When we embarked on our rebranding project in the middle of 2022, it was important to us that everyone in the team was involved. Indeed, one afternoon, while the leadership team held the fort, we sent the entire rest of the crew to the agency’s office to talk about what we do and what it’s like to work here.
For me as a leader, it was extremely gratifying that what came out of that meeting matched my own feelings about who we are!
The rebranding covers lots of bases, but at its heart are four core values. I wrote about the first two here and here, and now it’s time for the third – Perspective.
Partnership
As professional advisers, it’s important to remember that we’re not here merely to jump to our clients’ requests. We are here to advise, and often that advice might be contrary to what the client was expecting to hear.
We would be negligent if we didn’t challenge our clients’ assumptions and understanding if they are incorrect. Likewise, it is our job to help them consider things they hadn’t thought about already.
Only when working in partnership with clients, that is, by coming alongside them and truly understanding their current position and their hopes and dreams for the future, can we provide the vital perspective they need.
In a noisy world full of media hype, perspective comes from providing balance and truth. It is a rare individual who can ignore the noise while making a financial decision, often involving hundreds of thousands if not millions of pounds. Having a professional partner to work with makes this much easier.
Consideration
It should always be the case that any adviser knows their client sufficiently well to be able to advise them properly. Indeed, that is a regulatory requirement for us.
But there’s knowing a client’s situation and really getting to know them as humans. We think of ourselves to be coaches as much as advisers. A coach helps their client to make great decisions by nudging them to think differently, to come at a problem from an unexpected direction. A coach helps their client to help themselves.
By deeply understanding our clients and what really makes them tick, we can offer a perspective that is much more than skin-deep.
Our financial situation is intrinsically linked to our sense of general wellbeing. We always remember that there are real people behind the numbers on a financial statement.
Understanding
Obviously, we need to know our stuff. Each member of the team pursues excellence in their role and our advisers and paraplanners are continually updating their technical knowledge. Our budget line for training and exam fees is hefty!
The financial world changes with reasonable regularity. We always watch the Budget with our fingers crossed, hoping that this year’s chancellor won’t mess things up too much for us and our clients (thanks a bunch, Kwasi).
But technical knowledge is nothing if it can’t be practically applied to real-world, real-person situations. We have a range of experience here – over a century in the advising team combined – but that’s not the same year repeated loads of times. We are proactive about pursuing areas of study and knowledge that will stretch us, for our clients’ benefit.
We understand the financial services system, and we seek to understand our clients. Bringing those together is our joy and our passion. It’s that perspective on money that makes us more than just technicians – we understand what money can do for people.
We live in a world where good information is more available than it has ever been, as long as you can sort it from the bad information. I have built a career on equipping ordinary people so that they may never need to spend time and money with a financial adviser.
But, as self-serving as it may sound, I believe that anyone can benefit from working with a professional financial planner because of the perspective we can provide.
We can take you out of your own heads and come at a problem somewhat objectively. By shifting your perspective, new vistas can open up, and what once seemed impossible can suddenly seem excitingly possible, even achievable.
When our clients’ eyes light up as they understand what is possible, that’s when we know we’ve done our job well.