Client Hang Ups: Top Five Reasons Clients Dump An Advisor
October 17, 2012 4:50 PM
Client Hang Ups: Top Five Reasons Clients Dump An Advisor
Not returning calls from a spouse or significant other may land you in the dog house, and the same goes for your million dollar clients. Waiting too long for a callback from an advisor was the number one reason, even more crucial than giving the right advice, that clients went looking for someone better.
Check out the top five, according to research on millionaire clients from Lake Forest, Ill.-based consulting firm Spectrem Group and its subsidiary, Millionaire Corner.
Check out the top five, according to research on millionaire clients from Lake Forest, Ill.-based consulting firm Spectrem Group and its subsidiary, Millionaire Corner.
1. Not Returning Phone Calls in a Timely Manner
Fifty eight percent of clients would leave an advisor if that advisor didn't call them back quickly enough. How fast is fast? About 60% of clients expect you to get back within 5 hours, according to Katherine Dordick, who heads up business strategy and development at Spectrem Group.
2. Not Providing Good Ideas and Advice
As you might expect, 52% of wealthy clients said that they would leave over mistaken advice.
3. Not Being Proactive in Contacting The Client
Communication problems rear their head once again. Forty-nine percent said that they consider leaving when the advisor makes them do all the work.
"The second thing is providing good ideas and advice, but shortly behind that is not making contact," said Dordick.
"The second thing is providing good ideas and advice, but shortly behind that is not making contact," said Dordick.
4. Not Returning Emails
Clients give advisors a bit more lee-way for getting back to emails on time. Only 44% of clients said this was a reason to leave and 53% wanted email responses within five hours, a smaller percentage than expected phone calls back within the same time-frame.
5. Long-term (Over One Year) Losses for the Portfolio
Most clients can forgive a bad year. At number five, 37% of millionaires said this was a reason to leave their advisors.
