How can advisers communicate value to prospective clients?

When it comes to engaging with prospective clients, a Netwealth report – The value gap and winning new clients – found that 53 per cent of respondents ranked “motivation” factors, or aspects that help achieve their goals, as the most important value drivers among those considering financial advice in the next two years.

Whether or not prospects felt they could trust an adviser was considered important above all else, with just shy of three-quarters (74 per cent) of respondents indicating as such.

Looking deeper into this, the report found that clients were apprehensive about trusting advisers that have a professional link to products they recommend, raising concerns about whether the advice is actually right for them or if the adviser is simply after a commission.

This highlights both the negative public perception that does still exist about advisers and the way vertical integration models are further eroding this.

In order to combat some of these concerns and build trust, the report suggested utilising case studies and client testimonials, allowing prior success to speak for you, in addition to providing greater transparency regarding fees and services with no hidden costs.

This desire for trust was closely followed by whether they thought an adviser would be able to guide them towards their long-term goals successfully, with seven in 10 (71 per cent) indicating its importance to them.

One way for advisers to demonstrate this to prospective clients, according to the firm, is by explaining how you can provide assistance with making significant financial decisions, such as buying a house, selling a business and estate planning.

Additionally, Netwealth suggested that offering an easy-to-understand guide of the financial journey, starting with the initial consultation all the way through to implementation and portfolio reviews, could also be of value.

Flowing from this, prospective clients also want assurance that their adviser’s services can meet their short- and long-term needs, with 63 per cent feeling that this was just as much about offering tailored strategies as it was about feeling seen and understood by their adviser.

Notably, another report by Netwealth found that 74 per cent of loyal advice clients – those that had been receiving advice for more than six years – said that getting advice that is tailored to their specific needs was valuable to them, highlighting the need for advisers to carry this on throughout the lifetime of advice relationships.

As such, Netwealth suggested advisers utilise profiling tools to learn about prospects’ unique personal and household financial situations, as well as taking a co-creation to the planning process and providing a financial roadmap that highlights life milestones.