How to Talk to Your Clients as a Financial Advisor

Good communication is the bedrock of a strong advisor-client relationship. Your clients want to hear from you and, more importantly, they want to feel that their needs and concerns are being heard. Making time to chat may be challenging, but having quality conversations can reap long-term rewards for your business. A solid communication strategy can also reduce stress around how to talk to clients and ensure that both of you find value in your interactions.

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How to Talk to Clients: 7 Tips for Better Communication

The conversations you have with clients, whether they happen in person or over the phone, inform the decisions you make with their portfolios. Good conversations enhance the client experience, which can encourage loyalty and lead to higher retention rates. Poor conversations or communications, on the other hand, could drive clients away.

With that in mind, here are some tips for how to talk to clients effectively.

1. Choose an Agenda

A financial advisor reviewing a portfolio.

If you have limited time to talk with a client, a meeting agenda can help you stay focused and on task. You can make this a collaborative effort by asking your clients in advance to share two or three concerns that are top of mind for them right now.

That gives you a framework for developing a list of questions to ask and topics to cover. It becomes easier to structure the meeting time to cover those concerns and leave room for any additional questions that may arise along the way.

2. Set the Right Tone

Money is often an emotionally charged topic, and your choice of tone matters when talking with clients. Market volatility, for instance, can spark feelings of fear, and a client may come to you in a panic over what to do. In that situation, what they need most is reassurance, which requires a calming tone.

When deciding what tone to use, let the client lead you. Some clients may prefer a more formal approach, while others want to feel as if they’re discussing their finances with a friend. Matching the client’s tone can help them feel at ease and lead to deeper conversations.

3. Avoid Negative Language

Clients expect you to offer solutions and downplay their fears and concerns. Using negative language can have the opposite effect.

That doesn’t mean you need to sugarcoat a situation when there are real risks to a client’s portfolio or financial goals. However, any discussion of potentially negative outcomes should be balanced with an exploration of the positive and possible solutions.

For example, instead of telling a client there’s nothing you can do about the market’s ups and downs, you might say something like:

“The market is unpredictable right now, and your concerns about that are valid. Let’s talk about some changes we could make to your plan that will make you feel more comfortable.”

In two simple sentences, you’ve affirmed their feelings while acknowledging the situation. You’ve also given them an invitation to feel involved and in control.

4. Ask Open-Ended Questions

The fastest way to kill a client conversation is to ask questions that can only be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Open-ended questions keep the conversation flowing, and your client’s answers can provide valuable insight that you can use to shape their financial plans.

For example, say that you’re talking to a client who’s fearful of market fluctuations. You might ask questions like:

What is it you’re most concerned about right now?
How is what’s happening with the markets affecting your financial decision-making?
What would ease your stress levels as we navigate this period of volatility?

Open-ended questions keep the client engaged so they feel like a participant, rather than a passenger who’s just along for the ride.

5. Practice Active Listening

Active listening is a valuable skill for financial advisors. When you listen actively, you give the client your full attention and demonstrate through verbal and nonverbal cues that you hear what they’re saying and that you understand.

You can practice your active listening skills by:

Making eye contact with your client while they’re speaking, if you’re meeting in person
Staying focused on the conversation at hand and eliminating distractions
Allowing the client to say everything they want to say, without interruptions
Asking questions to clarify the key points the client is making
Restating or rephrasing the client’s thoughts to demonstrate understanding

Empathy also matters here, as active listening works best when you grasp the client’s emotions, thoughts and feelings. An understanding of behavioral finance and how emotion motivates decision-making can help you strengthen your empathy “muscle.”

6. Talk to Them, Not at Them

A financial advisor discussing a portfolio with a client.

No one wants to feel as if they’re being talked at, which implies the conversation is one-sided. The discussions you have with clients should flow freely, with input coming from both sides.

If your client offers minimal responses, seems to shut down or tries to leave the meeting early, those are all signs that you’re talking at them, not to them. You can reset by pausing, apologizing for taking over the conversation and giving them room to speak while you actively listen.

7. Add a Personal Touch

It’s tempting to skip the small talk and get straight to business to make the most of your time, but that’s a missed opportunity to make a more personal connection. Asking questions outside of your financial planning agenda is a way to show clients that you have a genuine interest in who they are as people.

You might ask about their children, work, hobbies — the rapport and comfort level you have with one another can influence the topics you discuss. Likewise, you can share a life update of your own. Just be sure that small talk doesn’t overshadow the real purpose of your conversation, which is helping your client plan a brighter financial future.

Bottom Line

Mastering the art of how to talk to clients can take a little time and a lot of practice. The tips shared here are designed to help you improve your communication skills and lay the groundwork for more meaningful client conversations.

Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business

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A comprehensive client communication policy can help establish reasonable expectations regarding how often you’ll reach out to clients and the communication methods you’ll use. Getting feedback from your clients can help you shape your policy. For example, you can survey clients to ask which communication methods they prefer and how often they’d like to be contacted. Once you develop your communication policy, share it with your team to ensure that everyone is on the same page.