Horizon Advisor Network

"Catching Trust"

Chad Soileau

04/15/2020

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"When you throw babies into the air, they laugh because they know you will catch them, that is Trust".

I read that quote a few days ago and it led me down the path of this month's topic.

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Trust

To say that establishing and maintaining a client’s trust is paramount to your success as an advisor is an understatement.

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It's a delicate thing that is often hard to gain but easily lost.

Not so long ago, everything was great. Markets were hitting all-time highs and everyone was on track with their goals. Your client’s trust and confidence in your abilities were most probably at all times highs.

Then out of nowhere, Corona Virus fears hit the market, markets sell off, people are losing jobs and your clients are becoming nervous and scared. Their situations have changed and many are greatly stressed.

So, what do they do? They turn to their advisor for help, guidance and comfort.

But what happens if there are small break downs along the way?

What happens if your client can’t get in touch with you?

What happens if they don’t hear back from you in a timely manner?

What happens if you don’t have the answers or advice they are looking for?

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Answer: You lose their trust and consequently, you may lose a client.

As I have spoken to many advisors these last few weeks, our conversations have often times revolved around how we are handling our client’s fears and their short-term irrational and emotional thinking.

And in those discussions we have found that it is often the little things that cause big problems.

So, with that, I thought it would be a good exercise to present you with a few questions to see if there may be a few blind spots that could possibly compromise the level of trust you have worked so hard to establish with your clients.

Here are a few things to ask yourself:

Is your voice mail operating correctly and have you checked to make sure your voicemail box is not full?

Are your listed contact numbers and email addresses still current?

Is your website operating correctly?

Is your voice mail message correct in concern to the disclosure of no-trade requests?

Does your voice mail reassure your clients that they will receive a return call in a timely manner? In consideration to the current environment (we will return your call in ***hours/Day)

Do you have a contingency plan in place to promptly respond to client's calls and inquiries? (if you are out, who will handle calls or trades, auto-response emails, etc.)

If your client insists on changing/selling out of their investments, do you have alternate offerings to present?

Do you have market material that is approved and ready for client use? (handouts/ videos to watch/ books to read)

Have you offered a follow-up call date and time to your clients?

Have you considered proactive emails or calls to your clients that reintroduces your value statement to them or maybe just a “touching base” to let them know that we are here to help, etc.?

As quoted by John Wooden, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

Doing so will ensure that you are better prepared for the next round of “unknowns” that are sure to present themselves in the future.

And most importantly, it will reconfirm your client's TRUST and solidify their confidence in you.

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