3. Listen to your clients with empathy. Advisors have a tendency, especially when meeting clients for the first time, to always think ahead to a question while their clients are still answering the last one. When you do this, you don't really hear what they say, and it's hard to be empathetic when you aren't fully present mentally. The solution is to have your questions memorized so you don't have to think about what you are going to ask next. This allows you to be a much more empathic listener.
4. Record your client meetings, especially the initial client interview. I've written before about recording client meetings, but to save you the trouble of searching back issues, I've written a script that you can use when you're introducing the recorder:
"I appreciate the investment of time and effort you made to be here today. The fact you have done so tells me you must be serious about your money. Is that true?" After they answer that question, follow up with this one: "You'll notice that I'll ask many relevant questions and take copious notes, and I also record the meeting." This is when you acknowledge the tape recorder. "The reason I record is that I'm very thorough. Do you know how you can watch a movie a second or third time and see things you missed the first time?" Again, let them answer that question. "Well," you continue, "giving you advice about your money so you can achieve your goals is obviously much more important than a movie, so I want to make sure our advice is right for you. If we choose to work together, I'll listen to this recording at least one more time to make sure to get it right. "
This is a good speech to give them before you ask your good questions.
5. Give advice with conviction. Salespeople tend to offer alternatives and let the prospect or client choose. Trusted advisors, on the other hand, gather all the information they need, consult with other experts where appropriate, and give the best advice for the client ... with conviction.
6. Tell the truth, even if doing so jeopardizes the relationship. Serious and successful people don't want to pay good money for a rubber stamp, yes-person kissing their butts and telling them only what they want to hear. It's your job to tell the truth, especially when it's what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
7. Avoid direct statements or implications that you can do the impossible. A good example is by not promising to beat the market. The bottom line is that there is no guarantee about the market. The best you can do is help people get their entire financial house in order, make the best choices possible at the time, and be in the strongest position possible to adapt to whatever uncontrollable events occur. Your job is much more about managing your clients' choices and actions than it is about managing their money. The less you play the predict-the-future game, the more credible you are.
8. Be inspiring. Help people create a compelling vision for their future and then become a bridge to make it happen. Creating a vision for them will build much more trust than being a problem solver.
9. Avoid the use of the old-school greed appeal. Don't say, "Work with me and you'll get a better return because our guru has a better black box to beat the market."
10. Avoid the use of the old-school fear tactic. Don't say, "Buy gold (or whatever) now because the big deficits and weak dollar mean inevitable inflation coming to erode your buying power! You could outlive your money and end up a burden to your family, living off community handouts or on the government dole. How would that make you feel?"
11. Be a comprehensive financial professional. It's interesting that most financial advisors claim to be comprehensive. But what does that really mean? What are "comprehensive financial services?" At the very least, comprehensive implies "everything." Do you really help your clients take care of everything related to their money? How many things is that? I know of one advisor who has done such a great job of defining comprehensive financial services that many advisors look to him for leadership on this subject. Check out www.trustedadvisortoolkit.com for the best information I know of about delivering truly comprehensive financial services.