I know you can think like an employer for your employees, but what about the perspective of an employer, as in one of your clients?
In the past I have written about centers of influence, advisors’ value proposition, and strategic alliances. All of these topics are necessary for advisers to concentrate on as we maintain and develop our clients and our business. But have you really thought about the adviser role wearing the “employer hat”?
Sure, we all know our clients want us to help them in many ways. But how do we know exactly what each one wants? I believe each client has similar, yet different, expectations.
We ensure that the client knows our compensation is transparent for the work we perform. We ask questions to obtain a complete understanding of their needs and the problems they want to address before we start communicating how much money we can save them and how we will do the work. Anything else is certainly putting the cart before the horse. Only after we are armed with the client’s true expectation can we provide a comprehensive project plan outlining each step.
Money matters, time matters, and service to employees really matters the most. We can all learn this more and more when we wear our “employer hat”.
So what method do you use to accurately understand your clients’ needs?
Beattie is president and chief executive of South Miami, Fla.-based Selden Beattie Benefit Advisors. She can be reached at 305-661-9090 or bbeattie@seldenbeattie.com.
