The industry needs to tackle consumers’ ‘fear of advice’ in order to be successful at growing the number of Australians receiving financial advice, according to Baz Gardner.
Speaking to riskinfo ahead of the 2014 AdviserEdge conference, Mr Gardner said that most advice models are set up to cater to those consumers who have already identified the need for an adviser.
“If we’re serious about more Australians getting advice, then we need to rethink the way we talk to consumers and help them to overcome their ‘fear of advice’,” he said.
Mr Gardner believes that it is not just the raft of bad news stories, such as the recent Commonwealth Financial Planning scandal, that make consumers fearful of advice.
“As an industry, we’ve historically positioned ourselves as a service for the wealthy. There is a perception among consumers that financial advisers will only work with people who have hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest. For the average Australian mum and dad with two kids, that is just not a reality,” said Mr Gardner.
The other fear factor that prevents consumers from taking the first step towards seeking advice is the belief that they need to be in control of their financial situation.
…consumers worry that they will be judged before they’ve even walked through the door
“It’s a bit like how people tidy their house before the cleaner arrives,” Mr Gardner explained. “There is this feeling that you need to have your finances in order before you go and see a financial adviser. Consumers feel embarrassed that they perhaps lack the expertise to have done something about consolidating their super, or taking out a life insurance policy, themselves. It can even be something as simple as sticking to a budget – consumers worry that they will be judged before they’ve even walked through the door, so they avoid taking that first step.
“It is time that, in our society, having an adviser is considered a normal part of life.”
The good news, says Mr Gardner, is that the advance of technology and a market of increasingly digital savvy consumers have made it easier than ever to speak to new audiences.
“Considering how few people actually receive real financial advice, and how underinsured Australians are, it should never, ever be difficult to find a client. That’s where ‘social selling’ comes in.”
According to Mr Gardner, social selling is based on leveraging a business’ digital infrastructure to attract more of the adviser’s ideal clients, whether they are ultra-wealthy or normal mums and dads.
social selling is about leveraging a business’ digital infrastructure to attract more of the adviser’s ideal clients
“It’s about changing the paradigm of the business. It’s a new idea. How do you turn your ‘message’, your ‘value proposition’, into actual clients? How do you leverage digital and social channels to make it so your business never has to worry about where the next client is coming from? That’s what social selling is about.
“It’s taking the people skills that are so important to advisers, and using digital to deliver those at scale.”
Social selling will be the focus of this year’s AdviserEdge conference, to be held on the Gold Coast from 17-19 August. For the first time, AdviserEdge will offer concurrent ‘stream sessions’, allowing attendees to focus on specific elements of their digital strategy. The event will also feature presentations from a range of practicing advisers who have implemented social and digital strategies in their own businesses.
In addition, the conference will feature a world-first ‘live build’ of a digital strategy for an advice business. One attendee will be selected to have their advice brand transformed live throughout the event.
“We wanted a way to recap the basics of building a digital strategy for those advisers who were not able to attend AdviserEdge in 2013,” explained Mr Gardner. “So we will select one lucky ticket holder to have their entire future transformed live in front of our crowd of advice innovators.”
The build will include elements of crowd-sourcing, production of the adviser’s ‘Why’ video, website design, content creation and a LinkedIn profile makeover.
To register for the event, click here.
