First impressions count, but it’s also highly valuable to have a conscious approach to you cement that impression over time
As the cliche goes you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
When it comes to financial advice this is especially true, as clients need to feel comfortable with their adviser if they’re going to entrust their financial future to them.
To make a positive impact, Director of Sufficient Funds James Millard says the work needs to begin before clients even walk through the door, pointing to the importance of having a strong internet presence that allows clients to get to know you.
From there, the relationship is built by working with clients to solve the “financial puzzle” they’re struggling with.
“We collect all of the normal financial information. From there we think about the data as someone's life and imagine how these dots were joined,” he says.
To help bring these scenarios to life, Iress’ product operations manager Ashleigh Beath says advisers can use visualisation tools to help a client better understand how the advice will change in different scenarios or from different external financial events.
“This forces clients to understand the potential events that can occur, and shows that advisers can add value by helping them mitigate the impact these events could have,” she says.
What to do after the meeting?
With communication key to building trust with a client, Millard says he is quick to get in contact with clients following the initial meeting.
In his communication, he will send a full summary complete with “images that align with the goals and dreams” of his clients.
He also includes add a calendar link for clients to book another call if they have any follow up questions. “If we’ve just had the SOA meeting, we’re then fielding any final questions and kicking off implementation of the plan,” he says.
What about next month?
Millard points out that financial advisers deliver value to their clients, so they shouldn’t use “desperate sales tactics” or promotions over the next month to win the business.
Instead, he talks about the importance of communication to help them feel comfortable with the advice they’ve been given.
Visualisation tools in these post-meeting communications can also help an adviser convey that value to a client, using tools such as scenario planning to help reinforce the importance of financial advice.
“The first scenario can show the client's current situation, and the second can show how their scenario would look with some small tweaks, which highlights the value they can add even further " says Beath.
By pairing good communication with the visual tools available, advisers can not only convey the value or their advice but ensure clients are positioned to make informed decisions.
Check out this post on Iress's Visualise or more XPlan Hacks to learn how to bring better visual communications into your client relationships.
Advisely Team
Iress Contributor