Great Financial Advisors are client centric. Make it your goal to provide the best client experience among your peers. You’re not just a Financial Advisor. You are also building a business. The foundation of every great business is a satisfied clientele. Don’t strive to meet your clients’ expectations. Strive to exceed them.

I call hard skills what you know. I call soft skills who you are. When it comes to attracting clients, soft skills play a far bigger role than hard skills. People looking for an Advisor are not looking for more information. They are looking for someone they can trust. They will not choose solely for what you know. They will also pick you for your likeability, trustworthiness and authenticity. When prospecting, lead with your soft skills.

To paraphrase Seth Godin, prospects and clients have two sets of expectations. They expect your recommendations to work and they expect you to care. Caring has become a shallow marketing technique. If you want to stand apart from your competition, care more than people expect you to care.
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If you went out of business tomorrow, would your clients miss you? In our day-to-day lives, most of our relationships are transient and most vendors are replaceable. Our drycleaner goes out of business and a new one pops up. Our insurance agent retires, and our account gets reassigned. Avoid the stigma of replaceability by making yourself irreplaceable. What is it you offer that cannot be found in any other Advisor in your town?

Asking for a commitment cannot be a dramatic moment. The asking must be conversational. If you are not comfortable asking, perhaps one of the ideas will set your mind at ease.

Clients often change Advisors when they feel the service is no longer personalized. Here are five things you can do to ensure clients continue to hold you in high esteem.

To give you his or her loyalty, a client has to be convinced that you totally understand their needs. They need to feel that you get it. Be likeable, be trustworthy and be consistent. Think like a lifer.

Ask clients if they will be willing to follow your advice even if they disagree with you. Then tell them the story of the Acapulco cliff divers.

Short stories from Advisors explaining why and what they do for their clients.

People do business with people they like. Simple acts of kindness make a bigger difference than you may realize.
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Don shares a couple of ideas from Advisors that effectively explain the value they can bring to their clients.
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People never look for the cheapest price if the relationship is more important than the price. We all need strong relationships in order to succeed. A key to building a strong relationship is to make the other person feel important.
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Going above and beyond the call is great for relationships.
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Cadaret Grant published a great article discussing what clients seek when choosing an Advisor. Heed these words.
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Make sure your clients give you all their business.
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