Four Best Practices to Retain Clients During a Bear Market

Clients can be concerned when the markets have a correction. How can you reassure them and keep them from panicking and pulling assets from the market during these tough times and what are some actions you can take to retain existing clients?

  1. Schedule yourself for a ‘time out’ for 1 – 2 hours per day to focus your attention on creating positive activity. This is a good time to do research, and make sure your clients financial plans are updated and in good order.
  2. If you have been using the Supernova Process you know how important it is to make those monthly calls. Your clients will know you are taking care of business and keeping them in the loop of any changes to the economic situation. If you haven’t been meeting with them monthly now is the time to start. We recommend using the 12-4-2 model which stands for 4 quarterly reviews with two of those being in-person meetings and monthly update calls to have a personal conversation with them. Stick with your rituals. For those that have completely adopted Supernova, your rituals will really help you gain market share during this period of “deer in the headlight”. The market is coming to you; this is what you planned to happen, you are prepared.
  3. Adapt your investment model to the new normal. If it is going to take two years for equities to regain their glow, then get creative and stretch out clients horizons. Help them with their retirement planning . If they are retired help them run a cost analysis on their assets to reassure them they have enough money to live.
  4. Be proactive and look at these action steps:
    1. Dollar Cost Average
    2. Reinvest Dividends
    3. Do tax swaps now to establish lower cost basis
    4. Introduce hedging strategies
    5. Introduce structured products
    6. Rebalance portfolios back to ideal models

Acquisition

  1. Activate your referral model and make five outgoing calls per day for new sit down meetings
  2. Set new goal of eight appointments per week with new prospects
  3. Get out of the office. This is great for your moral during these tough markets and will revitalize your business.
  4. Ask for referrals from existing clients.
  5. Close for follow-up face to face meetings. These will produce action and opportunities. You cannot expect to get new clients unless you are “playing in traffic”.
  6. “Play to Win” by getting active  and getting out vs staying inside and “Playing Not to Lose”

Exercise: Incorporate one of these actionable ideas. If you are only “Supernova-ing” some of your clients extend it to all of them and give them 12 touches annually.

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