Wow Your Clients

• Put a contact management system in place for managing client birthdays, anniversaries or special life moments. Start with your top 25 clients and grow from there.

• Communicate more when the market is volatile. Call your clients on a regular basis.

• Put somebody on call for the weekends; life events don’t always occur during business hours. Since clients are “looking for a friend in the financial services business,” they may want to contact you on the weekends.

• Time is life’s most valuable commodity. It’s the only thing one can’t get back. Consider a time-saving gift for your most valuable clients such as: maid service (for a day), car detailing (once or on an ongoing basis), or personal assistant services (monthly).

• Offer client concierge services through your office. Helping your clients save time is crucial. Here are some ways you can provide concierge services:

• Help to make travel arrangements.
• Help negotiate a deal on a car.
• Offer any other services for which your clients may need help or referrals.
• Assign a member of your team to be your “client service manager.” He or she can help you schedule appointments, luncheons and seminars, as well as planning events, handling client gifts and greeting cards.
• Select one client per month and throw a birthday party for him or her at a restaurant or private club, inviting 10 people. Be sure to ask if the client would like to celebrate his or her birthday and to provide a guest list.
• Send a birthday cake to your client’s home on his or her birthday.
• Take your client to lunch for his or her birthday.
• Look for opportunities for creative gifting. Listen to what is important to your clients or something that they mention is interesting to them. Follow that up with a unique and memorable gift. For example, when a client becomes a grandparent, send a gift basket with a camera, book, picture frame and other items. Or, send books they mentioned they want to read.
• It is the simple things that go the longest way. At times, your clients may face obstacles in life. If they have hardships, be there to help them. For example, if a client has just been in the hospital and needs yard work done, go to his or her house and mow the yard.
• Have fresh baked goods available in your office for your clients to enjoy when meeting with you.
• Use china cups or offer cold drinks in crystal glasses. These small things add to the overall client experience in your office.
• Offer different flavors of coffee in your office. Bring a new selection every day.
• Send your clients a giant Hershey bar: These can be personalized and sent in a gift box.
• Send a personalized magazine subscription:
• For more ideas, visit these great websites for finding gifts:
• netique.com,
• redenvelope.com,
• ecorporategifts.com and
• thingsremembered.com.

Send unforgettable edibles. Check out the following services:

• cookiesbydesign.com,
• corsoscookies.com,
• ediblearrangements.com,
• winecountrygiftbaskets.com and
• flyingnoodle.com.

When you give books, you may want to think about buying in bulk. Borders, for instance, offers 20% off for store purchases and 25% off if the purchase is more than $1,000. If you want more flexibility, Barnes and Noble has gift cards that you can co-brand with your logo, and offers volume discounts that vary with the title being purchased.