Comfort and confidence are key for female clients

Speaking with ifa, financial adviser and founder of Lush Wealth Christine Lusher said when working with female clients, building comfort and confidence in the service you provide is essential.

After rebranding her firm two years ago, Lusher said she now works primarily with middle aged women post-separation and divorce who are looking to start again and take control of their finances.

“It’s about giving women in that post-separation life stage the skills to make their life better through their finances and through financial advice. I really find that when I work with these women, just the difference that we can make to their lives is very rewarding,” Lusher said.

“I think it’s just seeing these women prosper once they understand what they can do with their finances if we set them up properly with a financial plan, map out their retirement, and give them some advice to improve their situation. You get the benefits when you see them achieve their goals.”

She explained that many women feel the need to become experts before taking action.

“I think particularly when it comes to women’s confidence, sometimes it can be that we’re told we have to know so much and be perfect in our knowledge before we can go out and do something,” she said.

“It’s like the whole thing about women not applying for a job unless they’re 100 per cent qualified. It’s the same thing with financial literacy. Sometimes men are overconfident with their knowledge, and women are a little under confident, when in reality, they’ve got more than enough knowledge to make those decisions.”

Lusher said that many women are anxious about making a mistake or being taken advantage of but that taking the time to vet a potential adviser can help ease these concerns.

“I do see that women are sometimes more conservative and hesitant about seeking financial advice because they are afraid of getting the bad news stories, or getting ripped off, or seeing the wrong person. But I think the outcomes generally speak for themselves,” she said.

“I think it’s about just maybe interviewing a few advisers, and meeting somebody that suits them and also knowing that it’s an investment in themselves.”

When it comes to working with female clients, Lusher said putting them in regular contact with support staff and slowing down the onboarding process can boost their confidence in you as a service provider.

“We try to get the whole of our whole team involved, rather than it just being me so that they are comfortable to seek support from the support staff as well. So my team helps out and does budgeting sessions with the clients. So, that’s a great way to get women to feel more comfortable,” she said.

“Also not rushing the onboarding process. We have an initial phone call, which a lot of advisers have, and then before they’re onboarded, we have another meeting as well to double check that they’re comfortable with us.

“They actually meet me twice before they decide that they’re going to proceed and sign any terms of engagement. So taking it a bit a bit slower, slowly introducing yourself to them over time, and also involving your team.”

Lusher added that being active on social media also helps boost client comfort as they get the sense of knowing her before they even meet her.