advice process Archives

Use a puzzle to provide clarity to clients!

by Tony Vidler How often do financial advisers struggle to explain to prospective clients, or audiences at large, what it is they do? Providing clarity so that clients do not struggle to understand the explanation must be the objective, surely? This diagram pictured on the left is an excellent tool that works well (even with […]

Top Of Mind Awareness: Being Present Without Being A Nuisance

by Tony Vidler Promoting our personal professional brand is essentially all about creating top-of-mind-awareness. Being the person that our target market thinks of, and then calls, when they recognise a need or desire is our goal. We want to be “top of mind”. To achieve that we must master the art of being present, but without […]

The emotions that drive client decisions

by Tony Vidler There are three basic emotions that drive most client decisions, or actions, in financial services: 1. Fear 2. Greed 3. Love The one we often shy away from is the first one: Fear. I am going to suggest you might want to consider “slapping” some clients with it sometimes…not literally of […]

The Difference That Clear Strategy Makes To A Practice

by Tony Vidler Having a clear strategy is probably the most under-estimated element 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 […]

Sales Technique Is The Key To Opening Minds

by Tony Vidler “Sales Technique”…the very phrase sends shudders down the spines of professionals today it seems. Despite the focus on our increased technical knowledge and the emphasis upon good process, financial advisers do actually have to “sell” – even if they don’t want to face up to that. A large problem for many newer […]

Nobody Believes Your Advice Is Actually Impartial AND Free

by Tony Vidler The problem with “FREE” is nobody believes that whatever you are offering is actually free. It might seem free in terms of there being no invoice or obvious price tag, but that doesn’t mean it is “free” does it? Consumers today are alert, have a world of information in their pocket […]

Effective or Efficient? Which do Advisers need to be?

by Tony Vidler Which is more important when running an advice business: being effective or efficient? You chose Effective? Wrong. You chose Efficient? Wrong. The correct answer is that you have to balance both. In days gone by plenty of people in financial services could build a business just be being effective, regardless of how […]

How To Get Buy-In From Clients To Full Advice

by Tony Vidler Clients often want advisers to deal with just one element of financial planning…their current “burning issue” that triggered the need for advice to begin with. Getting them to engage in full advice can be tough and they need to understand what you CAN do for them, and where your knowledge and skills […]

New Ways To Lift The Game With Customers

by Tony Vidler Have you thought about rolling the dice and asking your customers what they would like you to provide? In professional services we are often reasonable at surveying our customers for satisfaction and service levels, and asking generic questions about how we can improve in those areas. More often than not though […]

How do you know your financial advice is suitable?

by Tony Vidler 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 dificult. Advisers are increasingly being challenged and therefore seeking assurance that their practices are robust and will withstand such scrutiny. Whether that scrutiny […]

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