Pretty much the title of the post, just curious.
What are the pretty standard things?
Is it normal to go above and beyond with things like sending annual Christmas cards to buyside clients that you’ve served or M&A lawyers you’ve worked with?
Also what does building the relationships look like? Do you just get talking to people at Borough Market drinks?
cheers
| +98 | [2026 - October] Unbiased Prestige Rankings | 61 | 9h |
| +94 | Who is the final boss in Houston Energy? (GS, JEFF or EVR) | 36 | 4h |
| +84 | You should probably leave IB | 28 | 11h |
| +46 | Why Do We Turn Comments? | 11 | 16h |
| +43 | Tomorrow Will Be Better | 5 | 5d |
| +41 | Moelis PCA vs Lower tier BB Coverage | 32 | 10m |
| +34 | Banking (Un)fortunately Still Needs You: My Case for Bankers in the AI Era | 9 | 5h |
| +28 | UBS IB #24 in US M&A in 2026 | 10 | 1d |
| +27 | Lateraling as Analyst | 25 | 22h |
| +24 | How much should you ask questions / seek feedback as an intern? | 9 | 1d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
On my side, I rarely do any of the cards to clients (and definitely not to lawyers or other advisors).
Unless the client likely has no fee potential in the future, we'll likely continue to meet either (A) in professional meetings which are either in-person or VCs where there might be a little chit chat at the start, but we get down to business fairly quickly; (B) for lunch / coffee / breakfast / a drink where there might be a bit of personal chat (usually more than (A)), but we'll still talk business for the most part.
Maybe others do it differently (honestly I'm not much of a talker and unless it's with a genuine friend, don't enjoy personal chit chat), but for me what is important is that (in my view) clients only value the relationship for the content you as a banker bring. You can't build a relationship (professionally) just by chatting about sports and travel (again, professionally). Clients will find it more a nuisance that they're sort of obliged to do.
Thank for the response!
One of the main metrics seniors are judged on (besides deals, which they may not have real control over) is number of meetings.
You are absolutely expected to meet with your clients regularly - whether just to touch base, pitching some deal, or just seeing what else they may need - BBs in particular expect you to cross-sell their other products like treasury and debt services
A lot of this is just old-fashioned in-office meetings. Lawyers are looking for money, they are not clients and you don't need to butter them up. But you definitely keep in regular contact with your coverage
Facere est voluptas dicta. Quo aut pariatur et eveniet asperiores quo eos. Maiores accusamus accusantium exercitationem vero dolorum qui. Nobis eius non facere et voluptas.
Incidunt amet et illo dolor. Aperiam corrupti sint provident recusandae eligendi. Sunt aliquid deserunt praesentium eos. Molestias in aspernatur dolor ea delectus dicta dicta. Quo tempore perferendis iusto quaerat perferendis ea qui. Aperiam voluptas nemo iure voluptatem voluptates.
Ex debitis et possimus. Sed odit cum sapiente porro nemo voluptatum. Atque repellat quo et quidem minima ex. Qui a vitae velit voluptatem. Hic adipisci rerum incidunt unde.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...