The advisor-client relationship is like marriage. Both parties pledge to be there for each other ‘for better or for worse’. Like in a marriage, this relationship too has its ups and downs. Along with the happy times of wealth creation, there are market dips, operational glitches and miscommunication.
Such trying phases can make your clients angry. While in some cases their anger may be justified, in others the circumstances may be beyond your control.
It is important to handle such instances carefully to ensure that it does not hurt your relationship with your clients.
Here are five steps to remember when dealing with angry clients.
Do not take it personally
Understand that the client is angry about the situation or the scheme performance, not with you. Talking to an emotionally charged person may evoke a similar angry response from you. It is important therefore to stay calm and non-combative when talking to an angry client, says Kolkata IFA Abhenav Khettry of Vyana Wealth Management. Even if it is the client’s fault, it is better to apologise for the inconvenience to soothe the client, says Abhenav.
Understand the issue
Let the client vent anger on you, you just listen patiently and carefully to understand what the root cause of the anger is. Once he finishes talking, summarise the issue to ensure that you have identified it correctly. Ask for further details if required. It is important to ensure that your tone is cooperative and sympathetic, says IFA Pratik Sepuri, iArista Artha Solutions, Mumbai. Assure your clients that you will solve the problem. They would then feel that you care.
Remind clients the investment rationale
In case of market fluctuations, your advice may go wrong despite your best intentions. Gorakhpur IFA Ashish Kumar Agarwal shares that this generally happens in case of new clients who have seen nominal portfolio returns in the last one or two years. Usually, he invites such clients for a meeting to address their concerns. He reminds them their reason for investment and rationale behind choosing the scheme. He shares the long-term past performance of the scheme to calm down the client. To show his commitment, he shares his own portfolio with the client. If the client is still unconvinced, he arranges for a concall with the fund house professional.
Keep the client in the loop
It is important to resolve operational issues quickly, said Pratik of iArista Artha Solutions, Mumbai. “Mutual fund transactions are a multi-step process. Identify exactly why the problem occurred. Explain the reason to the client and if it is a mistake at your end, acknowledge it. This defuses the client’s anger to some extent. Next, offer a solution and explain how you will go about the process. We keep the client in the loop at every step as it shows that we are working on resolving it soon,” he added. Being prompt and sharing regular updates about the query resolution process makes clients feel that you are there for them and that you value them.
Be a problem solver
IFAs who have an operations team, it is important to train your team members on query resolution processes and client service. In case of escalations, Abhenav of Vyana Wealth Management tries not to blame the operations personnel as it only makes the team member defensive. Instead, he assures the client that he is looking into the matter and tries to find the quickest solution. In his experience, the fund houses and R&T have solutions to most of the issues; connecting with them helps one find the quickest option. So along with clients it is important to have a good relation with R&T and fund house teams so that whenever there is a problem, you can seek their help to resolve it faster.
