Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
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Dear Bev,
Now that people are going out more often and it is more normal, we’d like to do a client event. One of our advisors talked about the concern she has for some of our older clients. They have been hunkered down during the pandemic. I am sure most of them are likely vaccinated, I don’t know for sure.
I don’t want to alienate anyone or make anyone feel unwelcome. I also don’t want to avoid making decisions that move us forward because we are afraid of offending some clients.
What are other practices doing right now? What’s the protocol?
A.D.
Dear A.D.,
I’m not sure there is a set protocol. The advisory firms I work with are taking different approaches to many things. Some are bringing people back full-time this summer, some in September, some are giving the option of the office or home until next January. One of my largest clients has told me no travel and no in-person meetings until 2022. This is up to the firm, its leadership and with their employees to figure out what’s best.
I have not heard of any client who is holding a large event. Many of them are doing smaller events such as lunches in person. It’s the time of the year that in most locales you can do this outside, or indoors with windows and doors open. I have seen a number of these being scheduled and advisors are getting a strong reception to them. Like anything, even pre-pandemic, you have to have a good topic, a nice venue, and be thoughtful about who you are inviting and what the purpose of the event is. I’m not a fan of events for the sake of just getting people together. If you have something of value to share or it is tagged as networking, it’s more appealing than if it is just about seeing people in person.
Your advisor is right in that you want to be considerate of who you invite, what their circumstances are and whether they would mesh with others you are inviting. This is why in targeted events where you are inviting a niche – business owners to network together, pre-retirees to learn about social security options, retirees to talk about interest rates and impact on distributions or couples with children interested in different ways to fund education. The more targeted you are, and the content is, the easier it is to put together the right people without worrying about someone being left out or not feeling welcome. Even better, when you put people together with similarities you tend to have more engagement with the conversation – after all, they have something in common.
While others may disagree and there may be advisors reading this who are doing large events (and please write in and tell me if so. I’d love to hear from readers!), I suggest you start on the smaller side. Be targeted. Be focused. Keep it manageable and then go from there.
Dear Bev,
I am very frustrated. With things re-opening, I had partnered with an estate attorney to do a mini-presentation at one of our local well-regarded lunch spots. We were both to invite up to 15 people. I ended up with 17 people coming and she had three.
To make matters worse, she sold very hard to the people I had in attendance – to the point where it was somewhat embarrassing for me and for my clients. I do understand people have different styles and approaches and there is no question she is much more of a take-charge, direct person than I am. But I was affronted by her behavior.
Just a few minutes ago she sent me an email saying what a great session it was and telling me that two of my clients made appointments to meet with her.
I want to respond saying she has some nerve telling me this but I’m not going to be unprofessional. What would a proper response be?
G.L.
Dear G.L.,
Was this an estate attorney you know well? Have you done business with her before? Do you want to be able to refer clients to her, and then expect her to refer to you? Do you have additional events planned? Was this a test case to see how well you might work together? Is she well known and well connected in your community?
It is important to understand the context of the relationship in order to give a suitable answer. When it comes to communication, context is everything.
Not knowing all of these answers, there are a few things I’d probably want to include in a return communication:
- Affirm you are pleased that she was able to receive referrals and if you are able to do so, offer some way the two of you could partner together for these clients (after all you have information about their plans and investments).
- Mention that you were disappointed the turnout wasn’t more balanced. Ask her why she thought she had only three people in attendance while you were able to have 17 attend. Pose this as a question to avoid defensiveness or accusations. Ask if you were to do another event together, what she would do differently to get clients to come.
- Ask her for a debrief – “I’m curious what two things you thought went best for both of us, and what two things you think we should have done differently to make it the most successful for both of us?” Sometimes posing it as an objective feedback question avoids the defensiveness.
- Lastly, ask her if it would be okay to send a follow up to everyone who was invited but did not attend, i.e. many of her other clients, recapping the event and sharing insights and then including your information and her information if anyone wanted to follow up and get more information. Perhaps, because she has obtained a couple of referrals, she would be willing to do this understanding you were not a beneficiary of new opportunities too.
It’s important whenever you partner with someone, especially a COI like an accountant or attorney, to make sure you map out everything in advance and create a project plan so they stay on track too. This is true especially if you have a take-charge, direct person such as you outline here. I would never assume anyone’s intentions but it sounds like she might not have put in the effort assuming perhaps you were doing so. You might have inadvertently communicated this to her, too. If you are a planner and logistical expert, she could have deferred to you. Make sure if you do another event with her, or anyone like her, you don’t leave anything to chance!
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. The firm also founded and manages the Advisors Sales Academy. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate and graduate students Entrepreneurship and Leading Teams. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
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