Does your house look like this? You can still get some work done.
Winter is here. There are workdays when you can't leave the house because the roads aren't plowed. School is closed and the children are yours for the day. You are in the office, snow is falling and a prudent person waits until it stops and the roads are clear. What can you do?
1. Start scheduling portfolio reviews. January is coming. Newspapers will run helpful articles like "Top Performing Funds of 2019." Clients tend to be reflective at the start of the new year. They are also open to making changes. Which reviews will be in person? Who gets an over-the-phone review? What will you need to send the second group ahead of time? Start scheduling.
2. Build a list of clients who left. Everyone loses clients. It's often an event we want to forget as quickly as possible. Often it came as a surprise. Did you care about these people? Probably yes. When the client relationship was severed, did you stop caring about them as a person? Probably no. Would you take them back? Yes. If you cease all contact, they may likely assume you only cared about their business. Give them a call. Did everything work out for them?
3. Who hasn't heard from me for a while? We tend to provide service in tiers. Clients who ring the cash register get lots of attention. Ditto clients we like. Clients who complain get attention for a different reason. What about those clients who aren't that big, don't do much business and never ask for anything? Call them. Has anything changed in their lives?
4. Finally get hard-to-reach clients. Some people are impossible to get on the phone. They are traveling for business. (Planes are grounded today.) They are always in meetings. (With who? The roads are closed.) They are in surgery. (Many were canceled because patients can't get to the hospital.) Build a list. Have something to talk about. Take a shot.
5. Engage on social media. You signed up with LinkedIn. You built a network of sorts. You quickly learned the firm could put your posting activity on autopilot if you let it. You hardly ever visit LinkedIn. Sign on. Start by visiting "Messages." Choose the "Unread Messages" icon. Be startled with the number! Answer them within the constraints of your firm's rules. Visit notifications. Wish lots of people happy birthday or congratulate them on new jobs. (Is there a rollover there? Hmm….) Send out invitations to connect.
