Article list

Knowing that your financial advice is suitable for a client is something that every professional adviser is willing to attest to, but proving it when challenged can be incredibly difficult. Advisers are increasingly being challenged and therefore seeking assurance that their practices are robust and will withstand such scrutiny.  Whether that scrutiny is a client […]

Many advisers are unsure about what they offer advice clients – cheap and cheerful advice on the fly, or a superb planning experience.  Both do the job, albeit in different ways.  But offering fast food at silver service prices is a business model that will struggle…and that’s what happens when there is no clarity on […]

Client complaints are a fact of life.  It is virtually impossible to run a service business where everyone is happy 100% of the time, as human beings are involved and they are unpredictable creatures with ever-shifting expectations. The art of good client complaint handling is knowing when to fight and when to just fix it. […]

Having a clear strategy is probably the most misunderstood concept in professional services. The business often has a Vision. A clear picture of what it wants to look like, and what success means to the owners. The business often is excellent at Operational Planning. Perhaps because we are trained as planners there is a tendency […]

The decision-making process – or buying journey as it has become known – that prospective clients go through today is complex, time-consuming for all parties, and is also often an incredibly  frustrating affair for all parties.  It is less frustrating if we understand what is actually going on and allow the time required for our […]

On some things you just have to roll the dice and take your chances in life.  Asking someone for a date….getting on a plane…or asking for referrals. It doesn’t always work out of course, but as a great hockey player once said: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” (Wayne Gretzky) Depending on […]

Everyone is after the good advice clients it seems…or are they? Robo-advisers, direct marketing, 24/7 online transaction facilities, product kiosks and over the counter solutions to shoppers at supermarkets…these are all “financial advice” choices for consumers today.  (For “Financial Advice” read “anything associated with a financial services product or service which may or may not […]