Despite our illusions as trusted investment advisors and dedicated financial planners, the reality is, we simply do not manage all of our clients’ money and we are seldom retained as their one and only advice-giver. I doubt this comes as a big surprise, as most of us just reluctantly accept the fact that investors will consistently employ an average of two to four professionals to help manage their financial affairs.

Now, I’m certainly not about to suggest that every one of your clients should blindly hand over their last penny, but I do believe that there are potent strategies you can

implement immediately that will empower you to capture the majority (if not all) of your clients’ investable assets. I’m talking about “the whole nine yards.”

If you’ve read any of my previous articles or attended any of my sessions, you will know that I’m a big believer in modelling excellence — anywhere we find it.

So, why is it that some advisors are able to make the connection, land the prospect and retain the client — while consistently capturing most (or all) of the investors’ assets? In other words, what are these individuals doing differently than many advisors who are willing to settle for a smaller piece of the proverbial pie?

In order to understand how these advisors do what they do, we need to objectively evaluate their mindset, their procedures, their habits and their rituals, and carefully extract the most resourceful components for personal application.

Over the years, I have discovered that there are essentially three critical factors that determine what I call an advisor’s Asset-Capture Ratio (ACR), and it seems to all come down to how an advisor does these things:

1. Pre-frame their advisory identity

2. Address the emotional needs of the investor

3. Package and deliver brilliant client service

How to pre-frame your advisory identityAt the risk of over-simplification, when an advisor consistently captures the bulk of a client’s wealth, it’s primarily because they are perceived in a specific way by the client. It’s rare to see an affluent investor transfer all of their wealth to a single advisor when that advisor’s perceived identity is one of stock broker, trader, speculator or even a broader “investment person.”

People take their hard-earned wealth very seriously — and this is especially true of high-net-worth and ultra-high- net-worth families.

So, when it comes to matters of such great complexity, it’s inherently counterintuitive for them to entrust all of that responsibility to just one individual or even one area of expertise.

The advisor who consistently achieves an above-average ACR — capturing the lion’s

Back of the NapkinDirector, Strategic Insights Grant Shorten

Capturing the whole nine yardsThree things you can do to capture more assets

Your clients admire you, respect you and have selected you as their single go-to resource for all things financial. They have entrusted you with all of their hard-earned wealth and will remain utterly faithful to you alone, as their wise and omniscient advisor! Wait a minute — the real world doesn’t quite work that way…

share of a household’s investable assets — does so by expertly and uniquely pre-framing their advisory identity in the presence of the investor. Remember, our words change brain chemistry and they create definitive pictures and feelings in the mind of the listener. Therefore, the words that we utter as we define ourselves, during initial contact discussions, will dramatically affect how we are perceived for a very long time to come.

The “average” advisor will typically define their role, their function and their offering using generic terms like Financial Advisor, Investment Executive and Financial Planner. In contrast, the high ACR advisor will conjure up an abundance of rich context and layered meaning, by using semantic loops, like…“Our clients view us as responsible guardians of their wealth…”“We are protectors of our clients’ hard-earned assets…”“My team is the single go-to resource for all of our clients’ financial needs…”“We will create for you a comprehensive, integrated financial plan that will serve as the roadmap to achieve your goals and lifestyle dreams…”“We understand the complexity of your needs, and will act as your personal CFO — providing access to other key specialists in the areas of legal, insurance and accounting…”You can see how the investor leaves this type of discussion with the clear understanding that the advisor is more than just an “investment person.” The high ACR advisor is firmly positioned as a defender, a protector and a highly capable integrated wealth manager.

How to address the emotional needs of the investorIt’s now widely accepted, even beyond marketing circles, that virtually all buying decisions are driven by emotional factors. As the well-known saying goes, “People buy for emotional reasons and then justify their decision with logic.”

In my experience, this is equally applicable to the hiring of investment professionals. Therefore, it will be the advisor who most effectively identifies and addresses the emotional needs of the prospect that will command their undivided attention, and captivate their heart and soul.

While the “average” advisor endlessly addresses things like portfolio construction, asset allocation, diversification and product features, the high ACR advisor empathetically uncovers the investor’s fears, challenges, needs, goals and dreams. They address each emotion-based issue head-on, and then (and only then) will offer a comprehensive set of logical solutions.

Here are just a few examples of real investor emotions:Fear of losing their wealthFear of not having enough to retire onFear of losing their job, their current income, their statusFear of getting sick or becoming disabledDesire for a lot more moneyThe need to understand their investment statementsDesire for more educationThe need to be taken care ofFear of being taken advantage ofAnger over taxesUncertainty about the futureThe emotional makeup of an investor is complicated, but can be easily unlocked and accessed with the right strategy in place. Regardless of the method employed, something wonderful happens when a person feels like they’ve been understood at a deeper level. All of a sudden, the idea of releasing their wealth for “tender care” becomes almost instinctual.

To learn more about the Rapid Rapport Method and how to tap into the Five Explicit Needs of Investors, contact your Renaissance Investments representative, who will be happy to provide more information.

How to package and deliver brilliant client serviceWe all know about the importance of providing quality service to our clients. But what does that really mean? The truth is there are as many definitions of “good service” as there are clients in your contact management system. Service level preferences and expectations are generally a function of client personality — introversion versus extrover-sion, independence versus reliance, privacy versus openness and the level of financial complexity that a client brings to the table.

However, there is undeniably a single critical thread that runs through this whole discussion on Client Service. Virtually all key industry studies tell us that the number one reason an investor leaves an advisor is essentially because…drum roll… they can’t get in touch with you!

The “average” advisor has a tendency to shy away from making contact with clients, especially during challenging market cycles. Our all-too-human nature often proves that we would rather avoid the probability of pain than gain the possibility of a rewarding interaction.

In contrast, the high ACR advisor delivers top notch Client Service by engaging in the following behaviours with consistency and discipline:

1. The advisor or a member of the team is always available to the client.

2. The advisor structures a tailored Client Service Agreement based on the unique needs and preferences of the client.

3. The advisor meets systematically with the client to conduct wealth management reviews and to update the emotional map.

4. The advisor delivers confident opinions and avoids laying out a wide range of options.

Whether your goal is to increase your Asset-Capture Ratio, or to be perceived as the “guardian” of wealth by your clients, you will find these simple concepts of tremendous value.

Pre-frame your advisory identity in a powerful way by choosing your words carefully. Instill layers of meaning while you convey the holistic breadth of your business practice. Move directly to unlocking the emotional needs of your clients, and discuss solutions in terms of how it will make them “feel.” Solidify the relationship, and capture even more assets, by delivering a custom- designed service model that will leave your clients breathless.

To learn more about the concepts in this article and to get more ideas and support to help you capture the whole nine yards, contact your Renaissance Investments representative.

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