Mark Rantall – CEO – FPA

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) welcomes the new faces of financial planning to the professional body after already breaking 1,000 new members in financial year 2012-2013.

Female financial planners represent 32% of the new membership; Generation X represents 48%; and Generation Y represents an overwhelming 40%. Mark Rantall, CEO of the FPA believes the new members represent the new face of financial planning the future of where the profession is heading and these demographics highlight a change that is occurring in the profession.

Rantall said: “We are motivated by the on boarding of these new faces of financial planning and inspired by how the profession is evolving. The FPA community continues to work hard to build initiatives that encourage Australians across all demographics to join this profession. It is important that financial planners are a diverse group so that clients from all walks of life can access a full range of advice. The FPA community supports events, such as the Sydney Chapter’s Elev8, to target younger members; promote peer to peer learning and encourage mentoring between generations.”

The FPA currently has over 10,000 members with over 7,500 practicing members. Within this, almost 50% of the current membership is made up of Generation X, 37% of Baby Boomers and 10% of Generation Y.

Research shows that the FPA has a higher representation of female members at 23%, compared with 18% in other associations. 

“It is positive to see that the female representation in the FPA and more broadly, in financial services, is growing each year. However these numbers are not satisfactory and much needs to be done here to close the gap between the two genders and the FPA is aiming to do that with the financial planning profession. In order for Australians to receive appropriate advice, there needs to be equal representation across genders and all demographics.”

The FPA Professional Congress, being held in Sydney in October, will hold sessions specifically targeting those who have less representation in financial planning including an event targeting the growth of female financial planners in the profession, and an event held for younger members on promoting growth and experience in their careers.

The post FPA welcomes the new faces of financial planning appeared first on AdviserVoice.

After some 28 years of helping people with their lives and their money, I am convinced that it is a conscious appreciation of your emotions and behaviour towards money that is the single most important factor in you achieving your goals, flourishing in your life, and being happy.  Regardless of your economic situation or personality, if you can understand why you act towards money the way you do, and use this knowledge to amend future behaviours, you will be in a better place.

Hence, if as planners we can be the catalyst to bring about this awareness, and then help implement the intelligent actions that it requires, then we have achieved a job well done.

However, like a psychopath with no emotional depth or empathy towards others, our financial planning process and curriculum emphasises left-brain analysis and communication.  We look at the objective facts of the balance sheet, not the subjective influences of the heart.  We focus on what a client has, not the person they are (or desire to be). Our analytical rigour is taken to the point where the average client receiving advice is left wondering ‘what is the point?’

Which is not to diminish the importance of technical competence. Fundamentally, mastery of numeracy, legal structures, and being able to understand the objective impact of legislation, mathematics and taxation on money is an essential skill. 

Presenting this information in a compliant and concise fashion is foundational in presenting strategies that stand the test of time.  But doing just this will only ever engage a small proportion of people. Without an emotional engagement, strategies will not be implemented nor persisted with by the majority of people. 

When I look around though, I see financial planning as a field of endeavour focused on numbers, facts, and compliance.

I see a profession that relies on what we sell (financial products) for its definition rather than what we do (financial planning).  

I see a national debate about tax rates on superannuation, rather than about ensuring that people feel the importance of saving. 

Why aren’t we debating how folks can find their happiness from what they have rather than from envying what others have saved?

I see lip service paid to the notion of ‘knowing the client’ but this is demonstrated through many objective facts about their possessions. At best, the psychological tools at a planner’s disposal (if even these are used) are elementary. ‘How concerned about financial risk are you?’ Really?

John Gottman is a renowned marriage counsellor, who needs only 5 to 20 minutes observing a couple to be able to predict with 91% accuracy whether their marriage will succeed or fail.  This is not because he is psychic, but rather that he has dedicated a career to scientifically studying the transactions between partners and then measuring their impact on the longevity and happiness and satisfaction of the relationship.  In other words, he took the ultimate societal manifestation of emotions – marriage – and applied scientific techniques to understanding it better and helping others improve their lives.  He used this information to demystify one of the most important relationships most people will ever have.

Why can’t our fascination with financial modelling, asset allocations and Monte Carlo projections extend also to studying our clients’ feelings about money? 

Or better yet, how to engage our clients with the connections between financial wealth and physical well-being? Where is financial planning’s John Gottman?

Financial Planning is so dominated by left brain thinkers to the point that it borders on psychopathy, seeing emotions as the enemy of wealth accumulation. After all, emotional reactions to events like the GFC only served to exacerbate investment losses.

Yet to see a person’s behaviour with money as the single biggest threat to achieving their stated goals is to misunderstand the issue. Emotions are not to be ignored or, even worse, relegated to a lower stratum than logic. What is important is to appreciate that no decision at all can be made without emotions. 

Psychotherapist Philippa Perry cites research that shows how emotions are critical to any decision making. A lack of emotion does not lead to more logical, reasoned choices – it leads to chaos. People rely on emotions to navigate their way through life, whether they are aware of it or not.

