Peer

You need to be viewed as a peer by your clients. A peer is someone they see as being on the same level as they are, having gone through many of the same experiences, and can truly appreciate and understand where they are in their life.

If they see you as ‘less than a peer’, they will treat you as an assistant, and an order-taker. They will question any recommendation you make, and likely provide direction to you.

If they see you as ‘more than a peer’, they may become self-conscious and not share things with you. They may enact your recommendations even though they may not understand them or feel comfortable with them.

If you find yourself as ‘less than’ most of your clients, you need to figure out how to rise to their level. If you find yourself  ’more than’ them, you need to show yourself as their equal, with your own weaknesses and compassion for theirs.

Or you need to find clients who truly are your peers.

Who represents your brand?

As an advisor, you have a brand. A brand is simply just the images and emotions people have when they think about you and your practice. Some work hard to project a unique brand image, others borrow a brand from the company they work for. While you may think that you are the personification of your brand, you are not. A brand is really represented by whoever is speaking to and influencing your next new client.

For a manufacturer, that’s you – the advisor. You are the key influencer on the clients who buy their products. The best companies out there (in and out of the financial industry) are aware of this, and ensure they work with advisors who share their ideals and viewpoints, and align everything they do – from product offering to support to recognition – in helping those advisors represent their brand effectively. An advisor who can do this, who is authentic to the brand is worth their weight in gold.  On the flip side, an advisor who is not aligned to the brand can cause more damage to the brand than anyone who works in head office.

The same logic applies to your clients.  A great client who speaks passionately and openly about the value you have brought to them and their family represents your brand well. A client who complains openly, or even just agrees with other advisor’s clients about cost, or returns or lack of service damages your brand. More often than not, these complaints come from clients that you took on that didn’t appreciate what you represent in the first place (you know who they are  - the ones you really don’t like working with now). It is better to find clients who will represent your brand (you) well, align everything you do – from planning services to product selection to cost structure – to help these great clients represent your brand to your next great client, and the next.

Two stories

This advisor is brilliant at developing and implementing financial plans for his clients. He uses state-of-the-art modelling software, and custom builds portfolios. He is a student of the capital markets, and likely could be a portfolio manager for institutional clients – and has the letters behind his name to prove it. He has many, many clients, and runs a very successful and profitable practice. He works tirelessly for his clients.

Another advisor also runs a successful practice. Once per year, she shuts her business down and drives over to an elderly widow’s house. The widow is a client, but she has only a small income portfolio with the advisor. The widow has no family. The two of them drive across town to a cemetery, where the widow’s husband lies. The advisor never knew him, and stands by quietly as the widow visits and remembers. When she is done, the widow and the advisor go out for lunch, and the widow recounts tales of her life with her husband. And the advisor listens.

Which story will resonate with clients, and make them want to do business with either advisor?

What is your story?

Trading credibility

I’ve come to notice that for professions where your success or failure depend on your relationships with other people and the value you bring to those individuals (like financial advisors – or pretty well any job a computer won’t eventually do).  The proxy for all this is credibility.

Credibility encapsulates a trusting relationship, where objective knowledge is shared with the right intent. It is something that takes time to make stable (I know you can ‘borrow’ credibility or try and establish it with a bunch of letters behind your name. It’s a good start, but you need to be able to deliver, or the backlash to your credibility will do more harm than good), and you can lose it quickly. You have to nurture and protect it, through acting with integrity and consistency.

People seem to get this in the general sense. But every day, I see individuals who allow their credibility to be chipped away at, willingly trading it away.

Promise to deliver at a specific time, but something else made it impossible to meet the deadline, and you figured, “They will understand” without consulting with them? Chip.

Make a demand of someone, and guilt them into doing it by reminding them of your relative position, your importance, or a favour you did for them in the past? Chip.

Hold yourself out as believing in something, but act in any way that is in opposition to that belief? Chip.

The effect may not be immediate. But when you really need your credibility, when it is what will allow you freedom, gain you a promotion, or simply just be what stands between you and mediocrity, you may find it has been chipped away to nothing.