How to Triple Client Meetings in 2014

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When it comes to getting a return on your time, nothing beats sitting down with existing and prospective clients.  Yet when I talk to advisors, most struggle to arrange one meeting per day.

Recently I spoke to an advisor – let’s call him Peter – who more than tripled client meetings over the last two years. Not only did his number of meetings go up, but the quality and productivity improved as well. Here are five key lessons on how Peter achieved a dramatic increase in client meetings – and how you can also.

  1. Change your mindset toward meetings

    The key breakthrough came in the fall of 2011 after Peter recorded his activities for a month to examine how he was spending his time. From that process, he was surprised to discover that he was only averaging three to four meetings per week.

    Peter resolved to increase the number of face-to-face meetings as his number one priority for 2012. He sat down with his two assistants, explained his goal of significantly and got them involved in a discussion of how to make that happen. The outcome was that more meetings became the overarching focus of the entire practice. As part of that, progress is systematically tracked; when Peter meets with his assistants on Monday mornings, the first item they discuss is the number of meetings that took place the previous week and the number scheduled for the week ahead.

  2. Block meetings into your calendar

    Out of the conversation with his team came a very simple idea. Unless he is out of the office at a firm event or industry conference or on holiday, Peter schedules four meetings every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The meeting times are the same every day, taking place at 9, 11, 2 and 4. Peter also blocks out time on Monday to meet with his assistants to review preparation for those meetings and on Friday to discuss any outstanding follow-up.

    Getting those meeting slots filled has become the principal responsibility of Peter’s senior assistant, although Peter and his other assistant support her in this effort. In my conversation with Peter, he commented that since those meetings were set up in his calendar, it changed his focus and that of his assistants, as they all work to ensure that the slots are filled.

See full article on How to Triple Client Meetings in 2014 by Dan Richards, Advisor Perspectives

 

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