I was asked recently why more planners aren’t involved in Aged Care. It’s a financially complex area, especially when you consider the interplay between assets, Centrelink and nursing home costs. It is difficult to find a sector where people can so explicitly benefit from expert advice. It seems a no-brainer for planners to be involved here. Many financial planners have beefed up their expertise on this, developing their knowledge, and yet have relatively little to show for this.

I suspect that it has more to do with the emotional issues going through people’s minds. Seeing a parent age and become feeble is challenging at any time. But the planner who shows them how to come to terms with this, while caring for their Mum, and handling their siblings (especially the brother who has that shrew of a second wife who is just trying to get her hands on the antique dresser) without appearing to be a vulture themself is going to be the success. 

But nobody puts the research and science behind understanding and teaching skills to deal with these emotions. Easier to just leave it to the psychopaths – numbers don’t talk back.

The post Psychopaths! appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Despite what most so called Social Media experts will tell you there is good reason for this. The idea of viral videos, content distribution and paying for search engine optimisation makes sense for certain types of businesses because they are far more engaging ‘social’ platforms that are able to replace or extend traditional advertising. 

However, advisers have a whole different product to offer; one that is based on relationships, the foundation of which is NOT brand + price but rather, know, like and trust.  I believe Social Media was built for advisers; the problem is a misunderstanding that the focus should be on the ‘Media’, like it is in advertising, rather than on the ‘Social’ part of this equation.

Social Media and digital technology are the golden tools of relationship management yet very few seem to be looking at it in the right way, from an Advisers OR client’s point of view.  Social Media allows you to grow effective relationships with hundreds of new people at a time rather than a few, and digital channels provide the tools to solve know, like and trust twenty four hours a day without you having to be present. 

Advisers have the tools, I believe they just need to know how to use them effectively and they need to see real results rather than smoke and mirrors.

My first suggestion is that you look at what actual advisers are doing that is working in the Social Media space rather than listening to PR or Marketing Professionals, or Search Engine or Website Specialists.  While these professionals are great to add value to a developed strategy they are missing the translation necessary to apply their skills to real world adviser implementation and results.

Take Marshall Brentnall and Jeff Thurecht, partners in Sydney-based Evalesco Financial Services. They are using facebook to talk about their clients and supporting and raising money for their favourite cause, The Black Dog Institute.  Simply by being transparent and ‘real’ people, they are finding their ability to attract ideal clients exponentially increasing through the inherent social characteristics of Facebook.

Another example is David Rae, Director at Beams and Associates in Canberra, who used Twitter and a client’s Tumbler to learn that one of his client’s young daughter been diagnosed with a life threatening disease. 

“I have social media relationships with lots of my clients and happened to see a tweet from a client talking about his daughter’s illness,” Mr Rae said. David was able to proactively contact the client and let him know that he was starting the ball rolling on claiming on a Child Trauma insurance policy that Mr Rae had previously advised the client on.

What is interesting is that the client had forgotten about the cover and that Mr Rae was able to deliver service right when the client needed it the most, well before the client would have sought out advice from Mr Rae.

Even better for this market leading adviser was that he was able to deliver this value in front of a whole public audience.  This element of Social Advice is changing the paradigms of both service delivery and referrals.

With just a little investment of time and the use of some simple tools, you now have the ability to know when your clients are changing jobs, selling their houses, contemplating life decisions and be right there delivering service in the highest value way possible.

Then you have another example of a leader in the field, Aaron Zelman, who has almost become a household name in the Risk Advice profession in Australia for his work to collaborate with fellow advisers through his LinkedIn group Australian Risk Advisers.  In his words he formed the group ‘Because I am so passionate about the underinsurance of Australians and I wanted to create a place where Advisers could help each other be better’.

In the process Mr Zelman has begun to generate immense credibility in his Social Media endeavours which directly translates to business growth through this new version of ‘word of mouth’.

If you are not already thinking about adapting to a future that includes elements of Social Advice then you need to shrug off your misconceptions.  This is not about technology or talking about ‘what you had for breakfast’ and this is certainly NOT a fad that is going to pass you by. This is about your clients, credibility, trust and building and maintaining relationships at a transformative scale.

Baz Gardner is a successful former professional adviser who used digital media to grow his business for more than 15 years.  Baz is the visionary behind AdviserEdge 2013, the World’s First Social Advice Summit being held in February 2013 on the Gold Coast.  All three Advisers quoted above and many other innovative industry leadings will be speaking and sharing their success in digital media at this ground breaking event. For more information, click here.

The post Harness the power of social media appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Many owners of financial planning businesses have found that what they thought would be a relatively straight forward recruitment exercise turned out to be a marathon effort, often with either a compromise being reached as to the candidate chosen or the candidates interviewed weren’t a good fit for the role and the position remained vacant.

Apart from the frustration involved, recruitment can be an unwelcome distraction to your business and be a relatively expensive exercise. To help you avoid the pitfalls, in the next three articles I will guide you through your options as to how best approach recruitment and provide you with the tools to help ensure that you are in the best possible position to secure the right candidate for the role you are seeking to fill.

Practice Management
Given that staff costs are the greatest expense incurred by businesses and that the successful recruitment of new staff is critical to your business’s continued success, recruitment should be seen as an integral part of practice management.

