Why Clients Toss Your Welcome Packet in the Garbage

I use these welcome packets as coasters for my kids’ sippy cups that they are always spilling. Given I have three kids ages four and younger (literally) and dinner is a circus (also, literally), these welcome packet come in very handy.

Remember that the first six months of a new relationship are the honeymoon period. They’ll never love you as much as they do right now because the slate is completely clean. This is the best possible opportunity for referrals.

Don’t send them more information about you. They fell in love enough to sign the agreement.

Make it about them, not about you. Here’s how.

Warming up the tundra

Because I enjoy pondering these topics in my spare time (please refer to description of dinner circus above – that’s a joke – there is no free time in my life), here are some ways to make your welcome packet less cold-as-ice:

• Coupon to a local restaurant where you know the owner. Tell the client to let you know in advance when they plan to go, and phone the owner and tell him/her to give them client special treatment;

• Handwritten note from the person who will be servicing the relationship at the firm. The note discusses specific goals the client has and his/her motivation to work together on them;

• Questionnaire about their lives (not financial) asking for info such as how they like to celebrate birthdays, favorite food, favorite sports teams, etc.;

• Humorous or warm picture of team doing some fun or charitable together but not sitting in the office like a stone corporate Sphinx adorned with an Armani suit;

• Link to join your firm’s private LinkedIn or Facebook group for clients only; and

• Calendar of events for next year;

• Free pass to bring a friend to your next company event;

• Chocolate. Enough said. Anything chocolate will do. Do you know you can get business cards made out of chocolate?; and

• Blog about what to expect during the first month of working together with real anecdotes that describe client experiences.

You get my drift, right? Include things that pertain to the client and his/her life.

What about virtual?

These days the welcome can be virtual. Imagine something like this…

What if you signed up with a real estate agent because you were thinking of selling your home? As a welcome gesture, the real estate agent had every single person at his or her firm connect with you on LinkedIn that day with a personalized note about how he or she is excited to make this home sale go smoothly.

It has several advantages. It’s warm and pleasant. Second, it connects you to people you may need without you having to search for them. It shows people that you’re there to serve them – because you’re putting yourself there without them having to ask.

I know, I know, you advisors all say your Boomer clients aren’t on LinkedIn. But their kids are! Imagine the look on the client’s face when they hear, “I connected with your daughter Manisha because you mentioned she is starting veterinary school and I have some great updates she may find useful through my news feed about paying down school loans.”

Sara’s upshot

Hope these tips can help you start off your relationship with your clients in a more human way. And speaking of that, I’m having a fun webinar on how to create your LinkedIn allure that you can register for here.

Sara Grillo, CFA, is a top financial writer with a focus on marketing and branding for investment management, financial planning, and RIA firms. Prior to launching her own firm, she was a financial advisor and worked at Lehman Brothers. Sara graduated from Harvard with a degree in English literature and has an MBA from NYU Stern in quantitative finance.

Read more articles by Sara Grillo