Principals could almost double their profits by increasing meetings with premier clients from five to 10 times a year - but more than half of Australian financial planners don't.
The average profit per principal of the 20 per cent of practices that saw their class A clients less than five times a year was $92,485, Business Health principal Rod Bertino said.
This compares with $165,510 profit per principal for the 46 per cent of practices that see their premier clients more than 10 times a year.
"What surprised us is that there are still a large number of practices around that don't contact their clients more than 10 times a year. Practices need a robust, up-to-date client management system," Bertino said.
"They key to an effective communication program is the frequency of contact, a mix of contact vehicles - face-to-face meetings, lunches, letters, telephone calls and e-mails - and to avoid industry jargon by using plain English."
Top-end clients did not necessarily want more contact, but they wanted more personalised and proactive contact, its Catscan client satisfaction survey of 25,000 people found. Respondents rated client communication the second poorest performing area.
"They don't want just a newsletter. They want their adviser to make them feel special," Bertino said.
In addition, less than half of Australian planning firm have a structured client feedback mechanism.
