The following blog post is an extract from The Happy Financial Adviser. An Amazon bestseller written by Truly Independent Director Andrew Goodwin. To purchase your own copy click here.
Historically, as already established, financial advisers were sales people of financial products. They were good at selling. However, they can also fall into the trap of being sold to.
Broker consultants are sales people with little regard for you unless you buy from them. They not only sell you the idea of ‘a great product for your client,’ but ‘great software for your businesses.’ I see the trap door opening every day. A financial adviser will feel they have had a good day if all day they researched some software, observed it in action on a webinar and signed for a trial period. Yet this activity has wasted time and money; it’s probably something you don’t’ need or are unlikely to use.
Conversely, there is everything to gain from using a broker consultant as a support facility. When you have completed your background work in a need area for your business and instigated a meeting with a business consultant or representative, then you are in control. The rule is, don’t be someone else’s lackey! Don’t become their indirect sales person or their foolish buyer of barely needed technology.
Equally, financial services products should not be discussed, promoted or considered, for a client, without first completing a consultation to identify needs and then following that up with proper research specific for the client. Only at that point would there be a requirement for a product to be considered, then promoted, then discussed. It is important to avoid the product discussion with clients, which clouds judgment and can only serve the provider and their representative.