The key to successful recruitment is contingent on the initial focus put on planning the recruitment campaign, the allocation of resources to support the process and you ensuring the process stays on track.

From the outset you will need to consider who will be responsible for managing the process and whether they have the time, skills and experience required. If you decided to take a hands-on role then you should look closely at what resources you will need to draw on and what the costs will be to your business. This should include costing out your own time and that of staff who will be involved.

Often the decision is made to take the DIY approach mainly due to the perceived cost savings of not using a recruiter and after all, how hard can it be to write an ad and stick it on SEEK then just wait for all those applicants to come knocking? This is ad hoc approach can be like throwing darts at a dart board with a blindfold on; you may get lucky but then again, your advertisement may be buried amongst so many others unless it is effectively pitched at its target audience.

When I managed a financial planning business, I found myself in exactly this position and thought the search would soon be over; however the advertisement didn’t draw the candidates I was seeking so I had to sit back and rethink the recruitment strategy. This came at cost that could have been avoided if I’d taken more time to consider the most effective way to undertake the recruitment campaign. It was a valuable lesson – and one that I’ve never forgotten.

The steps involved in undertaking a successful recruitment campaign
From my experience as both a financial planning manager and a recruiter, I have been able to identify the steps you need to take to ensure that you have a recruitment strategy that is going to help you secure the best fit candidates for your business.

Step one – position analysis/review
The starting point for any recruitment process is to look at where the role fits in your business, its scope, responsibilities and expected deliverables, reporting lines and potential role development in to the future. If it is an existing role, this is your opportunity to ensure that it fulfils your current and future requirements.

Step Two – The position description
When you think you have a good grasp on what the role looks like, it’s time to write up the position description. The rule here is too much is better than too little, so that candidates have a very clear idea about the scope of the role through to expectations in terms of delivery.

The position description is also acts as a window to your practice, reflecting not only where this position fits, but also provides an overview of the structure and culture of the business.

If you write the position description as a monochrome document then you are missing an opportunity to present your practice in the best possible light. If you keep in mind that the candidates you are seeking to attract will be well sought after, it is important that the position description tells them that your practice offers them an attractive career opportunity.  Add some colour and light by including some differentiating points about your practice and briefly enunciate what makes yours an attractive work environment.

I have written and reviewed countless position descriptions. The ones that work best not only describe all the factual information about responsibilities, reporting lines and so forth, but they humanise the company by telling you things about the culture and the principals in the business. If, for instance, it is a family business, say something about the history of the business, who founded it and why. If the practice is a specialist practice, talk about that and why the business has this focus.

Step three – DIY or using a recruiter
In the second part of this article I will discuss the pros and cons of DIY and if you decide to work with a recruiter how they will work with you and the associated costs.

http://dawsonpartnership.com.au/

The post 3 steps for mastering the recruitment challenge – part 1 appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Let’s face it – at some point in your career you are going to be sitting down with a client and you will be struck with the realisation that things just aren’t working out between you two (or three if it’s a couple). For some advisers it will be a clarity that has been coming for a while; perhaps over several meetings whereas for others it will have hit them quite starkly: “This just isn’t working!”

While retail business coaches often argue that “the customer is always right” in the world of professional advice the reality is that there are times when clients are definitely not right. They’re not right with what they say or believe; they’re not right for the advice they need; not right for the type of services you offer and/or not right for you.

Early on you’ll take on pretty much anyone as a client just in order to survive both commercially and personally – after all, you can’t live on bread and water alone.  You’ll probably take on clients even when you know that the ‘chemistry’ between you and the client is not right.

It might be the way they ask questions or the way they criticise something you have done, or not done; it could be that in discussions they always find a way to slip in comments about your fees, disguised as humour or it could be that over time you decide you just don’t like the way they ‘operate’ – you just don’t like them.  Regardless, at some point, you will be wishing you hadn’t taken someone on as a client.

So the challenge is: how do you get them to go and can you do it in such a way that they won’t speak ill of you in your community for the rest of their days?

Broadly speaking there are two ways to ‘let a client go’; have the conversation with them or, write to them. That said it is by far the better approach to have a conversation with the client as this allows you to explain your reasons why the relationship should end. As you will see a little later, it also allows you the opportunity to manage the client’s initial reactions to such a suggestion, which is not possible via a letter for example.

Have you delivered?
Before having such a conversation you need to assess whether or not you have delivered on the services you agreed to when the client engaged you.  Take care here – what did you contract to deliver? What did your SoA and subsequent documents promise you would do?

Let’s just pause on the ‘have to let you go’ topic for a minute or so. What do your advice documents say? Have you, for example, in effect, promised to deliver on rates of return, certain tax outcomes, certain levels of capital by specified timeframes, specific levels of income? Does the language of your advice documents – in any way – suggest (reading from the client’s perspective) that you would deliver definite financial outcomes?

If they do, you need to be especially careful that you are able to ‘shake hands’ with the client when you say goodbye. If the advice documents do suggest definite outcomes in the future, you need to be cognisant that those advice documents – your written word – will live forever and that an aggrieved client might just use them against you in litigation.

