Two out of three ain't bad

When you next open a new file, take the time to explain the rule of ‘2 from 3’, deliver it and see the benefits of successfully managing your client’s expectations, says Douglas McPherson

A recurring theme of this blog has been that, for the private client specialist, one of the most powerful marketing tools is the quality of service you provide. Why? Because quality of service will always generate the repeat purchase and client referrals a private client practice simply has to generate if it is to thrive and grow. 

Quality of service is also your most cost effective marketing tool because unlike advertising, hospitality, sponsorship, networking or even the odd cup of coffee with your best referrers, it costs your practice nothing.

So what are the pillars of great service? Obviously, there’s the frontline – always being accessible, responding quickly, meeting deadlines without being chased, providing advice clearly and concisely and offering reasonable (not cheap, not cut price) and transparent fees.

However, all of this also needs to be underpinned by your ability to manage expectations and this is where the law of ‘2 from 3’ kicks in. 

There is an old adage that when it comes to professional advice, a client can get a good piece of work, a quick piece of work or a cheap piece of work. However, whatever the work entails, you can only every get two of the three. This means:

• If you want a good piece of work quickly, it won’t be as cheap.
• If you want a cheap piece of work quickly, it won’t be as good.
• If you want a good piece of work done cheap, it won’t be as quick.

With that on the table from the start, your clients will know exactly what to expect from you. They will know what they will get (whether ‘fit for purpose’ or ‘bells and whistles’), what they will have to pay and when they can expect their work to be completed. 

More important, it gives you a framework to work in and, if you’re canny, to surpass. 

One of the easiest ways to increase the volume of repeat purchase and client referrals you generate is to exceed your clients’ expectations. Openly applying the law of ‘2 from 3’ from the start enables you to under-promise and over-deliver pretty much every time, creating a level of goodwill that will win you more work.

The knock-on effect is that it will also make the ‘selling’ process quicker, easier and more comfortable. As people will either know you or have been recommended to use you, the conversion from enquiry to instruction will have begun before you speak. There will be no hard sell, no comparative quotations and no real follow up – people will have largely made up the decision to use you before you have your first conversation.

Better still, because each conversation will start from a positive rather than inquisitive perspective, you will also be able to harden your rates as people want to work with you because you’re you, not because you were the cheapest listing in a Google search and phone call-based pricing war.

Douglas McPherson is director at Size 10 1/2 Boots 

He writes a regular blog about marketing for Private Client Adviser