Press articles

When it comes to telling clients how much your services will cost, there's no benefit in being shy.

If you have experienced frustation with people who just don't get it or can't do it as well as you - please read on.

It's not just your business partners' skills that are important; the values that you share are critical too..

People usually only seek advice when their financial problems are too complex to be managed alone...

How you break bad news to clients can have a huge bearing on your future relationships

How can you tell if your clients think your advice is high quality?

Commissions are industry relics, so advisers must find ways to create revenues not dependant on product manufacturers.

Good financial advisers who want to price their services fairly and effectively need to understand that what they give their clients is far more than just product placement.

Times are changing fast in the financial services industry. To survive and thrive, advisers have to face facts, explore options and make positive changes.

There are many ways to learn - the trick is to find one that suits your personal preference

Revamped pricing models can help firms to take advantage of the advice opportunities created by market uncertainty.

The current model for providing Financial Advice

In a financial climate beset by fear and uncertainty, clients are looking for direction and the advisers who can meet that need are the ones who are prospering.

Effective communication means you need to know what your client wants to hear, says Martin Mulcare

The collapse of Strom Financial provides an expensive insight into where the Australian financial planning industry is right now

There has never been a better time for financial planning firms to reorganise their business models in favour of the quality advice that their clients now so sorely need.

The financial crisis will distinguish between the survivors and the thrivers

Rather than aiming to be all things to all clients, some firms are enjoying accomplishment and satisfaction developing expertise specific to one segment of the market.

Martin Mulcare asks whether you're looking for a new year's resolution or two to help you REALLY be successful on purpose.

Advisers who survive and thrive in the current market downturn will be those who return to the grassroots and offer clients good, sound advice to help them through.

Sometimes you need to go backwards to go forwards in business and in these difficult times, repositioning can mean some tough decisions need to be made

In tough economic times, advisers who set up alliances with other professionals can meet the challenge of finding and retaining high-quality clients

Expansion might come more easily than you think if you're prepared to be honest about yourself, and where the strengths and weaknesses lie within your business

Timing is everything for business owners who are looking to sell. But preparing a plan that meets industry changes might realise better value than just heading for the exit

If you can identify potential customers with similar financial needs, and specialise in solving their particular problems, your job satisfaction will increase immeasurably

When times are as volatile as they are today, confidence keeps relationships afloat, and in the future, this will be the differentiating point for successful advice firms

Only robust and continuing debate will ensure the emergence of a pricing model for financial advice that is fair and transparent - and benefits clients and advisers

These may be the best of times to be building world-class advice firms, but it’s never been harder to attract, induct, manage, develop and retain talented staff.

Many lay claim to the title of wealth manager, but few actually meet the standards for client contact and profitability that go with the role

Martin Mulcare explains why recording client appointments is far from a mere gimmick

Martin Mulcare explains why existing client relationships must sometimes be redefined

Martin Mulcare explores the complex world of servicing 50,000 clients.

Clients don't just expect you to be responsive; they also want you to be empathetic, appreciative and to demonstrate a good bedside manner.

Plenty has happened in the past five years in the changing world of financial advice, but there is still a need for planners to provide clear leadership to their clients.

In a fiercely competitive industry rife with jargon and other instruments of confusion, Jim Stackpool cautions against taking money from clients unwilling to take advice.

There is no doubt that we are working in an increasingly competitive industry.  

A key strategy to growing a financial advisory business is for advisers to spend more of their work time face-to-face with clients.

Financial Advisers who try to go it alone miss out on the advantages and support that dealer groups provide. That's why new market entrants find dealers appealing.

The most successful wealth managers working in the consultative space position themselves as the client's chief financial officer

How does the financial planning industry justify its cost for the service it provides? With great difficulty - but there is a guide the industry can follow.

By addressing the needs of the members of your niche community, the white paper helps establish you as a true authority, reinforcing your positioning in your niche market.

The key to building a strong advice brand is to foster collaboration among advisers and accelerate training, so that clients belong to the firm rather than to individual experts. 

Successful advisers refuse to allow the myriad issues facing our industry to distract them from the task of spending as much time as possible with their clients.

Strategic alliances take a number of different forms, from relatively simple revenue-sharing agreements to more complex and formal joint ventures. 

Pull marketing activities require you to have clearly articulated what is an ideal client and then becoming an expert in servicing the needs of those clients.

Your discovery and review process should ensure you have a thorough understanding of your clients' total assets, and who is managing them.

As the complex rules behind super start to unravel, you'll need to ask who is your ideal client? What are they attributes? Is the profile dependent on legislations?

Once you know your ideal clients, how do you go about sourcing consistency appealing clients for the business?

What price advice? The quality of a company's advice proposition will be determined by the quality not quantity of products on offer

Financial advisers face public scrutiny over the way they charge and what they deliver to clients, the litmus test of the best practitioners

Does your practice complete an objective client segmentation activity?

In today's market, it's assumed that you have the technical competency to deal with client's financial needs, but how do you develop the expertise to deliver value to a niche community? 

Understanding the basic fundamental of business is the key to building a profitable planning firms with happy clients

2006 is the time to create a business that is not reliant on external forces

How do you identify a narrow and deep niche best suited to you?

After the tough year of the industry it's time to put some bold actions in place

When it comes to contact with your clients, how much is enough, and can they get too much of a good thing?

Getting paid appropriately for good advice is absolutely critical to our future

Are inactive clients valuable for advice-based businesses?

A planning business is worth more than just the number of its clients relationships

Planners are silent at a time when the industry needs people to champion its cause

The conventional formulas that determine business value are destined to dissapear

A well-informed, well-trained industry will benefit from professional conferences

It makes no sense for financial advisers to be paid less when markets fall

Broaden your offering to clients and reap the rewards

Our industry has under-developed pricing muscles

All clients deserve respect, courtesy and honesty - not all clients deserve equal service

The old idea that a financial advisory business depends on a large client base has gone out the window

The business model you choose depends as much on the clients you have as on the clients you wish you had

Going the extra mile - factors like no surprises, listening and being reliable - are the things that create good satisfaction

In today's increasingly competitive environment, it is not enough for financial advisers to deliver satisfactory investment performance to their clients

Two significant moments in recent history highlight the importance of your voice and the vitalness of staying focused on your client's needs

Successful advisers devote most of their efforts to managing their clients - and not their clients' money

The concept of values has slipped off the agenda, despite its central role in establishing a wealth management proposition

The future prosperity of financial planning comes down to pricing and profit management

If you value a business on today's ongoing brokerages, are you overstating future returns?

It would seem that the higher the fee, the better quality of financial advice

That good advice trump product is a concept that too many legistrator and commentator are overlooking!

The new-breed accountant faces a tough choice in how to best integrate accounting and financial planning services

To understand a client's position, advisers must stop and take stock of their own planning efforts

Are we as an industry working hard enough at meeting the standards our clients demand?

By getting back to planning we can provide better service for our clients