As we navigate our way through transitional licensing and the new legislation, a major focus has been on making sure that clients understand the financial advice they are given, which brings us to the question “what do you do to help your clients understand?”. We put this question to some of our adviser clients and here’s what they came up with…
1: Visuals are king. Research has proven that we ingest more quickly and retain information better with images as opposed to words. Humans are visual creatures, when you look at pages of text with no pictures there’s little chance you’ll actually sit down and read it.
2: Provide clear and balanced comparisons of existing and new products. If you are comparing apples with pears how can the client get it?
3: Try not to use industry jargon that the client will not understand. Keep it in plain English – you may have a tertiary education in finance but most likely the client doesn’t. Which leads to our next tip…
4: Consider the client’s level of education in finance matters; a younger couple may not be as financially savvy not having been round the block as many times.
5: Talk through your recommendations with your clients. It may come as a shock but not everyone will sit down and read your 50-page SOA to the end. So, having a face to face to explain why you think your recommendations are right for the client is so important.
Still wondering how this might work for you? Head on over and check out our engagement / modelling tools…
Ewen Cameron – Financial Advisor
