The Hidden Cost of Stale Communication

Is Your Client Communication Stuck in the Past?

If you're not careful, you may begin taking your clients for granted. Early on, the relationship is fresh, dynamic, and defined by quick follow-ups and focused attention. But over time, urgency fades, habits harden, and you fall back on “how you’ve always communicated.”

The brutal truth? Most professionals never pause to evaluate whether their communication is still effective. Instead, they assume it is. They rarely ask:

• Am I truly connecting, or merely presenting information?
  
  
• Is this conversation building trust, or maintaining the status quo?
  
  

Without continuous exploration beneath the surface, your leadership risks stagnation. What was once effective may now feel hollow. And clients can walk away, silently and without warning.

The Redbox Reminder: Pivot or Become Irrelevant

Just last week, I pulled into my local 7-Eleven and spotted something that instantly took me back to another era: a Redbox machine. Faded. Dusty. Forgotten. It hadn’t been touched in years. Yet there it stood, a relic of a time when we’d pull up hoping to grab the latest movie on DVD. It used to feel cutting-edge. Now, it just looked…irrelevant.

And that’s the point.

Redbox didn’t vanish because people stopped watching movies. It vanished because it refused to evolve. While the world pivoted to streaming, Redbox stayed stuck in what used to work. And eventually, it got left behind.

The same thing happens in leadership and business.

When you don’t adapt how you communicate—when you keep defaulting to outdated, transactional approaches, you slowly lose your ability to connect. To influence. To lead.

Here’s what happens when communication doesn’t pivot:

• You stop being relevant.
  
  
• You become easy to ignore.
  
  
• Eventually, you get replaced.
  
  

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Pivoting how you speak, shifting from scripted to sincere, from rushed to relational, isn’t optional. It’s essential. And the leaders who are bold enough to make that shift? They’re the ones who will last.

Why Communication Matters More Than Ever

At Speak with People, we’ve trained thousands of financial professionals, advisors, bankers, wholesalers, program managers, and executives. Their biggest discovery?

The most valuable asset you manage isn’t your product. It’s your connection.

Consider the data:

• 86% of buyers would pay more for a better client experience. (source)
  
  
• 88% of companies recognize customer experience as a critical differentiator—on par with product. (source)
  
  
• According to Harvard Business Review, emotional connection doubles customer lifetime value compared to satisfaction alone. (source)

The implication?

Your communication isn’t just a soft skill. It’s a growth strategy, a lever that moves trust, loyalty, referrals, culture, and revenue. Ignore it, and you’ll find yourself wondering why results stall despite solid performance. Invest in it, and you’ll unlock the one competitive edge that can’t be duplicated: human connection.

It’s time we stop thinking of communication as a nice-to-have and start treating it as non-negotiable.

And if you’re not sure where to start, begin here, with clarity and empathy.

A Leader Worth Listening To: Brené Brown

“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.”
— Dr Brené Brown

Clarity and empathy aren’t optional. They’re business ethics. When leaders communicate with transparency and compassion, they build trust. When they don’t, they create confusion, frustration, and quiet disengagement.

Which brings us to the real shift, one that changes everything.

Speak With Clients, Not At Them

This isn’t surface-level fluff. It’s a shift in mindset, backed by outcomes:

When financial professionals embrace this shift, here’s what happens:

• Referrals increase—clients trust emotionally invested advisors.
  
  
• Loyalty deepens—clients stay when they feel seen and understood.
  
  
• Team culture strengthens—internal communication mirrors client care.
  
  
• Revenue grows—solutions are better received after meaningful dialogue.
  
  

The Hidden Lid on Your Leadership

Let’s be blunt. The reasons behind performance woes are rarely technical, they’re communicative:

• Lost business? Not for lack of credentials, but poor messaging.
  
  
• Team friction? Not for lack of talent, but misaligned dialogue.
  
  
• Client silence? Not for lack of offerings, but because trust wasn’t earned.
  
  

The good news? Communication is trainable. It’s discoverable. And it’s transformable at every level.

Trust isn’t a buzzword. It’s measurable. In financial services, a world built on trust, listening isn’t optional. It’s fundamental.

