appreciate the call but they will also get a better idea as to just how many people are working to help make them successful.
Trust
This can be difficult in times where it seems like nothing you do is working. Trust your team. You hired them for a reason and now you need to be there for them for support and trust them to continue to do their jobs so that you can do yours which is being there for your clients. Trust your clients as well. They are clients of yours for a reason. Remember that and remind them of that when you can but trust that at the end of the day they are just concerned about their future. Trust yourself as well. If you have established good processes and systems, now is the time to trust that work that you have put in. It’s easy to second guess your investment strategy right now. Trust in your process and you will come out just fine on the other end of this. Like Rodney Atkins says, “If you’re going through hell, just keep on going”
On a final note, at Endeavour Wealth Management we have embraced technology and have utilized to enhance our processes. In particular, we recently hosted a webinar where we invited all of our clients and prospects to hear more about what is going on and where opportunities are presenting themselves. You can cover a lot of ground quickly by doing mass communications but don’t forget about the individual reach outs as well. A phone call or an email goes a long way to setting people’s minds at ease and reminding them just how much you care.
Grant White is a Portfolio Manager/Investment Advisor at Endeavour Wealth Management with Industrial Alliance Securities Inc, an award-winning office as recognized by the Carson Group. Together with his partners he provides comprehensive wealth management planning for business owners, professionals and individual families.
This information has been prepared by Grant White who is a Portfolio Manager/Investment Advisor for Industrial Alliance Securities Inc. Opinions expressed in this article are those of the Portfolio Manager/Investment Advisor only and do not necessarily reflect those of Industrial Alliance Securities Inc. Industrial Alliance Securities Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.
