A career in the financial services industry is not all about money. You need to know how to work with people, learn how to plan ahead and strategise. A lot of work goes into becoming a successful financial adviser and making mistakes is inevitable in your journey. But if you have no prior experience working as a financial adviser, you should be aware of some mistakes to completely avoid.
Resistant to calling
Getting clients is one of the most difficult things you will encounter in your financial adviser journey and it will be your biggest hurdle when starting out. There are many ways you can obtain clients and one of them is through cold-calling. Though this does not work for everyone, cold-calling is a great way to start connecting and building a relationship with clients. When you have a deeper understanding of your clients, they are much more likely to trust you and work with you. Once you have secured your first 50-100 clients, referrals will become a lot easier.
Letting fears overwhelm you
There are many fears all financial advisers face when starting their journey, but that is a part of every new career. You may fear the failure of starting out or the fear of being wrong, but remember that you are only human and you are not being paid to get it right all the time. As long as you are not overpromising, you cannot be accused of underperforming. You are allowed to be scared but do not be scared of working hard. With time, experience and hard work, you will be able to thrive.
Not following up closely with client inquiries
When your career starts taking off, you might find that you are swamped with more and more tasks. This might make you reevaluate the priority of your tasks and possibly prioritise onboarding new clients over tending to current clients’ inquiries. This is a big mistake as they are depending on you to provide them with answers. If you are not helping them, you may potentially lose them as they are not receiving the guidance that they are paying for.
Too focused on sales instead of focusing on the client
We understand that this is your job and your income is highly important too. But when you start prioritising sales above all else, you will lose the trust and credibility of your clients. Keep in mind that your job is to provide them with guidance for the best financial decisions they can make, even if that means you make less from these guided decisions. If you continue prioritising sales, you may start to lose current clients, your reputation and future potential clients too.
Lack the discipline for administrative matters
If you are neglecting the administrative areas of your career, you might be making the biggest mistake and be working for free. Obtaining a new client is exciting but even the most seasoned financial advisers may make the mistake of not obtaining a client’s signature on the engagement letter before starting work. When this happens, you will be working for free as these clients have no legal obligation to pay you. Ensure you make documentation a priority to avoid these complications.
Not embracing technology enough
The financial industry is one of the fastest-changing industries with new technology arising consistently. Not keeping up to date with these new advancements will leave you behind in terms of growth and knowledge. You need to be researching, reviewing and updating your systems at all times to provide your clients with the best financial services and grow your expertise.
Not aware of the need for personal branding and marketing
Personal branding and marketing is one of the most integral parts of your financial adviser career and getting it right could propel your career. With good personal branding, you will be able to present the right image to your clients and help you build the two most important things: trust and credibility. Approaching financial advisers are a scary thing for many clients, so the more you can help them feel at ease, the better. Not investing time and effort into building your personal brand could mean losing a lot of potential clients who feel as if you ‘look’ unreliable. If you would like to know more about personal branding and how to build it, find out more here.
Now that you know the seven mistakes to avoid, remember what you do need—hard work and determination. The journey may not always be smooth sailing but you should still push yourself to make the calls, go through the hassle of documentation, continue learning and building your brand. Do what is right ethically and in due time, it will reward you.
If you are still unclear about what you need to do as a financial adviser, fret not. At KWO, our team of experienced financial advisers will guide you along the way. We will also help provide you with the right marketing strategy to help you thrive in your first year! If you seek a promising career with a work-life balance, join us today!