Tips for advisers on how to shine

Despite the operating environment right now, financial advisers have never been more in need, perfectly relevant to the intersection that is currently happening between life and money.

Hosting a HUB24 webinar titled ‘What does advice look like now?’, XY Adviser’s Managing Director Clayton Daniel said it was absolutely advisers time to shine.

“Right now, no-one is in a better position to handle the financial impact of this market. If it was just a psychological thing you would go and see a psychologist. If it was just about money, you would go to the banks and the government. But this is at the intersection of life and money and that’s where advice is heading.”

Daniel said insurance is particularly in demand right now, with clients looking to their adviser for assurances about their future.

“If you were going to let go of Netflix or your insurances, you are going to get rid of Netflix, right? Advisers are well positioned to have these conversations. The chance (of getting sick) is always there and now is not the time to be cancelling your insurance.”

For clients who may have lost their jobs or have been scaled back, some advice practices are now offering ‘fee pauses’ so affected clients can have a fee reprieve until they are back on their feet.

One of the best things advisers can do right now is to talk to the public, presenting the problem and the solution. Daniel said if 10-15% of an advisers clients had a particular problem before shutdown, 75% now have that very same problem. At the same time, he suggested explaining to audiences why they are an adviser and why the profession exists, so people can see the value.

Video is the best format for this sort of communication, particularly at a time when people are craving contact. Daniel suggested if advisers do write up a LinkedIn piece or make a short video, to copy the URL after they have posted it and email a copy of the post to existing clients asking them to ‘like’ it. This has a few benefits – more people will see the post and in providing a ‘like’, it is similar to a passive referral.

On the topic of growth, Daniel said it was a possibility at this time to grow a practice and does know of some hiring, particularly those focussing on insurance. However, using this time to improve the attractive mechanisms of a business and its conversion will have longer-term benefits.

“There is a description for growth being ‘two inches wide and two miles deep’, so find people who are going to self-select in and self-select out and create a journey from seeing your LinkedIn post to conversion.”

Another area to focus on could be business efficiencies but perhaps surprisingly, Daniel warned to be careful of how much automation you do.

“You don’t need to automate anything unless you have manually been doing something for a while. Explore something new rather than coming up with a complex automation strategy.”

For more information on XY Adviser please visit xyadviser.com.

Did you miss our Webinar?

XY Adviser’s Managing Director, Clayton Daniel explores what advisers are doing to adapt and thrive. Watch now to find out more.