Transactional Relationships
I recently wrote a post on my LinkedIn, calling out mortgage and protection advisers who simply do the business for the client and then never speak to their client again until renewal time. I referred to this as simply treating the customer as a walking ATM.
Put it another way, it’s a transactional relationship.
It’s true, some clients might be looking for just a single piece of advice, whether it’s a better mortgage rate or new protection policy for themselves or their family.
However, even in these circumstances there is still opportunity to have an a wider and an ongoing conversation.
After all, we all know that people’s lives can change in the blink of an eye. One minute you might be buying your first and forever home, the next you could be worrying about how to pay the bills if one of you becomes seriously ill.
Transactional relationships, based on my own experience as well, make for awkward conversations and missed opportunities. It also makes a relationship feel like it’s nothing more than a record on your bank statement.
Volume, not value
Unfortunately, most AR advisers may find themselves under increasing pressure to deliver more mortgage or protection sales for the Firm Principal or even for their financial network.
This building up of pressure, can lead to AR’s shirking the responsibility of building that relationship with the client in favour of getting more numbers on a spreadsheet.
However, this is nothing short of a high sugar fix, a short term reward, it delivers a quick fix to an ever growing problem. It’s simply cutting the corners.
Yet, had the adviser slowed it down a little the likelihood is that during the conversation, he/she may have found further requirements for a protection policy, perhaps even critical illness cover and, the client also may have happened to mention that their home is currently without buildings and content insurance.
Each product line offering a new conversation and a deeper level of insight into the persons financial landscape. An opportunity for an adviser to deliver good outcomes.
The role of a mortgage and protection adviser doesn’t stop once the mortgage case has been completed or once the protection policy has started, on the contrary it has only just begun.
Advisers, need to stop thinking of themselves as just delivering that 1 time hit and see themselves as the families financial expert.
An expert that has a set of professional tools to deliver more than just a mortgage rate, but an entire new life for the clients family.
Modern Channels
We live in a digital age, and with the help of AI, it is possible to get more of repetitive tasks handled by a machine, freeing your time to focus on building those relationships and growing your sphere of influence.
Email Lists are a gold mine. You own the list, you own the traffic.
Email isn’t SPAM, far from it.
Imagine being that adviser that simply sends a Happy Birthday email once a year to their client, and after that never hearing from you again or worse not even bothering to wish your client a happy birthday.
Awkward.
Become the monthly professional expert in your clients inbox.
With so many email marketing tools out there to choose from, it doesn’t take a lot to put together a personalised email to your clients.
In your personalised email talk about the developments within their product area, recommend how combining both income protection and critical illness can help protect them, for example.
Deliver insightful money saving tips and support to help the families economic position.
Delivering good financial outcomes for your clients, should not end once you’ve done the mortgage. Now explain to them how they can get the mortgage paid off quicker, the benefits and so on.
Share your firm’s own successes with them, invite your clients to get togethers or financial seminars.
Treat your clients as royalty, without their business, there is no business.
Drip Feed
You’re on social media, stop using it to consume dopamine, and start using the platforms to drip feed content for your clients.
Sign-up to the social media channels you know your clients are using, in most cases this is likely to be Facebook and LinkedIn, again research and get to know your client.
The stronger the relationship, the more likely they are to tell you where they are hanging out.
This should also be an indicator, that more people like the client you are currently helping will also be on that platform.
Drip feed regular content updates, include:
- Interest rate changes
- Resources about current account switches
- Loans (Second Charge)
- When is the right time to remortgage
- Guides on how to pay off their mortgage earlier
To name just a few, vary the content mediums include images, video, text and even audio.
Look, the point is, your social media channels should be a platform that you are using to aid your customers with their economic position. Not for consuming dopamine.
Create content don’t consume it.
Building blocks
Having a meaningful conversation at the start of a mortgage or protection process, is of course vital for understanding your clients outcomes.
However, it shouldn’t stop there, building a strong relationship with your clients is going to help both you, as the adviser and the client get better outcomes.
If in the past you’ve just done a simple case for a customer and they’ve been forgotten about, look we’re all human.
Now is the time to pick-up the phone and check in with your client.
Use your CRM to find out when you last contacted them and the various notes you made to understand how you left the relationship. You did keep those notes, right?
In all likelihood these clients are anxiously waiting to hear from you, and a simple phone call or an email could help reactivate the relationship or at the very least start a new conversation.
Back to the CeMAP Journey
One of the reasons I’m taking CeMAP is to be able to build a firm that really grows with their clients. From the first time buyer, through to retirement and even estate planning.
I am building the skillset with which to dominate, whether as an adviser or a marketer.
I’m documenting my journey here, with this blog, if you want to see if I pull it off, hit the subscribe button below.