How to Begin Your Communication Pivot

Audit Your Conversations

• Ask: “Did I create space for listening?” “Did I dominate the conversation or draw them in?”
• Pay attention to verbal and nonverbal cues, did your clients feel rushed or valued?

Anchor to Clarity and Empathy

• Great communicators remove jargon. They simplify the complex and humanize the process.
• Repeat back what clients say to show understanding. Validate concerns before offering solutions.

Invest in Communication Training

• Most firms train for product knowledge, not human interaction. Flip that script.
• Bring in a communication coach. Conduct roleplays. Run through “what if” conversation drills.

Track the Right Metrics

• Go beyond revenue and retention. Track NPS, client sentiment, email responsiveness, follow-up rates, and post-meeting clarity.
• Ask clients directly: “Was that helpful? Did anything feel unclear?”

Client Communication Mini-Checklist

Use this before and after any major client conversation:

 ✅ Did I go in with a goal and a question?
✅ Did I speak in human terms, not acronyms or assumptions?
✅ Did I listen more than I spoke?
✅ Did I restate or summarize to ensure clarity?
✅ Did I follow up quickly and meaningfully?
✅ Did the client leave feeling seen, heard, and supported?

If you can’t check all six consistently, don’t beat yourself up. Just get better. That’s leadership.

Real-World Example: From Transactional to Transformational

One of our recent clients, a financial advisor at a mid-sized regional firm, came to us frustrated by declining referrals, despite strong portfolio performance. During a workshop, we discovered the issue: he was unknowingly overwhelming clients with data and skipping emotional connection altogether.

After adopting just a few small shifts, starting conversations with personal questions, using client stories instead of stats, and summarizing with “What I hear you saying is…”, he saw dramatic changes. Within 90 days:

• Referral conversations increased.
• Client check-ins were shorter but more impactful.
• One client even called his office just to say, “Thanks for caring.”

It wasn’t a product issue. It was a communication issue, and it was fixable.

What Poor Communication Actually Sounds Like

Most leaders don’t recognize ineffective communication in the moment. Watch for these red flags:

• “Let me explain this again…” (condescending)
• “You probably won’t understand this, but…” (dismissive)
• “That’s just how we do things.” (rigid, closed off)
• “We already sent that.” (defensive, transactional)

The words we choose matter. But how we say them matters more. Tone, posture, pacing, empathy, all of it communicates. And if your delivery doesn’t match your intent? Trust is lost in translation.

Leadership Reflection: Are You Still Leading Like It’s 2010?

Take 10 minutes this week to reflect:

• How do your clients feel after a meeting with you?
• Are your team meetings marked by connection, or confusion?
• When’s the last time you asked: “How could I communicate better?”

The leaders of the next decade won’t just be smart. They’ll be:

• Self-aware
• Empathetic
• Clear
• Willing to pivot
  
  

And that pivot? It can start today.

Speak with People: Your Partner in Pivot

Visit SpeakWithPeople.com to transform how you and your team communicate.

Here’s what you’ll find:

🎧 Podcast – Conversations with top communicators
📚 Blog – Insight-rich articles you can use today
📦 Courses – Sharpen skills for team + client communication
🤝 Coaching & Workshops – Live training that moves the needle

The Final Word: Don’t Be the Redbox of Your Industry

Years ago, Redbox was cutting-edge. It disrupted the traditional movie rental space. For a time, it dominated, until it didn’t.

Why? Because it refused to change.

It underestimated the power of digital convenience. It clung to the familiar while the rest of the world pivoted to streaming. And just like that, it faded into irrelevance, slowly, then all at once.

Leadership works the same way.

When you resist changing how you connect, listen, and speak, you risk becoming irrelevant.
No one plans to become a relic. But that’s exactly what happens when you assume your communication doesn’t need to evolve.

Let Redbox be your reminder.

The future belongs to leaders who pivot with purpose. Who don’t just talk, but connect. Who don’t just manage, but inspire.

By Jason Raitz - CEO, Speak with People  With over 25 years of experience, Jason has spoken from stages across the country, inspiring and motivating his audiences with stories, laughter, and practical tools to succeed. Book Jason for your next conference or workshop.