Susan Klar, a Wealth Advisor, has worked since 1985 in the Palo Alto, Calif., office of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. She has devoted her career to building longstanding relationships with clients, who include Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, corporate executives, non-profit organizations and small businesses. Susan is a member of the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Equity Select and the President's Club. She was a member of the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Women's Business Exchange and spent two years on the Financial Advisory Council. Since 2006, Barron's has consistently included her on its "Top 100 Women Financial Advisors" list.

How did you get into the business?

I've just always been intrigued with the stock market. Before I was at Dean Witter, I worked at E.F. Hutton as an assistant, handling the commodities side for a Financial Advisor. Then I decided to go into business for myself. I came here at the end of 1985, when it was Dean Witter, and was hired as a Financial Advisor. I went through the training and then I just started from scratch.

What was it like early on?

I went to training in New York--that's what they did back then. Then they sent me back to Palo Alto and I started cold calling. I would cold call every night from about 7 to 9 from the reverse directory. I did direct mail marketing campaigns as well with the objective to get an appointment with a prospective client.

My objective was always to get in front of the client. I always felt that if I could get in front of someone, I could talk to them about investments and develop a relationship.

How long did it take until you started to feel like you had established a business?

At least five years. I think that you have to be very patient, you have to develop a pipeline. Eventually you get clients and then referrals. By staying in the business for years with the same firm, I have been able to build credibility in the business.

I've always prided myself on hard work. I come in early, and I leave late. I’m always on the telephone contacting my clients regularly to keep them up to date. I also meet with clients and prospects every day. I usually work mornings handling my business, and then I have appointments in the afternoon. My strongest assets are the relationships I’ve established with my clients.

How did you get started networking?

When I started out, my daughter was a young child at school, so I met a lot of people through the PTA and different activities that eventually developed into relationships--sometimes business relationships. I was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and several other organizations. I always tried to be out there meeting people and attending events. Many of my top clients today are people I initially met socially who have developed into business relationships. Then they referred me to others.

Obviously, the easiest meetings are referrals--and you have to not be afraid to ask for them in a very understated way. But when you’ve been in the business as long as I have, you build up good relationships with people. I think it is more difficult to be starting out now. Today it’s more competitive. There are a lot more people in the business.

How has it changed?

When I started, the only way that we got business was through cold calling. If you called enough people, you eventually got some interest. Now I think that would be incredibly difficult. These days I do seminars--that's actually how many people are getting new business. We did one last night on retirement income planning. I’ll invite my clients and ask my clients to bring a friend.

I've also done marketing campaigns on retirement planning, municipal bonds and home equity loans, etc. We always try to follow up with a telephone call--I think that's very important--and try to get a meeting with the individual. It has been a key to my success.

What happens when you get someone into a meeting? How do you seal the deal?

The key to that is listening. When someone comes to meet me, the initial meeting is just them telling me what their concerns are, what their objectives are, what their goals are--and we try to find a solution. Usually it’s a series of meetings before we actually do business.

Did you always have a financial planning focus?

Yes and I always believed in diversification. I didn’t want to get into a situation where you're completely in trouble when the market turns. I want my clients to be comfortable with their investments. It is very important to judge their aversion to risk.

How did you develop that focus so early on?

Basically, I'm not a big risk-taker. I really believe you have to be that way if you want to have a long-term business. If you have a very high risk approach, it just won't last. You might make a lot of money one year, but you won't have longevity and may not be able to sleep at night.

So the first thing I talked to clients about was municipal bonds. I still have a pretty significant bond business. Then in 1987, I did have some clients that got hurt in the market.

Since then, I've always had a diversified business, because generally you don’t get hurt as badly in a big downturn. And I’ve experienced a lot of them--'87, 2001-02, '08.

You've also had a lot of booms in Silicon Valley, haven't you?

Those were the good days. We used to come in every day and it was just like a party. Everybody was making money. And then all of a sudden everything changed. It's been difficult, but I think by being here for my clients and talking them through it and making sure that we have a long--term approach and that we are diversified, I’ve been able to weather the storm.

The 2008 downturn was by far the worst I've experienced, because everything was bad, not just the stock market. There was no place to hide. We weren't sure what was going on, so you had to remain calm--that was the key. Even if you’re feeling really uncomfortable and uneasy, you have to remain a calm voice for your clients.

But I also have a nice group of clients who are pretty sophisticated and who don't really panic. I think if you sit back and wait and don't act irrationally, you come out okay.

How frequently are you in touch with your long-term clients?

I let them lead the way, but they know they can call me. I also try to have quarterly meetings. I’m always accessible, and I answer my own phone whenever I can. I think that’s really important.

Do you ever foresee a day when you can just sit back and stop marketing yourself?

No. I think you always have to be marketing yourself in some way, to guard against attrition. Clients may have a relative that gets in the business. Or someone else approaches them with a new idea. And there are also different types of investments, like hedge funds and alternative investments, so you have to always be learning.

But that's also the kind of person I am--you know, always wanting to be doing something. I think you’re marketing yourself every day no matter where you go and what you do.

So, what else does it take to be one of the country’s top financial advisors?

(laughing) When people ask me that, I always say that I just believe in hard work. I think you have to come in every day, you have to be focused on what your job is, and you have to be there for your clients. And if you do that, it will come to you.

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Source: Barron’s “Top 100 Women Financial Advisors,” June 5, 2010. Barron’s is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company, L.P. All rights reserved. Barron’s “Top 100 Women Financial Advisors” bases its rankings on qualitative criteria: professionals with a minimum of 7 years financial services experience, acceptable compliance records, client retention reports, customer satisfaction, and more. Advisors are quantitatively ranked based on varying types of revenues and assets advised by the financial professional, with weightings associated for each. Because individual client portfolio performance varies and is typically unaudited, this ranking focuses on customer satisfaction and quality of advice. For more information on ranking methodology, go to http://online.barrons.com/report/top-financial-advisors or contact Barron’s Associate Editor, Matt Barthel, at matthew.barthel@barrons.com. The rating may not be representative of any one client’s experience because it reflects a sample of all of the experiences of the advisor’s clients. The rating is not indicative of the advisor’s future performance. Neither Morgan Stanley Smith Barney nor any of their financial advisors pay a fee to Barron’s in exchange for the rating.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and its Financial Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their personal tax advisor for tax-related matters and their attorney for legal matters.

Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss.

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