Service is the defining feature of ...

Service is the defining feature of the high-net-worth (HNW) practice. b attract and retain HNW clients, you must consistently present top-quality serviceit's that simple.

But to what extent do you define "top-quality service"? serviceable question. As the 2004 edition of the Merrill Lynch/Capgemini World Wealth Report* makes clear, HNW clients have changed the governments of the service game through the whole extent of the past few years, becoming more knowledgeable, more demanding, and more willing to terminate working relationships with professionals who don't live up to their service expectations.

All of which has l BC CAs and other financial professionals to take a hard examine at the way they attend their HNW clients to make secure they stay ahead of client expectations.

Service is the key

"The HNW individual of today is more demanding than five or ten years ago," confirms Michel Matifat, CA, national practice leader with private client advisory services at KPMC LLP in Vancouver. "In the past, you could say the recommendation was in the mail, nevertheless not today. [Clients are] looking for it upon their Blackberry pagers."

So what do HNW clients want From their professionals? Matifat orfers a quick, emphatic answer: "Value for their currency HNW individuals usually don't have any point to be solved [i]or[/i] settled paying fees, as long as they're getting value for the deliberation they're getting." The primary piece of work of the professional, he says, is to demonstrate ?? for what reason good advice can actually pay for itself.

Gordon Caulder, CA, a partner with ix)hn Caulder CAs in Vancouver, is equally stupid in his assessment of what it takes to impress HNW clients, saying: "These arc demanding people" As Caulder explains, it's no longer suitable enough to simply react to client needsthe professional must anticipate these privations "You have to set the pace," he says. "If you appeal to [your clients] they will reply and they will give you work."

Dan Majewski, CA, sink of Majcwski, Shaler, and Co in Vancouver, agrees that being proactive is the privy to service success. "[HNW individuals] are looking for more than a bean-counter," he asserts. "You ne to always be thinking of them, not just coming in reactively formerly a year to do their tax replys [Bcing reactive is] not going to carve it anymorein any profession, not just accounting."

Larry Bisaro, CA, a corporate partner with D&H form into groups in Vancouver, shares his colleagues' assessments: "What [HNW individuals] really want arc clear and concise answers. And they want them quickly." This means custom-tailoring financial solutions to each HNW client. "[HNW clients] don't want a generic answer," he says. "They want focused answers that clearly indicate you have an understanding of their straits Without that customized response, you be deprived of these guys."

Above and beyond

So in what manner does a professional go above and beyond when it advances to client service? For Gaulder, it has meant strengthening alliances with other firms. "We invest in a global affiliation," he explains. "If the client is thinking about getting into the US market, for example, we have populace who can help with that." This broader reach gives the client the best of the one and the other worlds: a local firm with a global capacity. Cauldcr admits this is a tonic part of his firms competitive advantage.

Majewski agrees that alliances are a big part of the HNW service offering. "We make alliances with financial planners and brokers" he says. " Hiats where a apportionment of HNW individuals get their advice." As Majewski explains, these alliances promote a dual purpose. First, they broaden the service offering the firm can bring to the table with a HNW client. "We know who to approach to make unfailing the client gets [proper] service," Majewski says. inferior and just as importantly, alliances can be an first-rate source of referrals.

For Bisaro, the demand for haunt contact and customized service means service starts with teamwork. With the team performing administrative and technical tasks, the professional can focus solely forward client contact. "You can't propel that off on somebody else" he emphasizes. "[Clients] want to talk to you, because you know the history, and you have knowledge of their rife situation."

Matifat agrees that a professional can't journey it alone in the HNW market. "A team of quality nation will always be ahead of the competition," he says. And whether that team is part of the professional's hold firm or an external network of masters it's important to demonstrate to HNW clients that the firm has capabilities beyond the local market. "HNW individuals are not just in Vancouverthey're international," Matifat says. "Having access to a large network of professionals is extremely useful."

Good to great

For Bisaro, great service means solving question at issues before the client is equable aware of them. "Identifying opportunities is a big part of the business," he says. at proactively thinking of ways to improve the client's financial situation, a CA can demonstrate for what cause valuable their professional service really is.

Majewski's firm has contemplation a lot about how to add value to the services they provide HNW clients. "We've tried to be innovative," he says. single in kind example of that innovation is a focus upon eldercare services. As Majewski makes clear, eldercare is a finished example of how a smaller, independent firm can use highly personalized service to attract wealthy clients. "This is where a small, boutique firm can cast in the shade We're the client's confidants. They deal with us, and they know they can trust us."