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(November 11, 2003) Some advisors may contend that unpredictable markets are the worst time to generate new business. Not so for Nancy Shewfelt. The White Rock, B.C.-based advisor at Wellington West Capital Inc. is generating an average of two referrals a week. To what does she attribute her success? Creating what she calls “a wow experience” for all her clients.
Shewfelt took part in the Top Advisor Panel at Advisor Forum in Vancouver last week, along with David Chalmers from Rogers Group Financial and Malcolm Ross from Invest-A-Flex Financial Strategies Ltd.
To create the wow experience, Shewfelt hired a consultant and asked client focus groups to do a complete assessment of her practice. “We wanted to know how clients wanted to be treated and what their ideal relationship [with their advisor] is,” she explained. “The assessment covered everything from our service to little things like how we dressed.”
As it turned out, many of her clients said they didn’t want their advisors to be dressed too fancy. “Clients didn’t want to feel that they had to get dressed up to come and see us,” she said. “Smart casual dress was the flavour they liked.”
As for performance, she found that “clients don’t expect you to be the best performers but they don’t expect you to be below average, you have to be average or above and you have to be communicating with them all the time.”
Chalmers, for one, prefers to see clients in person, usually on a quarterly basis. He also sends out communication such as the firm’s quarterly newsletter, his own personal newsletter and Thanksgiving cards.
From time to time, Chalmers may send out a special letter that addresses the volatility in the markets. And when clients refer his services to others, he always sends the refer-ee a thank-you card, along with an offer to make a donation to the charity of their choice. “This is regardless of whether the referred person becomes a client or not,” he noted.
Rather than cut costs in a down market, Chalmers increased his staff to include a chartered financial analyst. “I wanted to have more brain power on the whole selection of investments and portfolios,” he said.
Ross has also increased his costs, and three years ago he made a decision to change his business model. His practice now focuses more on tax issues, since tax is the largest ongoing expense for his clients. “We decided to build a model where the client would work directly with a primary tax advisor,” he said.
Ross finds he’s continuously having more conversations with clients about risk management. “We really try to walk in the clients’ shoes and help them to understand what is important to them,” he said.
Shewfelt is also having these conversations but notes there’s no quick fix. It takes patience and compassion. “Part of our job is education. We have to consistently sit down and review choices.”
As for advice on how struggling advisors can cope, she suggested they should find a partner who complements their style. Shewfelt works with her husband, Clark. “Our clients tell us we’re way better as a team than we are individually,” she noted.
• • •
You can get insights about prospecting, client retention, cost efficiencies and maintaining a quality client experience from successful advisors from your region at every city on the Advisor Forum tour:
For dates and more session details on upcoming Advisor Forum conferences in Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax, please visit the Advisor Forum Web site by clicking here.
Also, be sure to revisit Advisor.ca for new reports from these events.
• • •
Deanne N. Gage is managing editor of Advisor’s Edge and can be reached at deanne.gage@advisor.rogers.com.
(11/11/03)
(November 11, 2003) Some advisors may contend that unpredictable markets are the worst time to generate new business. Not so for Nancy Shewfelt. The White Rock, B.C.-based advisor at Wellington West Capital Inc. is generating an average of two referrals a week. To what does she attribute her success? Creating what she calls “a wow experience” for all her clients.
Shewfelt took part in the Top Advisor Panel at Advisor Forum in Vancouver last week, along with David Chalmers from Rogers Group Financial and Malcolm Ross from Invest-A-Flex Financial Strategies Ltd.
To create the wow experience, Shewfelt hired a consultant and asked client focus groups to do a complete assessment of her practice. “We wanted to know how clients wanted to be treated and what their ideal relationship [with their advisor] is,” she explained. “The assessment covered everything from our service to little things like how we dressed.”
As it turned out, many of her clients said they didn’t want their advisors to be dressed too fancy. “Clients didn’t want to feel that they had to get dressed up to come and see us,” she said. “Smart casual dress was the flavour they liked.”
As for performance, she found that “clients don’t expect you to be the best performers but they don’t expect you to be below average, you have to be average or above and you have to be communicating with them all the time.”
Chalmers, for one, prefers to see clients in person, usually on a quarterly basis. He also sends out communication such as the firm’s quarterly newsletter, his own personal newsletter and Thanksgiving cards.
From time to time, Chalmers may send out a special letter that addresses the volatility in the markets. And when clients refer his services to others, he always sends the refer-ee a thank-you card, along with an offer to make a donation to the charity of their choice. “This is regardless of whether the referred person becomes a client or not,” he noted.
Rather than cut costs in a down market, Chalmers increased his staff to include a chartered financial analyst. “I wanted to have more brain power on the whole selection of investments and portfolios,” he said.
Ross has also increased his costs, and three years ago he made a decision to change his business model. His practice now focuses more on tax issues, since tax is the largest ongoing expense for his clients. “We decided to build a model where the client would work directly with a primary tax advisor,” he said.
Ross finds he’s continuously having more conversations with clients about risk management. “We really try to walk in the clients’ shoes and help them to understand what is important to them,” he said.
Shewfelt is also having these conversations but notes there’s no quick fix. It takes patience and compassion. “Part of our job is education. We have to consistently sit down and review choices.”
As for advice on how struggling advisors can cope, she suggested they should find a partner who complements their style. Shewfelt works with her husband, Clark. “Our clients tell us we’re way better as a team than we are individually,” she noted.
• • •
You can get insights about prospecting, client retention, cost efficiencies and maintaining a quality client experience from successful advisors from your region at every city on the Advisor Forum tour:
For dates and more session details on upcoming Advisor Forum conferences in Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax, please visit the Advisor Forum Web site by clicking here.
Also, be sure to revisit Advisor.ca for new reports from these events.
• • •
Deanne N. Gage is managing editor of Advisor’s Edge and can be reached at deanne.gage@advisor.rogers.com.
(11/11/03)
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