This is about setting every client’s expectations properly. That is to say, don’t promise anything you cannot be certain to deliver. Don’t play ‘Russian Roulette’ with your advice documents – write them such that they can act to protect you in litigation, not attack you.

Back to our client with whom things just aren’t working out. So, assuming you have reviewed your advice and are comfortable with it, it really is preferable to have a one to one conversation with the client.  There is no simple solution here – every situation is different so you need to carefully consider how to raise the issue and how to deliver the message.

It could be that during a review meeting with the client you call a pause to the discussion and some words such as those following might be appropriate;

You: “John – from what I’m hearing from you today and in some previous meetings – you seem unhappy with us and I’m wondering if we perhaps need to speak about where we go from here? I guess where I’m coming from is that it might best if we ceased being your advisers so you can look to find another firm which might better suit what you’re looking for?  What do you think?”

Of course by asking the client that last question you run the risk of the client saying the want to stay – which is, presumably, not what you want. So let’s follow the conversation some more.

Client: “No, Susie, I’m OK – I’m happy to stay. I know I whine about things a bit but I want you to be my adviser.”

You: “Well thanks for that but I’m concerned that the ‘chemistry’ between us in not right. I mean – it seems from our conversations that deep down you might be expecting something we can’t deliver for you and if that’s the case, then – really – we should just finish up.  Please don’t misunderstand me – what I really want is for you to be truly happy with us and I just don’t sense that’s the case. I wonder if we should just think on it for a couple of weeks and let’s speak again?”

The client could respond in a number of ways. For example:

Response 1
Client: “Well – now that I think about it, you’re probably right. I’ve been thinking about it a bit for a few months and it probably is best to finish up, as you say. What would we need to do to make that happen?

Response 2
Client: “No – really, I am happy – I don’t want to change to another adviser. Besides it would cost to change.”

Response 3
Client: “You know – I think you’re right. I really do want to finish up here – I’m not happy and don’t think I’m getting good value for money. So let’s call it quits here and now!”

The first response is what you’re really looking for here. The client seems in a good frame of mind about it and you would move on to discuss what’s required to sever the relationship which of course would need to reference the relevant section of the original agreement the client and your firm executed.

In the other two responses you’ve got some problems ahead. In the second, the client doesn’t want to go but you want him to go.

You: “Well thanks for those comments, John, but I really do think we both need to consider finishing up. You know, I suspect if we keep going, at some point in time we’ll be back having the same discussion.  The things that you’ve been concerned about – we just can’t provide you with – it’s just not the way we operate as a business. And to be perfectly honest about this, John, we would prefer not to receive payment for services if a client is fundamentally unhappy with us. It’s just not the right thing to do. So here’s what I want to propose we do.  At the end of this month – or sooner if you prefer – we will formally resign as your advisers …”

Damage control
The third response is a bellwether to potential future problems. A suggested way to deal with that is:

You: “OK – that seems best, John. I really am very sorry we haven’t been able to meet your expectations. We do try our best however I also know that the type of services we provide do not suit everyone.  So what we’ll do now is write to all your investment providers and notify them that we’re no longer acting as your adviser – that will ensure that we have no access to your information from that point on. We’ll also cancel the fee debiting arrangement with XYZ account from X date (with reference to client agreement terms).  John, we’ll also write to you confirming what’s happening in regard those matters. How does that sound to you? Is there anything else you need information on?”

So what are we trying to do in such a scenario?

Firstly, we’re trying to let the client know we’re not going to try and hang on to them as clients.  “Ok – that seems best, John.” We’re trying to diffuse a potentially aggressive discussion – we know from what the client said (Response 3) that his mind is made up; that it’s beyond retrieval and in any case, you want to sever the relationship too.

However, we’re also trying to let the client ‘control’ the decision to leave. If the client, with a list of grievances, felt like he was being ‘sacked’, he might take umbrage and seek some form of recompense or retribution via, for example, a formal complaint to a complaints resolution service. Such an outcome would be time consuming and a cost to your business in more than just commercial terms. It’s a situation you need to carefully manage to avoid an escalation of the client’s dissatisfaction.

In such a response from you, there is also an apology: “I really am very sorry…” For many people, all they want to hear is that you are sorry.  The response also outlines a process, a way forward, for the client to finish up that doesn’t result in a lot of paperwork for the client.  In this situation, the result you should be seeking is a smooth separation while minimizing the risk of a complaint being made by the client, as retribution. Handling all the paperwork for the severance will go a long way to achieving that goal.

Give them an out
Looking more broadly, some people will have great difficulty in letting you know they are unhappy. It might not make sense to you (“If they’re unhappy too why didn’t they say so before?”), but for some people, by you raising the possibility of them ‘leaving you’, you will have lanced the proverbial boil that’s been festering in their mind for some time. You will have given them an out – a way to leave without the great anxiety such a conversation would have caused them if they had to initiate it.

Win-win
When this is all said and done, your overall objective must be to achieve a win-win outcome. The client needs to be able to leave without angst and without anger.  You need to be able to let the client go in such a way that you head-off potentially expensive complaints handling. 

