Adding Value During Annual Client Reviews

For most advisors, annual reviews are pretty monotonous. They’re dull, tedious, and they don’t really present any exciting new opportunity for you. However, I believe that the best advisors turn their annual reviews into opportunities to earn added business, and make a greater impact on the families they serve.

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For many of you reading this, if I asked you to give yourself a grade on how "good" your first and second appointments are with people, my guess is that you would give yourself an A or B grade. But if I asked you about your annual reviews and the grade you would give yourself on those, how would you grade yourself?

Be honest with yourself here…?does it look a lot like this?

Client comes in and sits down with you… And you give them a printout of their most recent statements and talk about last year’s performance and investments…Then you chit-chat about their family… Then they leave… Sound familiar? Is that within the vicinity of how your annual reviews typically look?

If so, how do you grade that appointment?

If you’re reading this and thinking, “yeah, that’s what I do…” then let’s brainstorm how you can improve your annual review appointments. Starting with the simple concept of calling them “reviews.” By definition, the word “review” is a past tense verb defined by looking back on and taking a retrospective view on something, then examining or assessing with possibility or intention of instituting change if necessary. Try changing your terminology up around the office and when speaking with clients. Call it a “strategy planning session” or something specific to your firm and your story.

A client review should be an opportunity to institute something new that will be of value to the client and their plan.?

Below is a short list of some value-prop ideas for you to explore adding to your annual reviews. (This is not meant to be specific to you or your business, but more so a catalyst for the expansion of your conversations within annual reviews)

• Long-Term Care coverage reviews
• Existing annuity or life insurance policy reviews
• An audit on their RMDs, or even a discussion around converting their IRA
• An audit on their taxes, or even offer to help them with their taxes
• Discussion around charitable planning and offer to get them in touch with the right people
• Outside investment check-ins
• An updated retirement income analysis and funds audit
• Client appreciation event feedback and ideas
• Obtaining a testimonial or review from them regarding you and your team’s communication and performance

If you do not have the bandwidth in your business to do anything like the above during your annual reviews with your allotted time, that’s okay. Could you do it for only your top clients? Could you expand your annual review time for elite clients?

A general guideline in the advisory business is that 80% of your annual revenue will come from about 20% of your clients. This is just a guideline and your numbers may be different, but the point here is that you should look to cater to your more elite clients when push comes to shove in regards to your time and bandwidth. Perhaps to you, the descriptive word “elite” could be in regards to their asset level, their connections, or who they are as a person and the joy you have working with them.

I challenge you to do these three things moving forward, as it pertains to your annual reviews:

1. Change your mindset about annual reviews, and begin to think of every review meeting as a strategy session with your client and an opportunity to enhance their financial plan, an opportunity to earn more business from them, and an opportunity to earn referrals.
2. Figure out how many clients make up 70% of your revenue.
3. Then, decide on one or two added services you could layer into your annual reviews to provide an enhanced annual review experience for those clients.

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-Daniel