The handover meeting, in detail
The three meetings of a handover year and what each one is for.
The three meetings of a handover year and what each one is for.
Most of a succession can be systematised. The handover meetings cannot. They are three conversations with each client, held in a set order over a year.
This is a normal annual review with the adviser who will take over in the room. You run the meeting. Your successor says little.
Introduce them early, with their name, their role and the reason they are there, and then carry on. The client needs to see the two of you working as colleagues.
By the end of the meeting the client has met the adviser who will look after them.
This takes place six months later. Your successor prepares the review, runs it and presents the recommendations. You attend and say little. Everything your successor knows about the client came from the file, so this meeting tests whether the file is good enough.
Do not correct small points in the meeting. Raise them afterwards. If a client sees their old adviser correct the new one, they start to doubt the new adviser, and it can take two more meetings to rebuild that confidence.
The purpose of this meeting is for the client to see the relationship working without you doing the work.
This takes place six months after the second meeting. Your successor runs everything. You join for the first ten minutes, or not at all if the client is comfortable.
By this point the client has had a year of continuity with a new adviser involved, has seen the handover happen, and has a relationship that does not depend on you.
Compressing the meetings. Three meetings in three months have the effect of one meeting. The six-month gaps let the client get used to the new adviser.
Only handing over the larger clients. The smaller households are the most likely to drift, because nobody notices them going.
Holding the meetings after the sale. By then you are an employee of the buyer introducing their adviser, and clients hear the introduction differently. The handover carries more weight while the firm is still yours.
The handover needs a year, it needs you to be there, and it needs a successor. Under Securo the handover is the third stage and the acquisition is the fourth, in that order. This takes longer than a sale, and it helps keep clients with the firm after you leave.
The premium is the insurance market’s price for the risk in your back book. It also shows each year how a buyer is likely to view your firm.
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Questions to ask about each buyer’s plans for your clients, alongside the price.
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How to write down the client knowledge that is not in the file, so the next adviser can use it.
Read itSteven Bates, Director of Advisory at Equity & General, takes the first call with every adviser. Ring him on 020 8396 0486 or send a short note about your firm.