Harness the Power of Checking In With Your Clients

Most financial professionals have worked through a series of bull and bear markets. In fact, many advisors have likely had to manage clientele through multiple busts that seemed, at the time, like once-in-a-generation events — Black Monday, the dot-com bust and the mortgage crisis for example. They can use those very human experiences to help support and guide their clients through the current crisis. Many advisors forget that emotions are a huge factor when it comes to clients making decisions about their finances. Showing emotional support now can go a long way toward helping clients make smart decisions.

Right now, many clients have lots of questions. There's confusion over current policies, like the how the CARES act has waived required minimum distributions from retirement plans for some investors, or what the Paycheck Protection Program allows small-business owners to do. Skillful financial advisors will be in personal and digital contact with their clients through a planned approach. Showing clients they are aware of what a confusing and challenging time we're in means more than just helping with numbers.

Indeed, advisors are finding that simply checking in can spark a serious conversation about long-term planning and new products. Now that the whole family is under one roof, a client may pull their spouse into a meeting for an impromptu discussion about a 529 plan for their grandkids. Well-rounded advisors with broad knowledge and the ability to think on their feet to deliver the personalized advice that their clients crave will thrive in these situations.

Together, over video, advisors and clients can study options for a client portfolio, visualize income distributions and highlight the potential for tax-loss harvesting at year-end. Considering that some researchers believe 65% of people are visual-based learners, video and visual communication should become a part of your advisory toolkit if it isn't already.

Anecdotally, at least, we are starting to see some advisors doing exactly that. Some have said they schedule two dozen client video meetings each day as well as follow-up phone calls, emails and even texts and, as a result, have more contact with their client base than they used to. Of course, video calls from home come with their own challenges, like dogs barking in the background or lost connections. But even those glitches can help build trust and empathy as they show that advisors, like clients, are only human.

Tim Slavin is senior vice president for retirement at Broadridge.