In my January article on what makes advisors likeable, I talked about the impact on many clients of seeing their advisor as someone giving back to the community.

Many advisors are extremely generous with their time and money but don’t communicate this to clients. There’s obviously nothing wrong with that - in fact, the 12th century Jewish scholar Maimonides identified eight forms of charity, in which anonymous giving is among the most honourable.

In other cases, advisors would be quite happy to let clients know about what they’re doing to give back – but are challenged on how to do this in an appropriate and professional fashion, without this being seen as self serving, attention seeking or insincere.

Here are six principles that could help you translate the time and money you give back to the community into client goodwill.

1. Begin with genuine commitment

First and most important, your commitment to any charity has to sincere and genuine on your part. If you’re doing something solely to advance your business to get goodwill with clients, it will almost certainly become transparent.

For that to happen, the most important thing is to find a cause that you are passionate about. Whether it be a hospice, food bank, school lunch program or youth soccer in your community, a hospital in Haiti or a childrens’ home in Africa, the starting point is to find a charity that really resonates with you and that you can get and stay excited about.

2. Pick a signature charity

Some advisors support a number of different charities – again, this is very much a matter of personal choice.

The difficulty is that for a message to penetrate it has to stand out. When I talk to advisors whose charitable activity has made an impact with clients, it’s almost always because they’ve focused a big part of their time and money on one or two charities. These have become “signature charities” for them that clients come to know them by and associate with them.

So the second step is to pick one or two charities that your client communication will concentrate on.

3. Humanizing your impact

Once you’ve chosen a cause you can believe in, your next key decision relates to the specific charity you focus on.

When I talk to the advisors who’ve received the most goodwill from clients as a result of their charitable activity, it hasn’t tended to be in association with the largest charities – the United Way for example or big community hospitals.

It’s not that these aren’t important organizations – very clearly they are. Rather, it’s that many clients see them as a bit impersonal – certainly worthwhile, but often lacking in emotional impact.

The advisors who’ve seen the best response are those who’ve been able to translate their charitable giving to the concrete impact it has on peoples’ lives. For example, one advisor’s client newsletter contains regular letters from the child his business supports in Ethiopia, another newsletter features photos of a development project she supports in Bolivia. You have to be careful not to be seen as exploiting this for your own gain – but people do respond to the human dimension.

4. Consistency over time

The third key is consistency. Messages take time to register with clients – to translate community giving into client impact, you have to be prepared to maintain your support and communicate that support to clients year in and year out

5. The impact of leadership

It’s great to support good works with time and money … but the advisors who’ve seen the most impact are those where they’ve taken a leadership role. This can mean going on the executive of an organization or volunteering for the organizing committee for a fundraiser – but while showing up is good, to get maximum impact clients have to see you as playing a key role.

6. Integrating this into ongoing communication

Once you’ve done all this – picked a charity you’re passionate about, taken a leadership role and been consistent in your support, the final step is integrating this into your client communication.

There are lots of ways to do this. I mentioned newsletters above. Other advisors display photos prominently in their offices. Others use Thanksgiving or Christmas letters as a vehicle to let clients know about their commitment to the community.

The key is to walk a fine line in the prominence you give this in client communication. You want to get your story out clearly, without being so overt about it that clients feel you’re doing this largely for the credit you get in return.

Let me close by saying that not every advisor who gives back to the community wants to draw attention to this – and that’s an absolutely legitimate choice. For those advisors who are open to doing this, however, this can help reinforce your positioning with existing and prospective clients – provided that you communicate in a fashion that’s focused, consistent and puts the cause you’re supporting ahead of any credit you get in return.