I had a conversation with a fellow entrepreneur recently about documenting private information about clients. She was against the practice, and said she could remember crucial information about her most important clients.  I asked her if she had ever considered what her most valuable intellectual property was.  What might surprise you, as it did her, is that the expert knowledge in your chosen field is not at the top of the list.  What you know about that is important; however, it takes a back seat to what you know about your clients. The only thing that allows you to competitor proof your client is your relationship.

One way you can ensure that you take care of your clients is by profiling every single client within the top 20% of your business. To revisit the Pareto Principle, it’s the top 20% of your clients who make up 80% of your revenues. By knowing about the families, careers and interests of your top clients, you can provide them with more personalized service.

Over our years of working with Financial Advisors, we have found that when you take the time to complete extremely thorough profiles of your clients and when you efficiently archive these profiles, you are able to offer your current clients better service and thus attract more – better quality – prospective clients. The information you learn about your clients is not really an asset of your company until the details are documented.  And make no mistake, this information is proprietary. 

Duncan MacPherson with Ingrid Takai

Watch this space for more insights on how to record personal information.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 2:22 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.