After the excitement of last Monday, the rest of week was blessedly calm by comparison. (One thing for which we can be grateful is that we didn't see that decline on the Friday before, so that clients would have the entire weekend to obsess about the market rather than just one evening).

There's no question that most clients are much more relaxed than they were last Monday night - at least until we see the next big drop.

Between now and the next dip on the market roller coaster we're all riding, advisors need to provide clients with an update and direction on what they should be doing with their investments. Even if that direction is to do nothing and stay the course, investors still need to hear that message. We all know from high school physics that nature abhors a vacuum - if you don't provide clients with clear direction on what they should be doing, they'll get it somewhere else, whether it be Jim Cramer (the bearded guy on CNBC who's always yelling about great stock tips with his distinctive "BOOYAH" howl), a friend at work ... or another advisor.

And the time to do that is now - when things are relatively calm, not when the market hits another speedbump.

(I noted with interest Ellen Roseman's column in the Saturday Toronto Star, in which she asked her readers if they'd gotten a call or email from their advisor last week, with the suggestion that any advisor who hadn't reached out to clients had falled down on the job. Whether or not we agree, the media shapes client expectations and perceptions on these kinds of issues).

There are three steps in effective client communication - a solid message, communicating that message with conviction and delivering it in a way that stands out and clients notice.

What you say

Effective communication starts with the direction you're going to give. As part of that, consider providing some context on the subprime and housing mess south of the border which is fueling much of the current anxiety - you should also be prepared to answer questions about the impact of the Societe Generale's market moves last Monday to cover the trading losses by their $7 billion man. (There's an excellent analysis of what led to Soc Gen's problem at the Wall Street Journal 's website www.wsj.com under the headline "The loss where no one looked".)

You then need to walk clients through what you suggest they do and why - in some cases, your firm will have provided you with some guidance on this. Whatever you recommend, you need to back up your opinion with hard facts (especially if you advise making no changes or if you want to heavy up market exposure). As I pointed out in my last post, if clients are in mutual funds or managed money, you need to outline what managers are doing - or risk the assumption that they are doing nothing.

How you say it

The second challenge is to deliver your message with conviction - in many regards, how you come across is as important as what you say. Clients will be quick to sense hesitation or uncertainty on your part. Even if your message is to stay on the sidelines until there is more clarity, you need to say that with confidence - if you sound unsure about your recommendation, you can't expect clients to walk away convinced.

Making your message stand out

The final challenge is delivering your message so that clients notice it and absorb it.

Emails and letters from you and your firm can be a good starting point in articulating your point of view, but you can't count on clients to give them more than a passing glance - whenever you can, follow up with a phone call to go through that email in person.

For many clients, a telephone conversation focused around reviewing a written document (whether it be a email or a commentary posted on your firm's website) is much more likely to stick than a phone call alone - that's especially true for those who are visually oriented. Just be sure that clients aren't distracted when you place the call; you may want to start by saying "I'm calling to follow up the email which I sent you yesterday. Have you got five minutes to talk right now without interruption or do you want to schedule another time?"

Another alternative is to invite clients to listen in on a conference call in which there's a conversation about what's happening in the market, with a chance for clients to email in questions, either before the call or while they're listening to the interview. (I wouldn't risk opening the call up to live questions from clients).

You can do the call yourself or it can be conducted at a branch or firm level. The call will be more powerful if you have a credible authority as your guest - whether it be a market strategist or a senior manager from your firm (even an experienced branch manager can do in a pinch) or from a fund company or outside money manager you do business with.

There are several pluses to a conference call - starting with the fact that a q & a format is more likely to hold an audience's attention. You also have uniqueness working for you - the opportunity to dial in and hear an established expert in conversation is something that clients haven't generally been exposed to.

The key to making a call work is getting good back and forth between you and your guest, keeping the answers brief and to the point - having a list of questions beforehand will make your guest's responses crisper and more compelling. Remember, the more concrete your examples from the past and the more specific your recommendations for the period ahead the better - if there are charts or graphs supporting your guest's case, they can be posted to your website or emailed after the call.

There are numerous firms who provide affordable conferencing services. Your head office will often have a relationship - or you can contact Bell or conferencing specialists such as Premiere Global Services (www.premiereglobal.com). The ideal call runs for twenty to thirty minutes, split between your interview and the opportunity for clients to submit questions (which may be yours in any event, if you don't get queries from listeners).

One way to minimize the risk of stumbles and reassure your compliance department is to prerecord (and if needed edit) the interview, then start the call by saying: "Earlier this week, I had the chance to chat with NAME OF GUEST about what's happening in the stock market. In the next fifteen minutes, you'll hear our conversation. NAME OF GUEST is standing by to answer questions after the interview, you can email your questions to me at -".

In terms of the impact on clients, what you do with the call afterwards can be as important as the call itself. Consider preparing a two page summary of the conversation on the call for clients who don't want to take the time to call in. Be sure that the call is archived - so that clients and prospects can dial in and listen to the call afterwards. And you can often get the call digitized so that you can email it afterwards.

As you think about the week ahead, consider these three steps in guiding client communication. In my next couple of posts, I'll talk about how to make the media work for you rather than against you and why the recent market turmoil may lead to the best opportunity to attract new clients that we've seen for some time.