Shortly after becoming an independent advisor on April 1, 2007, I created a questionnaire to help determine which prospective clients would value my services and which would not. In this post, we will revisit this and discuss a process for creating a slightly different questionnaire; one based on the type of advisor clients are seeking.
My original questionnaire was entitled, "What's Important to You," and was designed to assess a client's interest in my services. It included the following three sections:
- Financial Planning
- Asset Management
- Customer Service
Each section contained a list of questions and the prospective client would rank their importance on a scale of one to five. As an example, in the financial planning section, I asked: How important is it for you to….
…. know your probability of running out of money?
…. track your net worth on a regular basis?
…. know the proper amount and type of life insurance you should purchase?
After the client answered the questions, I totaled their score. For example, if the total possible points were 50 and they scored 45, I knew they would find value in what I offered. If, on the other hand, they scored 16, I realized they would be less likely to value my services. This is because each question was derived from specific issues I analyze or services I provide.
The first questionnaire matches my services with a prospective client's needs. Now we will consider a questionnaire that assesses the type of advisor clients seek. This will help us tailor our approach to the specific client.
To create such a questionnaire, we need to agree on the characteristics valued most by clients. Here are four I have identified.
All clients seek an advisor who is:
1) Trustworthy
