The Client-centred Blog
Welcome to The Client Centred Blog; Free content that shares a fresh approach to thriving as a financial professional in a rapidly changing environment.
This blog has its foundation in a new understanding of the human mind that gives you the ultimate platform for creating better results, thriving under any circumstances and living the life you want.
I invite you to explore the materials, reflect upon how it relates to you and your business and enjoy the benefits.
Addicted to busyness – slow down to speed up
It seems to me that, as a generalisation, business people are busier and working longer and harder than ever before. I often get asked when meeting with someone, ‘Are you busy?’ My reply is often ‘No, not particularly’, and people say ‘Oh, I’m so sorry’, sounding sympathetic as if I had just suffered a bereavement!…
Effective client acquisition – what do you say after ‘Hello’?
A useful realisation to have, as a professional service provider, is that people do not buy what we do. What we do is always a bridge to something of more substance. For example, in my business the end result that people want is not coaching, or learning how to think better, or how the mind…
Advising is from the head, impact comes from the heart
As an adviser, what do you consider to be the most important activity in your work? Most advisers, at least the ones I have spoken to, say that their most valuable time (and the time they enjoy the most) is spending time with their clients. This is when relationships can grow stronger, trust is deepened…
Giving up the illusion of control
I am writing this piece whilst on a train back home from meeting a valued and trusted client in London. An idea for a new programme had occurred to me and it had been percolating in my mind. I had met with my client to ask, “What do you think of this idea?” Will the…
Selling your services – one thing most experts don’t know
Most businesses providing expert professional services – financial advisory and planning practices being one example – think that clients are buying expertise and professional knowledge. This is why there is so much emphasis on products, technical know-how and qualifications. But is this what clients are really buying? Knowing what you are doing is extremely important…
The power of an incisive question
I was recently listening to someone telling the story of how they had begun a new and exciting phase of their life by starting a small business. It was something they had thought about doing in the past but had never got beyond this stage. Not until they had a conversation with their financial planner.…
Is some stress good for you?
I was reading an article by a psychologist just recently and he was putting forward the idea that some stress is good for you. He was suggesting that in the absence of stress we would find ourselves sitting around, doing nothing and completely unmotivated. His theory was that you need stress to get you going…
What it really takes to conduct exceptional client conversations
The quality of your client conversations is the most important part of the relationship you build with them because they form the foundation of everything else that follows. You could think of it like this… Poor conversations = poor (or no!) relationship Average conversations = average relationships Exceptional conversations = exceptional relationships I notice an…
Does goal-setting work?
As we enter a new year it is that time when many people make plans, set goals and resolve to be a new, improved version of themselves – new year, new you and all that. A couple of days ago I read that something like 40% of people resolve to either start doing something or…
Awakening your inner spark
Ultimately, business is all about getting results – results for clients, results for the business and results for the people who work in and for the business – and businesses are hungry for whatever can help them get bigger, better results more easily. Last week I was invited in to give a presentation to a…