You can’t please everyone
In such situations it could be said that ‘knowledge’ is realising, as soon as possible, that the relationship has no future but that ‘wisdom’ is being able to end it casualty free.  Greater wisdom would also be evident if the advice documents are written in such a way that they set clients’ expectations carefully in terms of what an adviser can – and cannot – deliver.

Note: The accreditation for this CPD article is no longer current. Please visit our CPD section for current CPD quizzes. 

The post No seriously, it’s not you–it’s me! appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Advisers historically – for all their networking and personal sales and relationship management skills – have not been terribly successful at creating long-term professional networking circles that continually deliver the right type of prospects though.

Why?

Generally because they don’t really understand how the potential center of influence (referrer) will win.

For example, it is often a logical fit for financial advisers to work with accountants.  They are after all dealing with related professional issues, usually with the same clients (or types of clients), and their respective knowledge sets are highly complementary.  Many times an accountant and a financial adviser will consider the concept of networking professionally, and cross-referring clients or working jointly….but the concept mostly never really takes off.

There are the expected issues that have to be resolved, like the professional danger for a referrer in transferring trust and lending their own reputation to another person.  But that is simply a necessary step in forming any professional business relationship, which is resolved by demonstrating the right behavior and level of expected professionalism repeatedly over tie.  The center of influence eventually is completely comfortable with lending their trust and reputation when you have repeatedly demonstrated that you are safe with it.

Creating the opportunity in the first place is the primary challenge though.  What is missing is understanding what the real WIN is for the center of influence – and how the adviser can help best.

Let’s use accountants as an example (and I know I am about to engage in a lot of generalizations – but it is the principle here that is important).

Most accountants are looking for the right job.

The majority of accountants are working in “compliance” type work for their clients.  The hard graft of sorting and preparing financial records, compiling tax returns and supporting information, trying to explain to their business clients how the tax system works….and often being seen by their business clients as the person who is “not allowing” (say) the family vacation to Disneyland to be claimed as a deductible business expense.

In this scenario the accountant is doing a lot of repetitive work, that is often uninspiring and professionally not fulfilling for them….and it is often a begrudging client on the other side of the table.  The client doesn’t want to pay any tax….would rather that their financial records were kept hidden from the rest of the world…wants to be able to use their business and its money however they see fit….and their accountant is the only human being they get to see standing between them and their desires. 

The business owner never, or rarely, actually interacts with the rule makers or tax department officials – it is the accountant they deal with.  And at some point the accountant gives them an invoice for dealing with it all, which the client resents to some degree as they didn’t want to engage in this process at all anyway.

Do you think that’s the type of business, and business relationships, that most accountants want?  Of course it isn’t….most would love to be able to get away from this type of financial compliance work – kick it down to the entry level accountant or junior associate to do that stuff!

A smart adviser would recognize this problem when forming the business relationship with the accountant, and an even smarter adviser would work out how to take some of the pain away and help the accountant get into the type of work they DO want to do.

When a professional financial adviser engages in their full process of discovery with a client they get a much wider view of the clients personal position, values and aspirations – very quickly.  Using a professional and comprehensive advice process uncovers the critical information that helps us understand what clients really value, and where they want to go.

For the accountant, that knowledge is gold.  It is the key to moving them out of “compliance work”, and into “business development” work with their clients.  That is where the enjoyment factor and the real business value is for both the accountant and the client.

The financial adviser’s real value in this professional relationship is identifying the opportunities for the accountant to get the types of jobs they want with business clients, and then positioning the accountant to do this work and create value for their clients – in both the accountant’ and the client’ minds.

As stated earlier, these are generalizations, but generalizations are generally correct!

Financial advisers can bring professional process that discovers valuable information of a much wider scope, and at a far deeper emotional level, than accountants generally uncover with their business clients.  Indeed, financial advisers HAVE to do this if they are doing their work properly – and they have a professional obligation to identify issues where other professionals have the requisite expertise that the client needs.

Financial advisers have the sales skills and relationship management ability to get clients to work with their accountant in new and better ways, on far more valuable and important issues than mere tax returns.  Financial advisers working professionally with the accountants own clients can uncover and create opportunities for the accountant to get the type of jobs they really want.

That’s the type of win-win that leads to successful networking for all – and for the benefit of the client.

All blogs are the personal views and opinions of Tony Vidler, Strictly Business Ltd, only. They should not be attributed or linked to any other organisation or business that Tony or Strictly Business Ltd may work with at any time. For more great ideas on how Strictly Business can help your professional advice business perform better and grow, visit www.financialadvisercoach.com

The post Creating a win-win is the key to successful networking appeared first on AdviserVoice.

7 mistakes advisers are making (as told by client’s of Financial Advisers) – don’t make them too!

