There are more than 300,000 advisors in the U.S. alone – what makes you stand out? How do you differentiate your firm from every other firm out there?
Here’s the secret: You have to be remarkable.
Making Your Business Remarkable
It starts with interpersonal skills.
When you have your own business or firm, you have to prioritize client relationships. Developing those relationships can help build loyalty and trust and bring you future clients. Practice interpersonal skills like actively listening, being empathetic, anticipating needs, being patient and dependability.
An example of this is the Volvo dealership I go to. As soon as I walk through the door, they greet me by name, offer me a drink and snacks, and present spectacular interpersonal skills.
That customer relationship isn’t always present at other dealerships, so Volvo stands out to me.
You can stand out too. Focus on your relationships. Learn everyone’s names, make sure they are comfortable, listen to their concerns and be dependable.
If you show you care, they will appreciate that tremendously – and that’s when brand loyalty starts to form.
And it’s great when everything is going right, but this can be especially true when something goes wrong.
A client calls with a problem – how does your firm handle it?
Even if you run the best business, problems are inevitable, and, just like anyone else, you want to handle them efficiently and effectively.What do you do when a client calls you about a problem?
Ask yourself these questions and decide if you could improve your process:
- How much time are they spending on hold?
- How archaic is your system?
- If people leave a voicemail, how quickly does your team respond?
- Is it a convenient process?
Every minute that passes between your client discovering the problem and you fixing it is an inconvenience to them. Making them wait on hold could be lead to increased frustration. Taking down a message or letting them leave a voicemail with their name, number and reason for calling and then calling them back may save a lot of frustration and time on both ends.
Problems happen. Just handle it the best way possible that reflects positively on your brand.
What does it look like when somebody interacts with your brand?
- Is it just like every other brand?
- Are your events unique?
- Does your brand experience feel familiar yet engaging, or tired and forgettable?
If your brand experience feels like every other brand’s, it is not remarkable.
You need to figure out how to make it Instagram-able – where other people want to share their good experience with their followers on their stories, on their feed and by word-of-mouth – that’s your goal. That’s remarkable.
Elevate your brand experience and watch client satisfaction rise.
Your Challenge
My challenge for you is to take a look at your firm and write down how you would elevate the experience.
Talk to your coworkers. Brainstorm. If you have to hire an outside coach or consultant to help you, that’s okay too. Just focus on your core and make them exceptional.
This does not mean you have to add new services – just elevate the ones you offer to another level. And, by rising to a new level with your services, the experience will follow.
My questions for you are:
- What things have you already elevated?
- What are the things in your firm that you’re looking to bring to the next level?
- Where can you dive deeper and create more value and more connections?
