It's probably not surprising to hear that in the wake of last year's market crisis, many advisors struggled, and continue to struggle, to keep client relationships intact. But it may not be for the reasons you think. According to the nation's leading branch managers, the biggest cause for clients leaving is not the management of their portfolios, but a lack of face time with you, the advisor.

When we interviewed the nation's leading branch managers as part of On Wall Street's Branch Manager of the Year Awards sponsored by MainStay Investments, an overwhelming 83% of the honorees said that the one thing advisors failed to do to retain assets last year, hands down, was simply talk to their clients.

The branch managers we spoke to felt strongly that when it comes to asset retention, being at a loss for words will cause you to also lose clients. Just consider some of the comments we heard from these branch managers: Clients aren't blaming us for making bad investment recommendations. I think what they are blaming us for is the lack of communication; We can't control the market, but we can control how often we talk to our clients. Clients understand that this is bigger than Wall Street, it's bigger than our firm, and it's bigger than the advisor, but they still want to hear from advisors. I think it's in these types of environments that advisors earn their money. Clients can handle bad news, it's no news that they don't like to hear.

Ongoing Communications

It's well known that frequent communication with clients improves client satisfaction and asset retention. But that's especially true in difficult market times. This is when the way you communicate and the substance of the message becomes even more important. In fact, 100% of the branch managers we spoke to said that ongoing verbal communication is the most effective means for meeting client expectations. In addition, 99% said that the face-to-face annual review is also critical for managing client expectations.

If you've been sending out generic newsletters and emails to clients, there's a chance you are not addressing their individual concerns. Frequent telephone and face-to-face contact is the only way to truly get to know clients on a deeper level, which, in turn, leads to retention, according to branch managers.

We asked branch managers how advisors could improve client satisfaction and asset retention. Below are the top five strategies they cited, in order of importance: 1) Know where all of the client's assets are located; 2) Know your client's spouse; 3) Work with your client's certified public accountant; 4) Know your client's children; and 5) Know the executor of your client's estate.

During your next meeting or phone conversation, ask your clients questions about their life and family. Not every conversation will lead to getting to know family or other financial professionals, but all can help you enhance your existing relationships and build loyalty.

The frequency of your client interactions goes hand-in-hand with developing strong relationships-the better you know your clients, the better feel you will have for how often they would like to be contacted.

This will vary from client-to-client. As one branch manager noted: "Some clients like to be spoken to once a month; some prefer once a quarter, and some maybe every six months. Each client is different about how they would like to be serviced and their relationship with the advisor. Define a service motto that could be customized for each client. To build relationships, I think that's important."

Another important aspect of communication is responsiveness when a client contacts you. When your clients wants answers, failure to return their calls in a timely manner puts the relationship at risk. In a recent survey, Spectrem Group found that more than half of clients expect their advisor to return their phone call within a day. And 36% expected their call to be returned in one to three hours. Set expectations with regard to how long it will take you to respond to client inquiries or requests.

Having Difficult Conversations

Many branch managers point to fear of having a difficult discussion as a primary reason that advisors don't talk to their clients during down markets. It's only natural for advisors to want to avoid awkward conversations about portfolio losses, especially about investments they recommended.

However, the alternative to having these conversations may be losing the clients. As one branch manager put it: "By far, I would say the greatest failure of financial advisors during bad markets is a lack of client contact out of fear that the call or meeting won't go well or that it might be contentious."