Survey: Clients Want Contact In Good Times And Bad

Irate phone calls usually come from the minority of clients, he says. Others feel they share in the responsibility of their investment choices and some even have empathy for their advisors, Zultowski says.

In fact, when the market is down is when advisors should be assiduous in maintaining contact with clients, he says.

And an advisor neednt feel powerless when delivering bad news. She can mitigate negative feedback with a recovery plan, Zultowski says.

"Sure, account values are down but the needs havent gone away," he says. "The clients are looking around saying, Whos going to help me get back on track. "

An advisor can let the client know that what happened in the market cannot be changed, but the investment package can be fine-tuned for better standing in changing times, he says.

This strategy can be used not only with ones own clients, but also the clients of other advisors too afraid to make a phone call, according to literature from Phoenix.

Most people want contact in the form of phone calls, according to the survey. Others are happy with e-mail contact and some want face-to-face meetings.

But, what the results of the survey indicate is that an advisor is best served finding out from each client what form and frequency of communication is best for her and tailoring the meetings accordingly.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, June 24, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.