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For most successful advisors, the number one issue each day is how to compress 40 or 50 hours of work into 8 or 10 hours.
So I don’t suggest that advisors add items to their daily to-do list lightly.
I strongly recommend all advisors incorporate a couple of tasks into their routines.
One is a short team meeting to start the day, as I have written about previously.
Another is a novel approach a top-performing advisor recently told me about: a five-minute time block to write three hand-written notes.
Building personal notes into your routine
About 18 months ago, at the height of market crisis, the advisor changed his routine. Now, when he comes into the office, his assistant has already put three notes on his desk with a printout of everyone he spoke to the day before, along with a notation as to when he last sent them a handwritten note.
The first thing he does, even before getting his morning coffee or looking at emails, is to take five minutes to write three notes.
They can be as basic as: “Many thanks for taking the time yesterday to talk on the phone. I appreciate your confidence and the opportunity to work together.”
Or they can be more personal: “Congratulations on your daughter’s acceptance to university in the fall – having gone through this myself, I know how proud you must feel.”
Ten minutes later, his assistant comes into his office to pick up the notes – if they aren’t done, she waits until he’s completed them.
Why this works
These kinds of things are a leap of faith – It’s hard to get a definitive measure of their impact.
But last fall, this advisor was talking to someone who was referred to him by a client.
When he asked what his client had said about him, the prospect responded that he’d been told that the advisor was conservative in outlook, open to questions and responsive to calls – and also that he wrote personal thank-you notes to his client after they met.
The reason this works is quite simple – in a time-stressed world, sending a written note stands out. Yes, you could send a quick email to thank someone for a meeting or a conversation – but chances are it would get lost in the clutter. In all likelihood, that note will be the only one like that your client has received in the past while.
Just valuing someone’s business isn’t enough – you have to communicate this to them. Quite simply, this hand-written note sets you apart and lets clients know that you truly do appreciate their business.
