Dec 21, 2021
Julie Littlechild is the Founder and CEO of Absolute Engagement, a company that helps financial advisors and financial advisory firms use client feedback to drive engagement and growth. Julie is committed to leading Absolute Engagement’s research and insights to help financial advisors create a differentiated client experience. She has been twice recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential People in Financial Planning. In addition to her role at Absolute Engagement, Julie is the co-host of the Becoming Referable podcast and the author of The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement.
Julie joins me today to discuss the value of collecting client feedback. She highlights the relationship between client engagement and business growth, and describes how financial advisors can use feedback from their clients to improve their businesses. She also reveals the leading reasons clients don’t make introductions for financial advisors and shares her advice on encouraging clients to make business referrals.
“Helping clients understand the problems we solve using words that they use becomes the storytelling piece that fuels their willingness to refer.” - Julie Littlechild
This week on The Model FA Podcast:
- Julie’s career arc and what made her interested in the financial services industry
- Absolute Engagement’s research on investor and client expectations, experience, and referrals
- How financial advisors can bring their clients’ voices to life
- The relationship between deep client engagement and business growth
- How advisors can use client feedback for business development
- Two ways to think about client referrals and the top reasons clients don’t refer business to their financial advisor
- Why being aggressive when asking for referrals doesn’t work most of the time
- An effective way to ask for client referrals and the power of focusing on connectivity
- Using content sharing and the Give-to-Get offer to build connections with prospects
- The beauty of gathering client input and feedback
Resources Mentioned:
- Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Our Favorite Quotes:
- “Advisers can implement feedback to improve and elevate client experience.” - David DeCelle
- “Aggressive ways of getting introductions can impact your relationship with clients, but if you pour love into a client, they’ll understand that referrals are not the only thing you’re after, and that you care for them as a human.” - David DeCelle
- “If the client is at the center of your business, then their voice needs to be a part of the engagement strategies that you implement.” - Julie Littlechild
Connect with Julie Littlechild:
- Absolute Engagement
- The Absolute Engagement Blog
- Podcast: Becoming Referable
- Book: The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement: Intentionally Design a Business That Supports the Life You (Really) Want to Live
- Absolute Engagement on LinkedIn
- Julie Littlechild on LinkedIn
- Julie Littlechild on Twitter
- Email: jlittlechild@absoluteengagement.com
About the Model FA Podcast
The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no “gotchas” or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.
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Our Team:
President of Model FA, David DeCelle
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