Many IFAs view wealth management with a product-centric, transaction oriented approach, even though they may not like to be seen as such. They view their role more as sellers of products for customers looking for separate needs. And in order to satisfy multiple needs, they add multiple products to their selling basket. This along with focus on revenue maximization from clients by certain segments of the industry have shaped differing images of the financial advisory business in customer's minds.
For an honest IFA, who is looking to provide solution based, client-centric, advisory services to customers, there is a challenge to differentiate against these perceived images of product centric agents & IFAs. Perhaps the first question a prospective client may ask you is 'why are you different?'. Answering the question is not easy since other IFAs may also be providing the same basket of products and offer similar operational facilities/services. In an internet driven era where knowledge is readily available and so are the tools for automated advisory solutions, what will be your USP as an advisor?
A relic of the gone days, the three Ps of Price, Product and Performance, do not really count today as a differentiating factors for any business. Today these are more of like outdated terminologies found meaningful only in theoretical marketing books. The answer to this question moves away from the direction in which most other IFAs are heading towards. There are three new Ps which have today replaced the old Ps. Perhaps many successful IFAs would already be practicing these Ps in many ways. And most likely, by incorporating these elements in your own advisory practice, you too may stand out from the crowd and be successful sooner than later...
The New Ps For Differentiation:
Personal Touch:
As mobiles, internet and social media are slowly moving the society where there is less of personal touch and more of mass touch, where appreciation is counted in number of likes or shares you receive; there is a visible void being created. For us, this void presents an opportunity. As humans, we would love to interact, talk and argue with persons rather than screens. While automation is a really good thing and is a must for operational purposes, it cannot be taken to replace you as a person.
The thought “difference thinkers don’t begin with an idea and think in increments of improvement; they start with empathy” resonates loudly at this point when we talk about attracting clients. Our competencies can be easily assumed by our customers before starting a relationship but what really has to be demonstrated is that you have a heart. That you really care, are concerned and have empathy for the clients. This is what you sell.
There is great value for your business to be created once you have these personality traits. This values have be developed and practiced honestly so that they can be reflected naturally without any effort. All your social media interactions, websites, messages, etc. should be used to demonstrate this value to your audience. A customer, knowingly or unknowingly, is looking for this differentiation from others. As Bernadette Jiwa once said, “It isn’t the person with the best idea who wins; it’s the person who has the greatest understanding of what really matters to people.”
Passion:
Passion is like an infectious energy. Passion has be reflected in our work, approach and style of functioning. Most IFAs, after acquiring certain size of business, tend to go slow; their drive to grow withers with time. Like contagious disease, the lack of passion slowly starts eating into client servicing, acquisition, operations and so on. One fine day, the business seems very outdated with only old customers continuing on basis of relationships. That sound like a death bell for the future of the business.
What we need is continued passion with patience. Patience because passion cannot be sustained for a very long period of time and it can easily go dry if results are not visible soon. But where can we get passion and how can we develop it? Well frankly there is no process for it and nothing external can directly help here. Passion has to come from the love you have for your business and for your client's welfare. You need to have aspirations of goals higher than you think that you can achieve.
When passion is true and high, it will have an omnipresence in your business, affecting every aspect of it. You will keep going even when you may not be getting results. Obstacles or of unfavorable facts can be turned on their heads, simply with the power of passion. It will do much more than attract and retain clients with you. And that is a differentiation hard to beat.
Perception:
The reality of any relationship, personal, financial or otherwise, is that perceptions often differ. In our business, the client-advisor relationships in particular, perception gaps are often very common can these can lead to troubles over time. Chances are that you are viewing your relationship with clients in a different manner that how the customer is viewing his relationship. For example, a survey found that only 28% of customers are following financial plans when nearly 83% of advisors said that financial planning was core part of their services.
The battle of perceptions extends to every aspect of your advisory business, from asset classes /products /services /needs & goals /your capabilities & knowledge and so on. Fortunately, it is easy to change perceptions. Your interactions, communications, sharing of ideas, branding, customer education, etc. can all together help in managing perceptions. This is especially true for your prospective customers who will be judging you by what they see. The real difficulty however lies in identifying how others perceive you and what perceptions you need to change. Often we do not focus on this critical element and take a short cut to creating perceptions that we feel is right and in ways we feel are good.
Identifying how you are perceived begins by asking questions to clients who are first made comfortable to share the same. What do you think? Is this ok for you? Will it work? How would you have liked it at the first instance? What would you change? Why do you think that way? What do you value more? There are many questions that can be asked for most of the things you are doing. But most times, IFAs need to have the skills to listen to things which are left unsaid by clients. This skill cannot be taught but can bequippingned by closely observing your client's behaviour and related actions.
Conclusion:
Personal touch, passion and perception are intangible things that matter more to clients than we think they do. Of course, all other things like knowledge, skills, products, services, technology, infrastructure, etc. are critical and it is assumed that you already have them. But clients often are driven not by the tangible but by the intangible. It is the set of values, care, commitment and concern that you hold which lies at the heart of any relationship, new or old. Standing out from crowd thus not means only equiping yourself with the tangible things but also 'being' different from the crowd. Now that will carry your own personal stamp on it.
{s}
[[script type="text/javascript"]]
$(document).ready(function(){
new DiscussionBoard("divDiscussionBoard", "730", "http://www.njwebnest.in/esaathi/index.php/discussion").load();
});
[[/script]]
{/s}
