The Practice Doctor is IN

Al Depman, CLU, ChFC, CMFC, BH

Don't Forget to Thank Your Clients

With the tumultuous months we’ve had in September and October, let’s hope some stability will be in the cards for November. I’d like to enter the Thanksgiving weekend with a sense of gratitude and reflection rather than backing into it on the defensive.

Many advisors use the Thanksgiving holiday as a time for sending their holiday cards. They’ve gravitated to Thanksgiving as their client base has become more diversified. Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Id al-Adha, and Christmas have been unceremoniously blended into the bland “Season’s Greeting,” which is more reflective of primitive mid-winter celebrations than anything religious or, as a cynic might say, reflective of a high holy shopping season. Additionally, there are many people who simply don’t consider themselves a member of any organized religion. Since 98 percent of Americans believe in a God, many of these folks have some sort of a spiritual side to be addressed at this time of year. 

Thanksgiving cards are a safe, meaningful alternative. It’s a uniquely American holiday, one for celebration of all that we have to be thankful for. Even amid crashing 401(k) balances and trillions of dollars of value evaporating into thin air, there are the everyday freedoms that we often take for granted, all of which can be reinforced with a Thanksgiving card. Relationships and family are a major part of the American Thanksgiving experience, and worth celebrating with your clients.

Regardless of one’s religious and political affiliations, Thanksgiving can be a unifying time for a country coming off a bruising campaign season.  A message of hope and healing is an appropriate communication to your top-tier clients. The act of reaching out with a non-business message is important at the beginning of this holiday season, before the conflicting messages of commercialism and religious ritual descend upon us.

A Thanksgiving card (or any holiday card) should be a physical card, not an e-card. Never underestimate the power of a mailed, personalized card.  A few written words to your client will be sufficient to show it’s sincere. Resist the urge to send humorous or funny cards unless you are really, really sure the serious sentiment still comes through.

That said, there is even more power in knowing your client’s religious persuasion and sending an appropriate card with an even more specific message. Whether this is done in addition to a Thanksgiving card or as a standalone card would be up to each individual advisor’s good judgment. This assumes, of course, the advisor’s database holds such information about a client’s religious preference.

Let us also consider the advisor’s exercising of his or her faith. An advisor who is very committed to fervently observing the seasonal messages and rituals of a particular religion may simply want to communicate that message to clients. A strongly devout Christian who is not afraid to discuss his beliefs might send a card reflecting his message of universal peace, hope, and love “that encompasses all of us under God.”  One would hope that top clients would appreciate the strength of the advisor’s beliefs and not be offended.

Other holiday considerations for top-tier clients include:

• A contribution in your client’s name to a favorite charity.  Some advisors will tailor this to the client’s charity of choice. Others will have a short list of the advisor’s favorite charities from which the client can chose to have a donation made in their name. This can be a nice non-religious way of celebrating the holiday season.
• A fun gift every few years can also be appropriate. Last year, I saw an advisor who sent top clients personalized M&Ms with their clients’ children’s names on one side and the clients’ name(s) on the other. Another took a nice photo of the client’s family and had a customized sheet of U.S. postage stamps made.
• Holiday parties, open-houses, or other social events for clients. These events are best done with long-time clients who already have met each other. For many senior advisors, the simple fact is that many of their top clients are also friends of the family. That makes holiday get-togethers a natural and meaningful venue.

May your own Thanksgiving celebration be fulfilling and a time for gathering and reflection. And be sure the turkey is cooked to 165 degrees inside, as the USDA suggests. Next month we’ll take a look at your practice’s temperature. Healthy going into the New Year? We’ll find out. Until then,

The Doctor is OUT.

Al Depman, CLU, ChFC, CMFC, BH, a.k.a. “The Practice Doctor”, is MitchAnthony.com’s Business Practice Consultant. He is the creator of “The Practice Management Assessment” tool and materials and has authored numerous articles in professional publications on practice management, and author of the forthcoming book, How to Build Your Financial Advisory Business, to be published by McGraw Hill in 2009. Al combined his Liberal Arts studies with 10 years of management experience with McDonald’s Corporation to enter the financial services world 25 years ago. Since then, Al has evolved from an MDRT-level sales rep into a full-time consultant specializing in helping others engineer their business practices to the next level. Contact him at al@mitchanthony.com.

© 2008 Al Depman