25/07/16‘Looks good on paper….’
Well Summer has finally arrived..The sun is here, the shorts are on and mothers all over the country are convinced that ‘Wine o’ Clock’ starts around 11.48am as they contemplate 6 weeks of entertaining their kids!!!
My blog this week, has spun from someone else’s blog actually. He asked Financial Advisers about their thoughts and views of adviser registers; places where advisers can advertise themselves and their specialist areas of advice and qualifications and equally, this is where an individual can find an adviser, based on what they’re looking for. The two major ones used, are ‘Unbiased’ and ‘Vouchedfor.’ Now, both require payment from the adviser to be listed and as I’ve alluded to in the title of the blog-both the client-and the adviser-can look good on paper.
After all, all the client initially see’s is the credentials of the adviser and in turn, the adviser will see what the client has entered, so the next stage is to arrange a date..er..I mean meeting.
Now these blogs are my own views and thoughts-I’ve never used Unbiased, Vouchedfor or anything similar-neither have I used dating websites!
So, My own thought, is that there will be some nerves kicking around. The individual, making sure some questions are prepared as well as bringing along some documents and the adviser may be trying to set the scene, go for some rapport building (nice weather?!) and not talk shop first off. The adviser may (I stress may) be thinking about the cost he pays to be on the register…either way, it’s pretty tense and if neither party has the wherewithal or personality to break the ice and strike up a conversation, then this meeting could be pretty short and all the marrying up of specialisms etc will be lost.
Financial Advisers are looking to create relationships and rarely are we interested in looking at a singular bit of transactional work. In order to grow my client bank, I want to get my personality and individuality ‘out there’ and in order for any relationship to be successful, you have to ‘know, like and trust’ someone-It’s why I use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, my radio show and networking-to get amongst people. Knowing that my speciality is dealing with business owners and their employee’s-I also spend time with Accountants-Most businesses have one and trust them, so if I’m put in front of you because your accountant thinks it will be a good idea, chances are he knows us both as business people and individuals.
Qualifications; The Financial Conduct Authority set the bar for what advisers can and cannot do , based on their level of qualification, which is most welcomed in my view-but-just because an adviser cant do it themselves, doesn’t mean that the adviser doesn’t have a contact who is qualified. Zig Ziglar once said ‘It’s attitude, not Aptitude, that determines altitude’ and I’m sure there are people reading this, who owe a great deal of thanks to an employer who looked beyond the CV to employ someone and long may that continue.
So if you’re a business owner and you need to -well, sell yourself- as well being in registers and directories, get out and about and work out who you need to help you. If you’re an individual looking for a Financial Adviser and you’re using Unbiased etc; spare a thought for the Financial Adviser-they’re probably as nervous as you are!! and to augment your search, use social media, friends and family-You never know, with this small world of ours, I could be meeting you very soon!!!!
Finally-the Picture..It is the ‘Invincible’ team of my beloved Arsenal that went unbeaten in the Premier League in 2003/04. They won the Premier League, but nothing else that year, reaching the semi finals of the FA Cup & League Cup and Quarter Finals of the UEFA Champions League..critics later said that they should have won the treble because “On paper, that team should beat everyone and anyone”…..
Have a wonderful week
Victor
