Knowledge. Shared Blog

May 2018

Get on the Pitch and WIN to Show Superior Client Value

One of the winningest coaches of all time in the great sport of rugby was asked about his outsized success during an impressive 35-year career.

“We WIN,” he said.

Well, of course, you’re thinking. But it’s not so simple.

“My players and I continually ask the question of ourselves, ‘What’s Important Now?’ – WIN,” he explained – transforming the result to an actionable acronym. “The question serves to focus our mental energy on the matter at hand, eliminating disappointments in the past or worries for the future.”

Said differently, they get done what they need to get done, when they need to do it.

So, with respect to delivering an outstanding client experience, how are you doing? Are you and your team WINning? That is, are you repeatedly asking yourselves “What’s Important Now” to clients driving the lion’s share of your business?

Grit or Flair?

Being a trusted long-term partner means not just showing up and expecting success. If you’re not getting the result you want, it may be time to change the dance. Or if the dance itself changed, knowing when to pivot to new realities and live in the present is critical. Is there a powerful intention to bring value to their lives? If so, how are you adapting it and personalizing it to their changing realities?

At Knowledge Labs®, we believe that to meaningfully differentiate, it is the personalized, systematic expressions of gratitude that can make all the difference. And the numbers show that clients who focus on this type of gratitude not only manage greater assets – they have more satisfaction in their work. I do not know of a more important organizational habit for an advisory team to tackle than this. Ask the question systematically and your results will be more consistent – and lasting.

Now, I know there’s no need to remind you just how ridiculously busy our minds are in this industry. Information deluges at an outrageous clip. We need a mechanism for ballast, to keep our priorities straight.

WINning is the answer.

Winning the Breakdown

Get on the field and put the practice into play today. Schedule a team meeting. Pick a selection of five clients you work closely with and who you feel that you know best.

Now as your team: What in this exact point in time, not last autumn, not when they first asked us to be stewards of their assets, is most important to them? See how many members of your team can answer – and who can provide new information that can help the team reacquaint themselves with these key clients.

Then, go around the room and have everybody commit to one thing the team can do to either get closer to a meaningful answer, or act on the information in the next month. Did your client’s parent pass? Create a shadow box with pictures and memorabilia from their beloved father’s life. Did their daughter just leave for college? Send them a customized “missing home” emergency kit, where family members can hide notes reminding them that they are a short call or drive away. New child? Send them a checklist for all the paperwork they may want to consider bringing up to date, beyond what your practice has already prepared for them – that tired and stressed new parents may have overlooked.

The question just might take your team out of a scrum, and over the goal line, and certainly remind them you were there when they needed you most.

THE ART OF WOW TOOL

An extension of The Art of WOW program, the tool is a one-stop library of unique WOW ideas to source personalized expressions of gratitude for clients.
View the Tool

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