• Better client conversations can lead to better client relationships.
• Better understanding can lead to better long-term financial strategies for your clients.
• The key to successful communication is not necessarily what you say, but how you say it.

We all know that good communication is important. But when it comes to clients, communication has far more riding on it than your typical conversation. Not only can better communication lead to a deeper understanding of client goals, that knowledge can lead to financial strategies tailored to their unique needs, which can ultimately have a profound impact on their future.

To help financial professionals more effectively connect with clients, we worked with Luntz Global to gather valuable insights from investors across the country. We analyzed common perceptions, priorities, and expectations of clients and identified the most effective ways to deliver them. Here’s what we learned.

1. The key to earning trust: your track record of success.

This is one of the qualities that matters most in a financial professional. When demonstrating your track record, consider sharing past examples of how you helped other clients succeed versus showing hard numbers.

2.  Keep the conversation about them — not you.

One of the top frustrations investors have in talking to a financial professional is they talk more than they listen. Ask open-ended questions about clients’ hopes and dreams, priorities, and expectations for retirement. Once you craft a strategy that’s personalized to them, clients will know they’ve been heard.

3.  The top benefit you provide: improving their quality of life.

Clients are concerned about outliving their money. They want a financial professional who’s committed to protecting their quality of life well into their retirement years.

4.  Retirement is a journey.
Many still see retirement as some sort of finish line, when it’s really the start of a new life chapter. Instead of asking the usual “Where do you see yourself retiring?” try an open-ended approach to help clients open up, such as: “What do you want your lifestyle to look like in 10 years?”

5.  Recommend small, simple steps that help them achieve future goals.
This will help make the often daunting task of planning for the future more manageable.

6.  Focus on their family and their future.
They’re saving so their children will not see them as a burden. In fact, most investors are just as concerned with the long-term financial security and health of their spouse and children as they are about themselves.

7.  Provide “tools, services, and solutions” — not products.
It’s essential for financial professionals to remove “products” from their dictionaries. Instead, offer “tools” and “solutions” that can be valuable resources for clients. When financial professionals say “products,” clients hear “profits,” “commissions,” and “upselling.”

Keep these 7 tips handy to help make your client conversations even more effective.

Things to Consider:

• Putting this research into practice can help set you apart from your competition. 
• Recognize what your solutions and services mean to people’s lives.
• Share your knowledge to clients in a way they understand to provide value that goes beyond numbers.

Transamerica Resources, Inc. is an Aegon company and is affiliated with various companies which include, but are not limited to, insurance companies and broker dealers. Transamerica Resources, Inc. does not offer insurance products or securities. The information provided is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as, medical, insurance, securities, tax, legal or financial advice or guidance. Please consult your personal independent advisors for answers to your specific questions.