The demand for financial advice has grown dramatically over recent years. As that demand has grown, so have client expectations about what advice and services a financial advisor should deliver. As a result, financial plans have become an integral part of the client relationship. The quality of those plans can make or break the client relationship. With so much competition for clients, advisors need to ensure that their financial plans are meeting client expectations. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Do I have an accurate and up-to-date picture of my client’s current situation, needs, and goals?

Life is dynamic. A client’s situation can change dramatically between scheduled meetings. It’s important to secure accurate and up-to-date information before, during, and after client meetings so you can design plans that truly meet their needs. It’s also critical to take pulse of their goals and confirm them with your clients regularly. If they can see that you understand what’s most important to them and are drafting plans that will help them meet their goals, they will stay invested in the relationship.

Have I provided the client with options and different scenarios?

Sometimes client goals can conflict with each other, or market situations and life events can impact their progress. It’s important to show them different paths they can take to meet their goals along with any trade-offs. This shows them that you have thoroughly considered all possibilities and allows them to make an informed decision about what strategies and investments to employ.

Are you thinking about the protection piece?

It’s easy to get caught up in the investment and growth side of the equation and overlook the critical element of risk mitigation. Insurance, tax planning, and other protective strategies are just as important and show the client that you are truly looking at their situation from every angle.

Are you truly personalizing your recommendations?

With so many things on an advisor’s plate, it’s easy to take a cookie cutter approach to financial plans. But for financial plans to truly meet the expectations of clients they need to be personalized and tailored to their goals and situation. Many advisors have taken advantage of outsourced solutions for financial plan production from reputable and experienced financial planning professionals. This allows advisors to stay focused on the day-to-day operations of running the practice and on building the client relationship while delivering financial plans clients love and need.

Bottom line, clients expect advisors to know and understand what they need and craft financial plans that will help them meet their unique goals. As clients become more sophisticated and competition for their business stiffens, advisors need to stay competitive. Quality financial plans is one of the main ways to differentiate yourself and deliver a superior client experience. Leveraging third party financial planners can help advisors deliver specialized plans without investing in internal staff and while maintaining that personalize approach clients expect.

Want Better Financial Plans?

With different levels of service to serve every need and budget, we enable you to deliver impressive and personalized financial plans without the headache of having to hire, train and manage staff.

About the Author: Melissa Johnson

Melissa Johnson serves as Team Leader of our Financial Planning team. She holds the Series 7, Series 66, Life and Health, and CRPC designations and has done tremendous work helping our firm continue to enhance our offerings while transitioning clients to the eMeeting platform. She works closely with advisors to create a client experience financial planning process, while helping them identify opportunities to grow revenue for the practice through financial planning services.

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