Do clients buy for the returns you offer or the certainty you provide?
Time for a re-think?
Is it time for a re-think as to why advice clients will buy from you?
Consider the following:
- the Grattan Institute recently suggested that Australians are paying way too much in fees ($10b!) for way too little regards their superannuation;
- CPA Australia are strongly suggesting that the definition of ‘retirement’ needs a fair bit of work as the baby boomers are spending their superannuation too quickly;
- the Australia Institute has raised significant issues that the policy regards superannuation is just not working, with the tax incentives for the wealthy costing precious revenues ($34B estimate) as welfare spending (currently $39B) soars and number of workers for each retiree reduces;
- after 20 years of compulsory super only a minority of Australians seek and trust the advice from a financial planner.
If the above predicted trends aren’t enough, consider the other factors powering the uncertainty treadmill our advice clients climb onto every day:
- share markets are controlled by no-one by predicted by many;
- cash flow plans and cash flow realities tend to resemble election promises as life treats plans as a plaything;
- blockages caused by our thinking, relationships, attitudes and habits are perennial in our personal and financial lives which cloud hopes of achieving financial ambitions;
- the GFC was the trust-breaking point for financial advice and financial advisers not just in Australia but around the world.
Isn’t a re-invention and re-positioning of an advisers on-going trusted advice relationships an imperative rather than an option?
For too long, Australians have judged the quality of financial advice on short-term returns.
What is certain? Uncertainty!
Build a proposition that aims to deliver certainty to the uncertain.
What do you reckon?
Photo courtesy of Sprout Daily
About Jim Stackpool
For nearly 30 years Jim has influenced, coached, and consulted to advisory firms across Australia. As founder of Certainty Advice Group, he leads a like-minded team of professional advisory firms seeking to create greater certainty for their clients. As an author, blogger, columnist, and keynote speaker, Jim is regularly called upon for his professional insights into the advice industry. His latest book Seeking Certainty is available now.