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The Good, the bad and the ugly: What judging taught me about our SOAs
Judging awards is one of the genuine privileges of this job, and I say that as someone whose working life is mostly legislation and exposure drafts. For a few weeks a year, someone hands me a pile of submissions from advisers putting forward their very best work — their strongest argument for why they should be crowned…
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Why every retirement plan should address Support at Home
Most financial advisers have heard clients say, "I'm only leaving my home in a pine box." For many older Australians, remaining in their own home isn't simply a preference - it is an emotional and financial priority. However, maintaining independence often requires increasing levels of support as health, mobility and…
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The quiet client
We hope that this series of insight pieces drawn from the most recent analysis of Business Health’s CATScan* Client Satisfaction Survey data will help you to deliver the experience your clients are looking for and expect from you, their adviser. The CATScan dataset now contains feedback from over 60,000 clients of…
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Why new processes fail and what to do about it
Most advice firms don't suffer from a lack of good ideas. Many firms invest in new technology, redesign workflows and they implement compliance improvements. Firms document processes and communicate them to staff. Yet months later, many leaders find themselves asking the same question: "Why isn't anyone following the new…
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Should you put your fees on your website?
You've just finished the website redesign. New photos, new copy, new booking button. Then you stall on whether to include that one question: "How much do you charge?" Answer it on your website and you're worried it'll scare people off before they've even met you. Leave it out and you're worried you look like you've got…
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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…