by Tony Vidler       

I am a massive fan of using simple diagrams to explain technical ideas, but they are also a fabulous way of articulating concepts that people struggle to grasp.

One of my favourites is a very simple picture that anyone can scribble on a scrap of paper in 30 seconds, which is great.  What is even better though is it captures the essence of the value that an adviser brings for a client in such a way that a client can get it immediately.

It taps into the benefits of coaching, the power of knowledge and technical know how, and the clients own belief systems.  It recognises that the person you are presenting to will achieve a level of success in their life anyway – which every client sincerely believes to begin with.  It also recognises that each of us are capable of higher levels of success than we might otherwise realise by ourselves.

Therein lies the power, and the unequivocal demonstration of value that a professional can bring to the client relationship.

The first step in being able to discuss your value proposition is knowing where you actually create value to begin with.  This diagram presents the fundamental value that every adviser should be bringing to the client, and it presents it in such a way that every thinking client will understand there is a significant step between the success they can realise by themselves, and the level of success they can realise when they have good people helping them.

Just two lines to draw on the graph really:  The first shows the client that they will probably “do okay in life”…but the second highlights that they “could do better, faster” with the additioin of technical expertise and coaching that they don’t have.

Simple, and effective, and it takes 30 seconds to draw and discuss.

In the absence of a specific value proposition of your own that is a differentiator this will serve the purpose of explaining the value of advice, and the value of YOU, the professional adviser.