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Keeping yourself organized, and subsequently keeping
your clients organized with an organizer / binder and estate organizer.
There is actually one idea, getting organized , and three variations.
First, keeping yourself organized with files, information and reviews.
Second, a binder organized for your clients, and to help them stay
organized, and third, an estate planner or organizer for your clients.
Variations: Getting organized. As Louis Pasteur said 'Success
favours the prepared mind'. Think of how organized a doctors office is
in regard to files and information. Is the file or chart as it is
referred to in doctors offices look organized, or did they forget your
history ? When you received your will from your lawyers office or tax
return from your accountant, was it in a presentable folder to keep all
the documents organized? Keeping yourself and your clients documents
organized shows your professionalism. Have organized client files and
client document organizers in a very professional and presentable
manner.
Costs: Cost for binder can range from $5 - $100 each. Make up 5- 10
binders with tabs in advance.
Potential Results: When a client has a review, do you have a well
organized file of information, updated and summarized, or are you
scrambling to remember details? Have your files organized, whether paper
copy or on computer, to give the impression of organization.
Are your files labeled professionally or scribbled
on? Do you have systems for file preparation or is it just throw it in
and file it away? Set up your files so the access to information can be
obtained by anyone on your team easily. For example, paste client
details on one side of the file folder, and personal details on the
other side. Put color coded file folders inside your legal size file
folder (which I recommend) with relevant documents such as tax planning,
insurance planning, or investment summaries where they are easily
identifiable by your team. (Note, your compliance officer or department
may have file procedures and I would check with them for guidelines. It
will also help if you get audited or reviewed on a regular basis by your
compliance officer.)
For your clients, do you have policy wallets if you
sell insurance? Do you have client review binders or organizers? If you
don’t I suggest to ask your company if they have organizers, or take a
trip to your printer or stationary store and get client binders and
organizers for them.
Just imagine if I turn my portfolio over to you and
the last firm provided me with a client organizer and you don’t have
one. What message are you sending? Some firms have customized material,
which you may decide not to use for everyone, but your top clients.
Grant's Tip: - Have a client binder for accountants and tell them
to keep it as a reference to your ideas that you send them. Then your
ideas are now seen as excellent reference material.
You can go and purchase leather binders with tabs in
them from stationary stores, and customize the tabs for your clients.
You can also put a nice pen in the binder as a gift. The next time you
meet, they have the binder and are well organized for the meeting as
well as you are.
Most clients receive all kinds of financial mail and
sometimes are not sure what to keep. Ask them to bring it in and the
important documents you will add to the binder. A valuable estate
planning strategy to help keep your clients organized is an estate
organizer.
I recommend to clients to put their estate planning
documents in order and pick a date where everything is up to date. Then
write a note to your estate administrator(s) stating that everything is
up to date as of this date so they don’t have to go back any further
when they uncover documents after your client has passed away.
It is a valuable exercise for your clients and ask
if they need help with it , you can do it together. You may uncover
hidden planning opportunities for your client also, and the level of
trust is heightened. Then think how helpful it will be to your estate
administrator.
Copyright 2003 By: Jay Conrad Levinson and Grant W. Hicks, C.I.M.,FCSI - Co-author of "Guerrilla
Marketing For Financial Advisors", Trafford Publishing 2003.
You may use these articles in your
marketing, newsletters and web sites as long as you retain the copyright
information at the bottom, including the link to our web
site and inform us where it is being used as well as sending us a copy
of the publication.
Always check with your compliance office
and or branch manager before implementing any marketing idea. The
information does not constitute a recommendation for the sale or
purchase of any securities or insurance. |