1. As soon as an Adviser starts speaking I have a pretty good idea of what it will be like to have a long-term relationship with them by how well they listen to me. Unfortunately this particular adviser spent most of our first meeting talking about them and their business. How they have been in the industry for over 15 years and how they feel they are a leader in the industry amongst their peers. I was really bored, I couldn’t understand how that was relevant to me, and they didn’t explain it.  I have a financial problem that’s really keeping me awake at night and I wanted to hear how their business could help me, had they solved problems like mine before? Since the GFC we’re really nervous about who we pick.
2. Because I had been referred to this particular adviser he assumed that I would use his services, he didn’t ask if I was speaking with any other Advisers, if he had of done he would have learnt that I am speaking with two others who have also been referred to me. He treated the meeting as a ‘courtesy’ as though I was definitely going to give him my business but thought we should meet face to face. He didn’t make me feel important or different to any of his other clients. Telling me every five minutes that my friend was a client of his didn’t demonstrate how he could help me.
3. The Adviser I have chosen to manage my money made me feel welcome and had a genuine interest in my situation. They asked lots of questions to gain an understanding and demonstrated how they had helped others like me to solve their financial problems, giving me comfort that they can help me long term. The Adviser demonstrated that he wanted my business in a nice relaxed manner. I work hard for my money and I want to give it to those who deserve it!
4. The Adviser I chose recommended that I speak with other clients of theirs to gain an insight into how they operate whereas the Adviser I didn’t choose never offered such a service he just assumed I would use him because he had been referred.
5. The Adviser I chose explained to me that he would be responsible for my portfolio however, if I ever needed him and he wasn’t available for whatever reason, I could contact the Client Service Manager, Sam, who was also present in the room so she understood who I was and what my needs were  – gave me even more comfort that there are others in the business who can help me unlike the other Adviser where it was all about him.
6. All the Advisers I spoke with were pretty much charging the same fees and price wasn’t really a deciding factor for me and between you and I the Adviser I chose, could have charged more! He just came across as straight forward, he listened and made me feel as though I would also have say about what happens with my money, the others didn’t.
7. All the Advisers I met with had their own presentations that they went through but the difference between the Adviser I chose and the others is that they had interesting slides with lots of pictures rather than just numbers and they stopped at each slide and asked me if I had questions whereas the others just sped through them and didn’t stop! I kept thinking, “How does this relate to me?”

Rachel Staggs runs a series of seminars. Click here for more information.

The post Why didn’t you get the business? appeared first on AdviserVoice.

For very many advisers the prospect of speaking about fees with a new or existing client is something they would rather avoid if it were possible.  This is particularly so for advisers who have been paid by a third party for many years and not directly by the client. While ultimately in such situations the client was the payer – either through a deduction from their capital at the point of investment or via a higher Management Expense Ration (MER) to fund a trail commission – it wasn’t as confronting as having to ask the client to pay directly.

In a similar vein to how the GST onset saw many ‘shoe box’ businesses fold because of the perceived complexity of Business Activity Statements and the like, I suspect with the advent of FOFA and the abolition of commissions save for existing investments, many advisers are thinking it’s all too hard to ask the client to pay directly.

However, it really is possible to learn how to discuss fees with clients in such a way that it becomes a very natural part of a client meeting.  It is largely in the mindset that needs to be adopted and the words and tone of discussion used when speaking about fees with clients.

Setting the Scene
Having a successful fees discussion with clients is not just about the verbal conversation.  There is a lot that you can do to ‘set the scene’ for clients so that they automatically expect fees to be the way you do business. It’s about non-verbal messaging – from business logos, signage; from stationery to websites and brochures to your reception area to the way in which you written word is formed in all your correspondence with clients.

Getting such messaging right helps to prepare a potential client that, as professional advice firm, you will charge professional fees.  The key point is that setting the scene makes it so much easier for you when the conversation needs to focus on how the client is going to pay for your services.

The ‘F Bomb’
While Financial Services Guides (FSG) must detail how an adviser is paid, at some point in a new client meeting you have to drop the ‘Fees Bomb’.  For many it remains a stumbling block when they begin to utter the word ‘fees’ however the key point here is that there is no set point in every new client meeting where fees must be discussed.

Real life is never as prescriptive as that and so it’s important for advisers to sense when it is most appropriate to speak about fees during the meeting.  That said, it must happen and you will look far more professional if you do so near the beginning and it certainly not be tacked on to the end of the discussion.

Some suggested wording:

Adviser: “… and so the process usually takes around three weeks from today before we meet again to discuss your written recommendations which will be in a document known as a Statement of Advice.  That said I need to walk you through our fees for each step of the advice process and portfolio management.  You might have noticed that our fees are recorded in the Financial Services Guide but I just want to go over them with you now so you can raise any questions you might have.”

The next client you meet with will be different and the way in which the meeting unfolds will be different to the last.

Client: “Before we go any further can you tell me how much this is going to cost me?”

Adviser: “Yes certainly. For today we do not charge as per the information in our Financial Services Guide.  If you would like us to prepare a Statement of Advice for you, our fee is a minimum $X. This fee is in recognition of our time costs in analysing your situation and your objectives and then developing a strategy to take you forward. We will present our advice to you in writing in the Statement of Advice at the next meeting.”

Client: “But what other charges will I have if I become a client?”

Adviser: “Well – if our advice includes investment recommendations – we will invite you to engage us under our portfolio management services. At this point I can’t say what that will cost however we levy our fees as follows…This means that on a $100,000 portfolio it would cost $X per year for us to manage it.”

