I want to share the highlights of a recent conversation I had with an advisor we coach. It involved three real-time summer scenarios of three affluent families. Each scenario presented a real opportunity to strengthen client loyalty. Each scenario shows the power of paying attention and showing that you care.
Situation 1: An empty nester couple takes a two-week vacation, participating in a 20 person guided tour through Croatia. Every day was documented with multiple photos posted on Facebook and Instagram, complete with a description of each photo. It was an excellent tour. They befriended three couples during their time traveling together—they even kept in touch post-trip! However, within three days of arriving home, they both tested positive for COVID-19.
Situation 2: Another couple, also empty nesters, took a two-week vacation that involved a lot of time on a boat in one of the Great Lakes. This was a trip back to the husband’s family roots; visiting family, extended family and old friends as they journeyed from marina to marina. Much like the couple on the Croatian tour, photos were taken and posted on Facebook and Instagram, also complete with descriptions. One of the photos highlighted a speed bump that occurred during the second week— the boat’s engine gave out. The photo showed the husband on his hands and knees in the small engine room (the boat could sleep six) with the narrative “I failed … had to cut our vacation two days short.”
Situation 3: The advisor noticed that it was a COI’s birthday, again finding this information on Facebook. He then proceeded to call the COI in an attempt to give “happy birthday greetings” only to discover he was out of the country and wouldn’t be back for a few weeks.
When he finished sharing the happenings outlined above, I asked the advisor if he saw opportunities. After a long thoughtful pause, he began by remarking that Facebook played a prominent role in each and that he needed to check with his team to make certain that he was connected with all top clients and COIs on Facebook. He was social media savvy, but had been paying more attention to LinkedIn than Facebook and Instagram.
As we then discussed, there was a tremendous opportunity here to strengthen the emotional connection with the people in each of these scenarios. Commenting on their photos, calling them regarding the boat incident, calling and sending a COVID relief basket, setting up a late birthday dinner, etc. Not to mention, the opportunity to connect with at least two to three affluent prospects from these trips by the end of the year
The dog days of summer are perfect for strengthening emotional connections. The affluent are traveling even amidst the new travel struggles. They want to get away from the 24/7 toxic news cycle, yet the coronavirus still lurks, and, consequently, their emotions are frayed. All of this creates the perfect scenario for strengthening emotional connections. None of this is rocket science—it’s simply paying attention and executing little personal acts of kindness.
If you're like the advisor I just shared with you, start checking your Facebook connections and get to work – there are opportunities awaiting you.