Ask most retirement plan providers why they lost a client and you\u2019ll often hear the same answer: \u201cWe were undercut on fees.\u201d While price certainly plays a role, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the reason most relationships end. More often than not, clients leave because they were surprised.<\/p>\n
No plan sponsor enjoys finding out about a missed compliance deadline after the fact. They don\u2019t want to discover an operational failure when the auditor does. They certainly don\u2019t appreciate learning that an employee wasn\u2019t enrolled properly six months after payroll made the mistake. The surprise isn\u2019t just the error itself\u2014it\u2019s realizing that no one warned them before it became a bigger problem.<\/p>\n
Good providers understand that difficult conversations are part of the job. If a plan sponsor is headed toward trouble, tell them early. If a payroll process is creating unnecessary risk, explain it. If a correction is going to be expensive, don\u2019t sugarcoat it. Clients may not like the news, but they will appreciate the honesty.<\/p>\n
Transparency builds trust. Surprises destroy it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen providers keep quiet because they hoped an issue would resolve itself or because they didn\u2019t want to have an uncomfortable conversation. That\u2019s almost always a mistake. Small issues have a way of becoming large ones, and by the time they\u2019re discovered, the client is no longer upset about the error\u2014they\u2019re upset that no one told them.<\/p>\n
The providers who retain clients for years aren\u2019t necessarily the cheapest. They\u2019re the ones who communicate consistently, explain problems before they become crises, and never leave a client wondering what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n
Clients can budget for higher fees. It\u2019s much harder to budget for unexpected problems that could have been avoided with a simple phone call.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ask most retirement plan providers why they lost a client and you\u2019ll often hear the same answer: \u201cWe were undercut on fees.\u201d While price certainly plays a role, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the reason most relationships end. More often than … Continue reading