Of course, if you operate on hourly fees or flat fees your example fee will need to be relevant.

At first, telling new and existing clients can be daunting for some however, like many things in life, the more often you do it the easier and more natural it becomes. Interestingly, the more often you do it the more relaxed your delivery will be and the more a ‘it’s the way we do business’ air of confidence will permeate every such discussion.

Remember – you will not be the first person your client deals with who charges them a fee and you won’t be the last.  If you are providing professional advice you have every right to charge a fee for services rendered.

Do you charge a fee for the first appointment?

Anecdotally at least, I sense that more advisers are charging for the initial meeting with a client. There will be various reasons for this however they could include:

• Wanting to place a value on the time that is otherwise given away with free first appointments in the hope that a potential client goes on to seek formal advice and perhaps engage the firm or
• Wanting to reduce the propensity for free appointments attracting ‘advice shoppers’ – people who ‘shop around’ for advice with little or no intention of engaging any financial planning firm

In the arena of fee charging, for some advisers, this will be a bridge too far just yet however, for those who are thinking about heading down this path, there are some key steps to have in place before charging for initial appointments.

Firstly, of course, there is the question of how much you will charge and that’s purely a matter for you and your colleagues. However, there is a delicate balance to be achieved here – you might want the fee to achieve, for example, some measure of cost recovery for your time, however equally you would not want to set the fee at such a level that it deterred most potential new clients from making a first appointment.

Secondly, you need to think about how the person wanting to make a first appointment is going to be told that there is a fee to be paid for it.  Naturally, it needs to be in your Financial Services Guide but it could be that the first opportunity for them to find out about the fee is when they telephone to make the appointment.

The question for you here is who will tell them?

• Your receptionist?
• Your assistant?
• Or you?

Regardless of who it is, that person needs to have a, for want of a better word, ‘banter’ which politely, professionally, notifies the caller of the fee. So, consider this type of dialogue:

You: “Thank you for calling Mrs Smith, we have an appointment available on Xth of September at 10am if that would suit you?”

You: “Oh that’s good – it works well then. Mrs Smith I just need to let you know that we do charge a fee for the appointment and it is at $X including/excluding GST.”

Client: “Oh I see – do I pay that on the day or do you send me an account?”

You: “You’re welcome to pay it on the day or we can send you an account, whichever you prefer.”

Or

Client: “I see – gee I wasn’t expecting there to be a fee. What’s that for?”

You: “Well the fee covers the time we will spend with you at that appointment which is typically going to be at least an hour – sometimes an hour and a half or so.”

Client: “OK – so will you advise me what I need to do at that appointment?”

You: “We will be able to have a general discussion about your situation however we are not able to give you specific advice at that meeting.  The reason for this is we need time to develop a very detailed understanding of your current situation and what you are trying to achieve. In addition, it’s likely we will need some additional information about your situation before can decide on the most appropriate way forward for you.”

Client: “So what are the costs for getting the actual advice, then?”

And on the discussion would go.

This is the next fee challenge for financial advisers/planners – reaching a point of being sufficiently, professionally, confident to charge for the time which could otherwise be devoted to people who are already clients and who are already paying fees. Charging for a first appointment might not be for every adviser however, that new client who you didn’t charge for the first appointment will likely handover several hundred dollars for their next consultation with their medical specialist.

Note: The accreditation for this CPD article is no longer current. Please visit our CPD section for current CPD quizzes. 

The post Dropping the ‘F Bomb’ appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The Collins English Dictionary defines a paraplanner as “a person who assists a financial planner, especially in compiling reports and conducting research.”

While the core of the paraplanning role is to compile reports and conduct research there are many different types of paraplanner.  Understanding this can assist you with finding the right paraplanner for your business.

Most paraplanners in the industry work in one of the following models:

• As part of a centralised paraplanning team – this model is often employed by many major banks / dealer groups and super funds
• Alongside a number of paraplanners in a mid-sized boutique financial planning firm
• As the sole paraplanner in a boutique financial planning practice
• In a self employed / contract paraplanner capacity (often an outsourced paraplanning business)

Other duties that are often incorporated with different paraplanning roles include:

• Administration – paraplanners in smaller businesses often get involved in administration and paperwork aspects from ensuring that compliance documentation is filed correctly to preparing paperwork and implementing recommendations.  A role which incorporates administration elements can give a paraplanner a hands on understanding of the practicalities of the financial planning role and can be especially useful for those starting out in the industry and those wanting to become financial planners.
• Client Service – meeting with clients – some paraplanning roles incorporate a mix of meeting and liaising with clients as well as paraplanning.  This is common for Associate Financial Advisers who gain experience in formulating and constructing advice through paraplanning and experience in connecting and relating with clients through client service responsibilities.
• Compliance / Technical aspects – as the role of a paraplanner incorporates compliance and technical aspects, over time paraplanners can become experts in a compliance / technical field.  Many paraplanning professionals become compliance / technical experts within their business or within a dealer group / financial institution where they are called upon by financial advisers, practice managers and product providers to provide insight and expertise.
• Practice / Paraplanning Management – depending on the size of the business and the seniority of the paraplanner, management of the practice / paraplanning team may also be incorporated into a paraplanning role.  Some practices run a system where Senior Paraplanners are involved heavily in complex advice work and oversee the work of Junior Paraplanners.  Many large centralised paraplanning teams employ Paraplanning / Operations Managers to oversee teams of paraplanners, liaise with other corporate business units and manage workflow.
• Financial Planner – some financial planners are involved in doing their own paraplanning.  This is often a common starting point for Financial Planners in smaller practices who meet clients, write Statements of Advice and implement the advice themselves.

