How Nicole Wilson Grew into Her Role as Client Relationship Manager
When a temp agency placed Nicole Wilson as an administrative assistant at K&B, she didn’t expect she would stay at the firm for long.
“I didn’t think much of it at first,” says Nicole. “I thought I would do it for a couple weeks or through the summer.” Very quickly, though, both Nicole and the K&B team realized they’d found something special in one another. Nicole’s patience, attention to detail, and customer service background were attractive to K&B—and Nicole saw a unique opportunity to grow personally and professionally at the firm.
“In the beginning, I was your typical admin: I answered the phones, made sure we had office supplies, helped the partners with what they needed,” she says. “Because we’re such a boutique firm, though, we’re all doing a little bit of everything all the time. I started doing more client service work: speaking with clients on the phone, handling transfers, taking care of paperwork, getting to know them better.”
It was in this role that Nicole truly began to thrive. When the firm implemented the FinLife system, which helps generate alignment between client and advisor regarding financial goals and preferences, Nicole began sitting in on all client meetings. “Clients really got to know me,” says Nicole. “They’d see my face in meetings, hear me on the phone. I got to know them better and see what they needed. That’s when I really started hitting the ground running with client services.”
In client services, Nicole has hit her stride—and, reflecting upon her education and earlier career experiences, it makes sense. “I did a lot of customer service-type jobs before K&B,” she says. “I worked in customer service at Rent the Runway, which was definitely a stepping stone into understanding the psychology behind working with people.”
Nicole studied communications in college and didn’t expect to land in a financial services organization. “I didn’t think my interests aligned with finance. But they really do go hand-in-hand,” she says. She attributes her understanding of the connection between communication and people skills and financial services to Fin Life. “FinLife shows you how personal it really is when it comes to finances and managing your money,” she says. “If you don’t really have a relationship with your financial advisor, you’re just looking at numbers on the page. At K&B, we have real relationships with clients—which is extremely helpful when it comes to managing their money.”
Nicole was recently promoted to Client Relationship Manager, and in this role it’s her job to strengthen those very relationships that are so instrumental in effective financial management. “I’m often the first point of contact in helping clients,” she explains. “I help with transfer assistance, deal with tax checks and transfers, manage calendars. I take in a lot of information about clients so we can get to know them better and, ultimately, so we can better assist them.”
So far, it’s been a dream role for Nicole, who loves the end-to-end process of helping clients. “I definitely enjoy the first meeting with new clients and the onboarding process,” she says.
In the months and years to come, Nicole looks forward to building out the client service team at K&B. “It’s nice that our clients associate K&B with client service,” Nicole says. “I’m really excited to build out the team and think of new ways to be supportive to our clients.”
Nicole is busy planning new ways to support and delight her clients, but she’s still just as eager to hop on the phone with them as she was on her first day as a temp years ago. “I always think about how special it is that when you call K&B, you get a person on the other line,” she says. “That’s really true to who we are—and it’s unique and valuable in this day and age.”