Dig a Little Deeper - Building Rapport for the Right Reasons – with Wayne Griffiths
Soft skills, interpersonal skills, rapport-building, client relationship management, all terms relating to the same core aspect of Financial Planning – Knowing your clients!
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On episode 13 of Legal & General ‘Just Covered’ Podcast, hosts Hazel and Wayne are joined by the Director, Financial Planner, and friend of the podcast Wayne Griffiths, of One Financial Solutions. Something that is clearly showcased in this episode is Wayne’s attitude toward rapport building, gaining a deeper understanding of clients, and developing impactful and long-lasting relationships.
“A true Financial Adviser, for me, is someone who’s really nosey. I love sitting with people, telling stories, hearing theirs, finding out why they have things. Why they took [a policy] out, what the purpose was, so being nosey is really, really important.”
In sales environments, getting to know your clients on a deeper level is often stigmatised as gaining leverage to make a sale, or pulling on the heartstrings of clients/customers when making a deal. In service industries, rapport building allows tailoring your services to the specific needs of a client, thus enhancing the level of service provided. this often proves very effective, especially around the topic of protection.
“We all fall into periods where… you might walk into an appointment thinking it’s going to turn out one way, but the more nosey and the more inquisitive you are with every person sat in front of you, you find out about what’s important to them, what do they want to talk about, what [protection] they’ll take out.”
A self-professed name-forgetter/nosey-beggar, Wayne is driven by the want to know his clients on a personal level, a social aspect of his personality which often proves effective in allowing him to form a strong connection with his clients. With over a third of life insurance policies taken out being recommended through Brokers in 2023 the value of building a trusted relationship with clients is more evident than ever.
Not only does this build familiarity between the Adviser and client, but it also gives the Adviser a deeper insight into where else they can offer their services. Wayne’s ‘leave no stone unturned’ approach allows him to identify opportunities to offer additional services to clients.
“Quite often Mortgage Advisers come to me and say “my clients got a portfolio of buy to lets they don’t need protection” I’ll say “well, if they have a portfolio of buy to lets that’s worth a load of money, they might have an inheritance tax problem. Don’t think before the meeting “this is how it’s going to go” just go in with an open mind and chat!”
With the rise of comparison sites, robo-advice, and online calculators, it’s up to Financial Planning professionals to demonstrate the value of an inquisitive, proactive, and personalised approach toward servicing clients. Luckily, Wayne and other great Advisers out there go above and beyond when it comes to gaining a deeper understanding of your client’s needs, cementing the benefits of a personalised approach.
Check out the full episode here:
Just Covered - Episode 13 - The Power of Storytelling
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Independent Financial Adviser | Helping You Optimise Your Pension Planning.
1 年Sam Oakes you’ve gone and done it again! Turned a proper 2 out of 10 day into making me feel a million dollars! Thank you for just being you!!!