Escaping the perception rat trap – May need more than a Band-Aid
Whatever Sir Bob Geldof’s actual view of financial advisers may be, says Tim Sargisson, the recent comments attributed to him are a reminder the sector still has work to do on its public image
I don’t like Mondays … but they can be made more enjoyable when the usual morning routine is pepped up by reading stories such as the recent press coverage of Sir Bob Geldof supposedly being encouraged off the stage after – or in the process of – speaking at Intrinsic’s annual conference.
The gist of the various reports – strenuously denied, it should be said, by Intrinsic – was that Sir Bob was making disparaging comments about financial advisers, telling his audience ‘the public’ hated them and did not trust them. This apparently led to his presentation being cut short – although the organisers insist this was purely down to the multi-millionaire overrunning his time slot.
Either way, some commentators have been quick to use the story to remind people of the importance of ‘knowing your audience’ before you step up to the dais and yet the fact remains that the comments attributed to Sir Bob will resonate with plenty of those reading the story.
The serious side to all this is that advisers need to understand such comments and recognise how much more work the advice community needs to do to endear itself in the eyes of Joe Public. In other words, we need to continue to build a client value proposition that truly resonates with customers and where we are viewed by the majority as their ‘trusted adviser’.
Let’s remember that, since the RDR, the power between client and adviser has shifted. Pre-RDR the client had no pull over the adviser’s customer proposition because they perceived they did not pay. Advisers were mostly product-led and the payment of commission reinforced the provider/adviser relationship rather than one that could be described as ‘client-centric’.
Post RDR, all change. Many advisers now understand the need to define their customer proposition for the first time. This includes defining how to price it, how to communicate it and how to maintain a service that will be paid for every year.
As with any service-based proposition, the ability to command a price customers will pay is based on many factors. A modern advisory practice now has more opportunities to add value to clients through excellent service, highest quality of advice, relationship building and being a trusted confidant (e).
But how many firms truly add value through their expertise built on a high level of up-to-date market and economic knowledge to reliably manage money directly?
Quality of advice is based on how well the adviser gets to know the client and how engaged they are in the client’s personal goals and ambitions – going the extra mile and using client data to demonstrate you are in touch and are thinking about them.
Remember The Little Things
This includes remembering the little things they said; bringing this back into play at review meetings; sending them snippets, articles or information of interest between meetings that is clearly not a mass-market communication; that boat you see advertised and you remember a client is dreaming of owning.
Yes, this is hard work but, with the right CRM technology, can be used to support a highly personal service – if, of course, that is what you want to deliver and have priced into your model.
Practices must continue to raise their game, with the focus around delivering high-quality client outcomes where investment management has been de-risked through an outsourced, technologically driven approach.
Perhaps the point Sir Bob was making is there is still too much focus in the adviser world on ‘looking after number one’. Which, for those of you old enough to remember, was the Boomtown Rats first hit in the UK in 1977. A band fronted by the then Mr Bob Geldof.
Published on 21st March 2017
