Winning awards builds credibility, social proof

It was an evening of triumph for Verse Wealth founder and financial adviser Corey Wastle in 2021 when he was conferred both the Client Outcome of the Year Award and the overall ifa Excellence Award – Individual (given to the highest-scoring winner).

The Client Outcome of the Year Award recognises the individual adviser who has made the biggest impact on a client’s financial wellbeing, either by assisting them with successfully transitioning to retirement, guiding them through a difficult claim process, or helping them buy their first home by providing financial planning advice and budget strategies.

Mr Wastle spoke to ifa about his 2021 award wins ahead of the 2022 ifa Excellence Awards, which is due to take place on Wednesday, 9 November, at Montage in Sydney.

Nominations and submissions are now open, with ifa accepting entries until Thursday, 8 September, while finalists will be announced on Thursday, 29 September.

For Mr Wastle, good client outcomes stem from providing effective strategies around building wealth and achieving strong investment outcomes so clients can meet their lifestyle goals.

“We help people save more money, pay less tax, and get better investment outcomes but that’s not the end goal,” he told ifa.

“Money is the resource to help people live the life they want with as much freedom, joy, health, and happiness as possible. It’s not always about maximising every monetary outcome. It’s about asking whether the client’s choices are leading to contentment and satisfaction.

“Their choices might be leading to financial progress but if it’s not leading to contentment and satisfaction, they’re probably not making the right choices, which means we’re probably not providing the right advice.”

Mr Wastle explained that he and his team always seek to understand their clients’ intentions and values and how successfully they are realising those values.

“We also track and measure how they feel about their financial wellbeing. These are the pillars of the client experience. For us, the right outcomes are built around these elements,” he said.

Award win leads to better business

Commenting on how his award wins boosted his career profile, Mr Wastle said winning the prestigious ifa Excellence Awards “creates a level of credibility and social proof”, which has enabled his advice practice to accelerate growth.

“Being able to reference our award wins on our website or Google feed into better marketing, more clients, more growth, and ultimately, better business,” he said.

The ifa Excellence Awards program enables advisers to weave their narrative about their achievements and contribution to improving their clients’ financial wellbeing, Mr Wastle added.

“We want to shine a spotlight on advisers because they deserve it. That needs to be the future narrative of the financial advice industry,” he said.

As such, he urged this year’s award entrants to include a range of supporting material and evidence to validate the narrative of their submission.

“For example, we included Google reviews, net promoter scores that we use consistently to track client satisfaction, written and video client testimonials, as well as testimonials from industry peers,” Mr Wastle said.

Advisers could also include examples of other initiatives they have implemented such as new tools or processes that have increased efficiency in their advice practice.

“Be as evidence-based as you can to support your application. It’s one thing to tell your story but it’s another thing to be able to prove it,” Mr Wastle said.

“Most importantly, if you’re thinking about applying, absolutely do it. You get value from going through the submission process because it gets you to reflect on what you’re doing with your clients and how you’re doing it.

“That may offer opportunities for improvement and refinement.”

Get nominating now

Nominations and submissions for the 2022 ifa Excellence Awards close on Thursday, 8 September.

To enter the awards, register your account through our secure awards platform and fill in the details of your submissions. When you’re happy with your submission, press save and lodge it.

Click here to submit an entry or nominate a worthy colleague and be rewarded for your tireless efforts and dedication to propelling the advice industry forward.

To read about the judging process, click here.

For more information about the awards program, including categories, click here.

Click here to view the 2021 finalists and winners.