Private banks have become much more sophisticated at differentiating their clients than their Relationship Managers.
On the client side, this seems obvious.
An entrepreneur, a multigenerational family, a business owner after an exit and a sophisticated investor may expect very different things from their bank.
So we have built increasingly differentiated client segments, coverage models and value propositions.
On the RM side, the logic often remains simpler.
Market, availability, history of the relationship and, naturally, past performance all play an important role in determining who manages which clients.
But one variable is largely missing.
Does the way an RM creates value match what their clients actually need?
That question becomes interesting once we accept that two excellent RMs can be excellent for very different reasons.
One may be particularly good at developing relationships. Another may stand out for the quality of their judgement. Others through the trust they build, their influence on important decisions, or their ability to orchestrate a complex situation.
RM quality alone therefore doesn’t fully describe the equation.
We also need to understand how an RM creates value and the context in which that way of working is most valuable.
We have been segmenting clients for years.
It may be time to become equally precise on the other side of the relationship.