Robert C. Elliott, Senior Advisor, BESSEMER TRUST - Speaker at the IFG Wealth Management Forum, held in Phoenix, AZ, April 22-23, delivered his presentation entitled POSITIONING YOUR OFFICE FOR GROWTH THROUGH REPUTATION

1. Positioning Your Office for Growth Through
Reputationp
Robert C. Elliott
Senior Advisor

2. This Talk Will Focus On:
• Defining reputation and its importance
• Establishing and maintaining it
• Conveying it best to others
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3. Definition of Reputation
Wikipedia defines reputation as “an opinion about an entity, typically
a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria.”
OR
“A ubiquitous, spontaneous, and highly efficient mechanism of socialA ubiquitous, spontaneous, and highly efficient mechanism of social
control in natural societies.”
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4. Quantitative Factors
• The investment record
• Range of products and services
• Size and type of clients served
• Years in business
• Financial soundness
• Fees
• Ownership
• Client retention rates
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5. Qualitative Factors
• Honesty and trustworthiness
• Quality of the people
• Sensitivity to client needs
• Personalized service
• Alignment of interest with clients
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6. How to Establish These Subjective Criteria forj
Reputation
Trait How Established
Honesty and Trust Admit mistakes and areas ofy
underperformance and fees (i.e.
Transparency)
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7. How to Establish These Subjective Criteria forj
Reputation
Trait How Established
Quality of People Hire experienced, well-educatedQ y p p ,
people who can empathize with
families
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8. How to Establish These Subjective Criteria forj
Reputation
Trait How Established
Sensitivity to Client Needs Become une personne de confiancey p f
(Jay Hughes)
Empathy is very important. When
$clients with $100 million lost 30%
in 2008 – it hurt!
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9. How to Establish These Subjective Criteria forj
Reputation
Trait How Established
Personalized Service Keep client/staff ratios lowp
(“Frequently promised, but
seldom delivered”)
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10. How to Establish These Subjective Criteria forj
Reputation
Trait How Established
Alignment of Interest Invest alongside the client and nog g
sales quotas for products
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11. Maintaining Your Reputation
The most important thing to maintain your reputation is to create
a culture that very regularly articulates the values of the firm
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12. Conveying Your Reputation
• Be consistent in managing all media
• Use public relations, ads, and collateral material to reinforce your
t ti d lreputation and values
• People, offices, art, etc. all send a message
• No voicemail (unless clients request it)
• Hold client/prospect events to convey their satisfaction. “The One
N b Y N d T G ”Number You Need To Grow”
• Use war stories to convey your unique service stills
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