Presented by Jim Linn Have you ever forgotten a special date, perhaps a birthday or anniversary?  We all have, including your clients. Here are a few ideas to utilize that will build value with your clients and set yourself apart from other advisors.  Birthday calls:  A couple of days before your client’s birthday, call to wish them a Happy Birthday.  Pretty basic, but overlooked by many. Spouse Birthday calls:  Call the spouse of the birthday person a few days before as a friendly reminder.  You would be surprised how many spouses forgot and will thank you for the reminder. Employer Birthday:  If you work with businesses, contact the office manager or assistant a few days before and remind them about the Boss’s birthday and inquire if they have anything planned.  Offer to bring in a cake over the lunch hour.  This will not only show your client they are appreciated, but may generate future sales by the employees. Anniversaries:  Make sure you ask for your client’s anniversary date, including the year.  They may ask why you want the information.  Tell them you like to call a few days before in case someone has forgotten. Normally, they will smile and know what you mean.  Call the spouse a few days or even a week before and ask them if they have anything planned for their anniversary.  They will either let you know what they have planned or respond by saying “thank you for reminding me”. Calendars:  For agents that provide calendars to their clients, have your assistant write important dates on the calendar before sending them out. If you have not been gathering this information and putting it in a database, ask your clients the next time you visit with them or have your assistant start calling your clients gathering the information and putting it into your database.  These are just a few simple ideas to help build value with your clients. “Your clients don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”