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Client loyalty – how to earn it, keep it and respect it
One of the hardest things in any profession is gaining the trust of those you are working for – your clients. It’s hard to earn and easy to lose. One of the things commented on by my younger colleagues is the length of time I’ve been working with most of my clients. I often have a throw-away line similar to: “she’s been…
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Build it once, run it all year: using AI to take the pain out of your marketing
Every time-poor financial planner or business owner knows the feeling. You know you should be showing up consistently, educating your audience, posting regularly, staying front of mind. Often, marketing is the first thing to slip and it is a key value-add for clients, with consistency being key, yet it is the hardest thing…
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Turning great client experiences into referrals that actually happen
Most advisers agree that referrals are the most powerful source of new clients. Yet many firms leave them to chance. The advisers who consistently receive referrals do not rely on luck or awkward asks. They build simple, repeatable habits around feedback, reviews, and appreciation. Referrals and reviews are closely linked.…
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The industry built technical advisers. Now we need commercial ones.
I come from a long line of business owners. My father, grandfather and great-grandfather all built businesses selling everything from bricks and glass to machinery. In my family, the ability to sell wasn’t seen as a personality trait. It was a core life skill. It showed up everywhere. Negotiating purchases. Conversing with…
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The digitally enabled adviser: a practical roadmap
Part 2 of 2 | The digitally enabled adviser series Recently I wrote about new Anthropic research showing that financial guidance is one of the most overrepresented AI use cases in Australia. That the advice gap is being filled — not by the industry, but by a general-purpose AI that any Australian can access for free. If…
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Why every advice firm needs a “relationship pulse check”
If you ask financial advisers what really drives their business, most won’t say revenue, compliance, or even performance. They’ll say relationships. Strong client relationships sustain advice businesses through market volatility, regulatory change, and fee pressure. They underpin referrals, retention, and trust. Yet,…
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The advice gap has a new competitor
Part 1 of 2 | The Digitally Enabled Adviser Series For years, the financial advice industry has talked about the advice gap. Millions of Australians who need professional guidance but cannot access it — priced out, underserved, or simply not knowing where to start. The response has largely been regulatory: the Quality of…
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The pricing mistakes many advisers still make
Most advisers I speak to are undercharging for advice. Usually, the problem is not the number itself. It is that advisers are still pricing around the SOA, rather than the full advice experience. And those are two very different things. An SOA is important, of course. But it is really a point-in-time document. In many…
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Are employers the next frontier for advisers?
The majority (63%) of Australians under 40 are open to financial advice delivered through digital channels and hybrid models – and employers may be the quickest route to accessing these customers. Per the The Big Lift report, developed by Deloitte Access Economics in collaboration with Iress, "there is a disconnect between…
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Time to get off the fence
There is an amazing opportunity for progressive businesses and leaders to make a significant positive impact on those we work with and or those that we employ. For those who know me or have worked alongside me, you’re well aware that I am a passionate advocate for improving financial education and supporting behavioural…