best practice advice Archives - Page 7 of 9

customer service pays for financial advisors

Professional Service: There’s extra money going the extra mile

by Tony Vidler Often professionals forget how valuable the service bit is in a “professional service” business. Everyone has heard some story about how a business did well from going the extra mile for a customer…but rarely do you hear about a professional services business that has a standing process for going the extra […]

The Power of Visual Aids

by Tony Vidler As advisers, we talk a lot. And when we aren’t talking we are writing. Visual aids, or graphics, tend to get overlooked by us but there is LOADS of research which suggests we should be using loads of visual aids, and perhaps less talk and less writing. If you doubt the power […]

The cost of convenience in insurance: Underwrite at proposal time, or claim time?

by Tony Vidler Convenience in insurance can come at a steep cost: When does your client want to have the drama with their insurance company? At underwriting time, or at claim time? The cover is going to get underwritten at some point, it really is just a matter of when. This is a confusing facet […]

Are Advisers Overlooking The Obvious?

by Tony Vidler Advisers are racing to use new technologies and modify engagement & busines processes, and that is totally understandable. But there is a real risk of losing sight of the essentials and overlooking some basics. Like, answering a customer enquiry. Or helping your community in the way you can help best – […]

You can do personal online-only advice

by Tony Vidler There are some great reasons to go digital in your advice process, especially if you live in a city where traffic gridlock, exorbitant parking costs and insane commercial rents drive up your overheads and kill your productivity. For many advisers now of course, there is no choice but to go digital-only. […]

Innovation in delivering Financial Advice: Does it have to be this way?

by Tony Vidler “Innovation” and “delivering financial advice” do not usually go together for the majority in the industry. The way advice is delivered by tens of thousands of professionals tends to gravitate to the same methodology. There is safety hiding in the herd, right? Then the type of advice delivered by tens […]

The Right Way To Present An Advice Recommendation

by Tony Vidler When you are presenting quotes or recommending product solutions, are you still giving the prospect a few choices, like 3 perhaps? Don’t do it. Consumers are onto it, so as a “sales technique” it loses impact…and it was never fabulous technique to begin with. More importantly, it undermines your professional […]

Should you give a sly kickback to referrers?

by Tony Vidler One of the ethical challenges for professionals is how to appropriately recognise the value of a great referrer or Centre-Of-Influence. A little kickback on the sly? Hardly professional. Don’t talk about it and pretend there is no commercial significance? Not great for maintaining trust long term. It doesn’t have to become […]

Want to Cross-Sell? Then put a bit of planning into it…

by Tony Vidler We all know that cross-selling services and products to clients is critical to maximising the value of the client relationship as well as ensuring you are delivering full value to your clients. So why is it so often neglected? In part cross-selling is skipped because so many professional advisers […]

Give Publicity To Get Some Good Publicity

by Tony Vidler An excellent way to get some positive publicity and generate more “word of mouth” advertising for your business is to give some good publicity to other businesses. That may sound a little strange…counter-intuitive even…but the priniciple of reciprocity is a powerful thing. Pretty much everyone in professional services has clients […]

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