Roy Keenan from Yarra Capital Management shares insights with James Dunn from The Inside Network on the role of active management. The Inside Adviser
After the Hayne Royal Commission many advisers decided to steer away from large dealer groups in favour of becoming self-licensed. In the last six months, however, that trend has taken an abrupt turn.
Avoid these four traits to win clients virtually
Whether it’s with a sole client, a large internal team, or external stakeholders, holding effective and engaging meetings is an art form. It requires skill to know how to simultaneously capture attention, inform, be interactive, and leave a lasting impression — it’s a demanding task.
The hosting of a meeting will most likely become more demanding when it is being held virtually due to so many things to consider – internet connection, background distractions, audio and video quality, just to name a few. As adviser/client meetings are still relatively new to the virtual world, there is no distinct roadmap to emulating success every time.
However, as helpful as it would be, a roadmap is not always the key to success. Sometimes the key can be learning from people who have experience hosting virtual meetings and understanding what they think makes them successful.
Invesco Consulting’s research in partnership with political consultants Maslansky and Partners as well as Cheryl McPhilimy, a media relations and communication specialist, has found the four most detrimental virtual meeting mistakes and provides insights on how to avoid them.
- Taking questions at the end
One of the greatest aspects of meetings is the collaboration and discussion that stems from client engagement. Virtual meetings notably make this harder, and they’re often marked by the opposite.
All too often, there are no questions throughout the meeting, highlighting the common mistake of not making space for conversation. A solution is to make a special effort to encourage it throughout, particularly with new clients where a strong relationship hasn’t developed yet. It’s important to give clients the space to come off mute and contribute throughout the meeting, as creating interaction whenever possible will ensure the client knows that the meeting is all about them.
2. Going over time
Schedules are tight, particularly in the virtual environment. Many people are flicking from meeting to meeting without much, if any, break in-between. This is very different to our face-to-face experiences. Keeping this in mind, it is important to give clients a realistic expectation of when the meeting is going to end. When a meeting with a client goes overtime, it can imply that you do not respect your clients’ busy schedules and that there was a lack of planning.
Always consider how long a meeting or presentation may take, and if required, rehearse and time your presentation before the meeting.
3. Letting emotions get the better of you
Virtual presentations are prone to mishaps, more so than face-to-face meetings. It’s understandable that from time to time there will be issues, however that doesn’t mean this is the right time to display anger or stress in front of clients. While a dysfunctional microphone, PowerPoint or internet connection will effectively shut down any virtual interaction, it is important to keep your cool and enact your back-up plan efficiently and calmly.
Having a backup plan – emailable slides or documents, backup presenters and even backup computers/internet connection, is a vital part of planning for any virtual meeting. Not having planned for such events can leave you vulnerable to stress and impatience which will at best, interrupt the emotional flow of your meeting and at worst, cause a sense of awkwardness that may never be able to be overcome.
4. Being impersonal
During a virtual interaction, you may feel compelled to demonstrate a more refined or professional side of yourself. In some cases, it makes sense and is depending on the circumstance; however, a robotic meeting setting can feel tedious and uninteresting. Being too polished can dehumanise you, and may impact relatability between you and your client.
You can establish immediate connectedness through humanisation and personalisation. Knowing when and where to use personal examples or display vulnerability builds trust, and shows that you as their adviser are actively listening and truly understand the client.
Virtual presenting done well requires conscious adjustments to simulate the benefits of an in-person experience, so it is important to be aware of the toxic traits that will hinder your virtual client interactions.
Invesco Global Consulting is a unique resource that exists to help advisers in the three areas all advisers consistently focus on – winning new business, retaining existing clients and growing their wallet and market share. We focus solely on the importance of the client relationship, methodically researching the language of our industry and the emotions associated with it to create actionable and implementable practice management and business strategy programs, assisting advisers across Australia.
