Nearly two-thirds of financial advisers say their greatest pitfall in communicating with clients is lack of frequency, according to an SEI Quick Poll. This far outweighs concerns about timely, concise, or understandable communications. As for communicating with their clients about referrals, 42% of advisers have asked less than one-quarter or fewer of their clients to make a referral.

“Frequent and meaningful communication, delivered in a variety of ways, is the best method to build lasting trust between advisors and clients, which ultimately leads to stronger relationships,” said John Anderson, head of Practice Management, for the SEI Advisor Network. “Yet advisers remain stymied by the task. Whether they’re communicating with clients or prospects, it’s the same story—advisers should be more proactive. The best way to get ahead in today’s competitive landscape is to spend more time in front of clients and prospects, providing valuable information.”

As for prospecting techniques, the shift from old strategies to new techniques is underway. No advisers surveyed said they cold-call for new clients. However, one in five advisers surveyed said they have introduced themselves to at least one prospect in 2011 via one of the major social networks: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Use of social media for prospecting has been slow to catch on due to old habits and the fact that some broker-dealers prohibit access to these networks.

“Most advisers naively think they can run their practice simply by keeping their current clients happy,” said A. J. LaVallie of The Advisors Group of Chicago, LLC. “The reality is there’s a hole in the bottom of every adviser’s bucket and it has to be filled with new clients and assets. The down market was a huge wakeup call for advisors that keeping clients is only half of the equation—successful advisers are proactively reaching out to prospects and converting them.”

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http://www.seic.com/enUS/about/5239.htm