Although, a quick look at seek.com.au will show you that there are many different types of paraplanner, there are some key skills common to all paraplanning professionals including the ability to:

• Construct / formulate / understand advice documents (namely Statements of Advice – SoAs and Records of Advice – RoAs)
• Document and write reports
• Research and analyse / interpret facts and figures
• Understand the financial planning compliance framework
• Manage time effectively
• Communicate effectively (both in writing and verbally)
• Use software and employ IT related skills – as a lot of paraplanning professionals are required to use financial planning and other software.

Our articles will focus on how you can identify and attract the right paraplanning staff or outsourced paraplanning solution to fit your business. We will also be taking a closer look into how best to structure remuneration, set KPIs and establish professional development plans for your staff to enhance their development and encourage staff retention and loyalty.

The post Finding the right paraplanner for your business appeared first on AdviserVoice.

For female excellence in advice, the role doesn’t end as the client walks out the door, it’s an ongoing relationship of advice, and education that makes a difference not just on a client level, but on an industry level.

This award doesn’t just represent great client/adviser achievement, its represents a step forward in diversifying an industry. See three of the contenders for this year’s Female Excellence in Advice Awards below.

Want to be recognised for your excellence in advice?  Find out more here

Leanne McDonald
Position: Principal of Create Financial Solutions
Education: Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Banking and Finance, Diploma of Financial planning   Deakin University and Kaplan, CFP Course Completed in 2010 through FPA, SMSF, Derivatives and Gearing Courses through Kaplan completed and Collaborative Law Course in 2011.

Leanne is the founding principal of Create Financial Solutions.  Leanne is Passionate about assisting and educating her clients through each life stage. She prides herself on developing excellent working relationships with all clients, this often leads to her providing comprehensive financial advice and ongoing service.

Leanne has a high percentage of clients that are single or widowed women who seek out her advice as a female adviser.  As a result of this, she finds that female clients are the greatest referral for other female business.
Leanne is an active member of Women on the Move and Women in Business. She has also recently been placed in the Top 50 Financial Advisers for Australia in 2012 for Wealth Professional Magazine, ranked 12, including the Highest Female adviser of the top 50.

Being driven and positive about what you can achieve and share that with others is central to Leanne’s working practice.

“I am a passionate person and I enjoy discussing my successes and how to manage work/ life balances, given the number of personal challenges I’ve had over the years myself, it’s important to keep energy levels up to continue to motivate and inspire others. I encourage my staff to be honest, approachable, and hard-working and to enjoy what they are doing.”

Dianne Charman
Profile: Owner and Director of Jade Financial Group
Education: Masters of Financial Planning

Dianne Charman is the Owner and Director of Jade Financial Group.  While this is what her role says on her paper, Dianne sees her role as one to guide and mentor each person who wishes to make a difference in their life, by firstly seeking to understand their financial potential.

In the workplace Dianne acts as a mentor providing a nurturing environment for the growing potential of her team.
Dianne embraces the differences in her team and likes to lead by example. She believes that you bring people on the journey with you.  This is crucial to individual, team and ultimately client success.

Dianne is passionate about providing help for others so they can make a positive financial change in their life, and the lives of their families. As a result of this, Dianne started a not-for-profit foundation for children to start adopting money-savvy habits from an early age – ultimately aiding the developing good financial habits from the ground-up.

Christine Swanson
Position: Owner and Managing Director of Business Prominent Financial Planners.
Education: Diploma of Financial Planning and Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD), Associate Member of the FPA.

Christine Swanson is the owner and managing director of Prominent Financial Planners.  She has been building her successful business for over 25 years, and 3 years ago formed a highly successful joint venture which has won the Securitor Dealership Practice of the Year for the past 2 years.  Her workplace is also a Women Friendly Service, promoting the importance of advice to women.

Christine’s work with her clients involves a deep understanding of their personal situation which allows her to create and maintain very strong relationships. Christine believes this is not just because of technical knowledge, but also her ability to offer intuitive advice for her clients’ needs and situations.

In the worksplace, Christine works to reflect her own personal values of integrity, trust and fair play. She allows her staff to make decisions and take responsibility for their actions, rather than referral and passing on responsibility within the group.  It is encouraged that others manage their responsibilities, while taking and giving appropriate feedback along the way.

Christine plays an active role in the community and is passionate about her work with Cancer Council SA, she is an Ambassador for Cancer Council SA and coordinates the Glitz & Hammer Annual Fundraising Ball.

The post What does Female Excellence look like in 2012? Like this…#3 appeared first on AdviserVoice.