Most advisory firms would say they care deeply about the client experience. But they may be defining that experience too narrowly.
The client experience doesn’t begin when the advisor sits down for a meeting. It often begins much earlier: with the first phone call, email, website inquiry, scheduling interaction, or request for information.
And it isn’t created by the advisor alone.
Your Client Experience Starts Sooner and Extends Wider Than You May Realize
Every person and every process a client interacts with can contribute to or detract from the experience. Even employees who rarely speak with clients influence responsiveness, accuracy, preparation, and follow-through.
A CSA who catches an error before submitting paperwork improves the experience. An operations employee who maintains accurate CRM records helps the next team member respond intelligently. A well-prepared meeting file allows an advisor to demonstrate that the firm knows the client.
The client may never see the work behind the scenes. They experience the result.
That is why client experience should be viewed as a firm-wide competency, not simply a client-facing skill.
At Advisory Education Partners (AEP), we see this connection regularly. Our FACSC℠ programs help client service professionals strengthen technical knowledge, communication, attention to detail, and understanding of the advisory business. TEEMS℠ Coaching takes development further by identifying individual needs and helping employees improve areas such as proactivity, communication, prioritization, and working effectively with advisors.
The objective isn’t simply better-trained employees. It’s creating a team better equipped to deliver a consistent client experience.
Three Actions to Consider
1. Map the entire client journey.
Look beyond advisor meetings. Identify every employee, interaction, handoff, and process that can affect the client or prospect. By placing yourself in your prospect/client’s shoes, you can gain valuable new insights into how you and your firm are perceived.
2. Make attention to detail a service standard.
Names, documents, CRM notes, response times, meeting preparation, and follow-up all communicate competence—or the lack of it. Consistency and accuracy build confidence and comfort. Seemingly insignificant variations in processes and details can be felt by clients.
3. Develop the entire team.
Professional development shouldn’t be reserved for advisors and leaders. Give client service, operations, and support employees the knowledge and skills to understand not only what they do, but why it matters. Your firm is only as strong as the weakest link. Errors and omissions aren’t more or less problematic depending on who commits them. Everyone on your team should know at least the fundamentals of what you do for clients.
Clients may view the advisor as the face of the relationship, but their experience is the cumulative result of the entire firm.
Want to strengthen the people behind your client experience? Schedule an exploratory conversation with AEP to discuss where targeted training and development could make the greatest impact.
The Employee Training & Development Partner For Independent Financial Advisory Firms