Chartered Financial Planner Darren Cooke says fellow planners should prioritise keeping the clients they already have, rather than seeking new ones.

The director of Red Circle Financial Planning has spoken to Financial Planning Today magazine issue 5 to offer his top tips on finding and retaining clients.

FP Today asked Mr Cooke: What are the most important lessons you have learnt over the years in regards to finding and keeping clients?

Mr Cooke AFPS said: “Finding new clients is harder than keeping the ones you already have so look after your existing clients.

“Make sure you give them a really good experience every time they deal with you and pay attention to them and what they want not their money and they will stay with you.

“They will also reward you by placing more business with you, keep paying your fees and refer you to friends and family. Then finding new clients gets easier too.”

Mr Cooke, who worked 18 years in Bancassurance, explained the key to long term relationships with clients and ensuring they have stayed with him.

He said: “Look after the client, not their money! Be interested in them and what they are trying to achieve in life or in business and do what you can to help them.

“If you do that and place the client first then you will become their trusted partner for looking after their financial affairs.”

Mr Cooke recently led a campaign to ban cold calling for pensions, which gained widespread support and has been adopted by the Government for possible legislation.

Read more from him, including his top 5 client tips, by checking out the full article below in the latest Financial Planning Today magazine.

You can read it HERE or click on the cover below.

The latest issue of Financial Planning Today, our new 40-page magazine for Financial Planners and Paraplanners, is now live online to all readers.  

The new publication features exclusive content, including contributions from leading figures in the worlds of Financial Planning, Paraplanning and Wealth Management, plus features and insights produced by experienced financial journalists.

Financial Planning Today's latest issue highlights include:

• A Special Report examining platforms and gripes about poor service levels

• Columns from high profile Financial Planner Julie Lord, PFS chief executive Keith Richards, CISI deputy head of Financial Planning Jackie Lockie and leading Financial Planner Martin Bamford

• Plus, popular regular features including Planner Casebook, Inside My Business with Ray Adams of CashCalc, Financial Planning and Paraplanning news and much more

• Special Offer for FP Today Readers from CashCalc

For editorial enquiries please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For advertising enquiries, including recruitment advertising, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 01895 678629.

Feedback on the new magazine has been excellent with well over 4,000 people reading the first four issues and the number rising steadily. 

Financial Planning Today Publisher and Editor Kevin O’Donnell said: “We're delighted to make available issue 5 and we hope the content will be invaluable to professionals. There is a wealth of insight, expert knowledge sharing, news and comment plus many busness tips and ideas to help Financial Planners do an even better job and build on their professionalism.

"We have designed Financial Planning Today magazine to be an essential publication for all professional Financial Planners, Paraplanners and Wealth Managers and we'll be announcing some exciting developments for 2017 soon."

For editorial enquiries please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For advertising enquiries, including recruitment advertising, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 01895 678629.