Planners’ personal sales pitch still winning clients
Persuasion skills have overtaken service value as a key determinant of picking up new planning clients, a CoreData report shows.
While the ability to “influence prospects” gives planners the strongest chance of winning a new client, the ability to “enthuse” the prospective clients is a close second, according to the data from the latest Financial Planning Shadow Shop.
Value of the planner’s service - the frontrunner for picking up new clients in 2012 - now comes in third, with “the ability to build relationships” and “trustworthiness” rounding out the top five.
CoreData’s head of financial services, Kristen Turnbull, said the results showed the importance of planners’ ability to market themselves to clients.
“Selling has become a dirty word in financial services, but with so much focus in recent years on compliance and regulations, there is the danger that first appointments become a tick-a-box exercise,” she said.
“First impressions are critical and planners need to sell themselves to prospects, by appealing to them on a personal level and engaging them in the advice process.”
The research was based on surveys of around 800 prospective advice clients.
Recommended for you
ASIC has released the results of its first adviser exam to be held in 2025, with 241 candidates attempting the test.
Quarterly Wealth Data analysis has uncovered positive improvements in financial adviser numbers compared with losses in the prior corresponding period.
Holding portfolios that are too complex or personalised can be a detractor for acquirers of financial advice firms as they require too much effort to maintain post-acquisition.
As the financial advice profession continues to wait on further DBFO legislation, industry commentators have encouraged advisers to act now in driving practice efficiency.
