[Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series.]

How has Covid-19 changed retirement? What things are going on that will impact financial professionals more than others? How about clients? What do they need to be aware of? Are there ways we can capitalize on these emerging trends to not only highlight the adaptive nature of our profession and differentiate our individual firms, but also deliver better service and returns for our clients?

We all know that the pandemic has changed life as we know it, and while we all hope to return to some sense of normalcy, there are a number of trends unfolding that will continue to shape our society, the economy and the businesses of the future. I’ll start with three game-changing trends for financial professionals and then turn to three post pandemic retirement trends impacting clients. Both are designed to help facilitate business development conversations as well as client dialogue going forward.

To start, many of us began our careers meeting clients face-to-face and knee-to-knee, doing things like reflective listening and mirroring. But that’s all changed. People can no longer see your smile behind a mask, admire your wall of degrees and designations or displayed images of you in a newspaper or magazine.  Furthermore, a new client may not be able to or want to walk into your office and get a sense of your family or community involvement.   

Instead, they may only be able to see a small, 4x4 space behind your laptop. So, how will prospects garner a first impression and what will replace a firm handshake, hug or pat on the back in this post pandemic era of retirement planning? Reality is, a new set of trust factors has emerged that both new and existing clients will use to select and keep assets with us that includes social proof, screen skills and personal marketing.

Social Proof
What happens if someone googles your name? What comes up? Is it your LinkedIn profile, a personal Facebook page, your political rants on Twitter, or is it your generic bio on a company website? More importantly, what do you want to come up? Most advisors don’t have an answer to that last question but it’s taking center stage now.  Too often advisors assume their digital image reflects their personal perspective, but nothing could be further from the truth. Taking it one step further, what happens when people google your company name? Does it come up on the top of the page or is it buried at the bottom or on the dreaded second page? Does it show up correctly in a map app and have how people rated your service, good or bad?

The key issue here is that clients don’t necessarily hire your firm as much as they hire you. Additionally, they tend to work with people that are like them or have shared values. Therefore, your digital footprint should reflect the things that are important to you and your clients. In other words, they should be able to see who you are and what is important to you by looking you up online.

The biggest gap I see in this area for advisors is that on their company website and online communications say things like, “You aren’t just a number to us” or they label themselves as “holistic financial planners.” However, when you look at their online profiles and company websites, there is no proof in the pudding. Thereby suggesting, you’re just another regular advisor who talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk. As a result, advisors need to take a hard, strategic look at their digital footprint and make sure they have social proof in terms of content, images and video links that not only paints the right picture of them but also helps differentiate them from others.

Screen Skills
We obviously know that many client meetings have moved online, but most people have very little experience interacting with people on this medium. Unfortunately, many advisors assume they are pretty good at it because they have never had someone complain or analyze their style and efforts. But the way you dress, your pace of speech, camera angle and distance from your face, the lighting, sound quality and how you use your hands are just a few of the essentials you need to consider.

In the last year, I have recorded dozens of videos for conferences, industry training designations, and online media platforms. During that time, I have had my video set-up and skills run through the ringer by media professionals who want things to look and feel high-end. That has meant investing in a separate 1080p camera, upgrading my mic but keeping it out of camera view, using two ring lights to reduce shadows and updating my wardrobe to more solid-colored dress shirts so lines don’t appear on lower quality cameras. Furthermore, camera height, looking into the camera rather than the people on the screen, and making sure the office HVAC system doesn’t kick on to disrupt audio quality are just a few of the things people haven’t given much thought to but all too often play out negatively on camera.

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