Recently, I talked to some investors who had changed financial advisors over the past year.

About half the time, this was driven by market performance - chances are that there was little the previous advisor could do in those cases.

In the other half of cases, though, while performance clearly contributed to the decision to leave, there was a bigger issue that drove these clients' departure - one that was within the ability of the advisor to manage.

Here are three of the things I heard clients talk about that were in their advisor's control - consider whether your clients might be saying any of these of you:

1 My advisor and I never met

One affluent retiree described having worked with an advisor for a number of years - but after the initial meeting to sign the paperwork, all of their subsequent communication had been over the phone. "At the end of the day, I wanted to work with someone who would be interested enough to sit down and meet with me," this client said. "I'm sure he would have met if I'd asked him to, but I wanted this to be his idea, not mine."

2 We didn't have a plan in place

A successful entrepreneur described meeting another advisor at a social gathering and getting involved in a casual conversation, which led to a call from the advisor the next day and breakfast a couple of weeks later. Over breakfast, this advisor said "As a successful business person, I know you do a written plan for your business each year. And I'm just as sure you have a written plan for your own financial situation". This advisor was shocked, yes shocked when the client said that no such plan existed. "The more I thought about it," this client said, "the more sense it made to work with someone who would take the time to put a written plan together to map out my finances."

3 My advisor didn't listen

One of the persistent complaints I've heard from clients over the years relates to not feeling that their advisor listens to them - this is especially true of male advisors. "Every time we talked in person or on the phone" one former client said, "my advisor seemed to do all the talking. I could hardly get a word in edgewise - he really didn't seem that interested in hearing what I had to say".

As you think about your business in the next while, consider whether top clients might say any of these things of you. If the answer is yes, the time to deal with . And consider going on to say that if getting the lowest price is their priority, you would be happy to refer them to a number of good quality advisors who do not charge the premium you do. these issues is now - before they cost you a valued client.