The Importance of Being Open in Client Communications

Financial advisers have to wear many different hats in order to be successful.They are equal parts money managers, psychologists and friends. By the nature of the relationship, advisers get to know a lot about their clients’ personal lives, and empathy plays a key role in serving the best interests of clients. 

But the most successful advisers go even beyond that, and equally share information about their own personal lives with their clients, writes Diane Manuel in an op-ed in Financial Planning. This two-way conduit of openness ultimately makes advisers better equipped to serve their clients. 

“Working with a new client provides an opportunity for openness,” she writes. “I have the chance to learn about this new person in my life. More importantly, a new client can learn about me — the person managing her finances and helping her on her road to financial freedom.

I share my purpose. My intentions. Why I feel this is a mission. Over time, my clients get to know me, my family, and friends through our chats.”

As we enter what many are calling the biggest wealth transfer in history, there will be ample opportunities for advisers to take on new clients. Openness and creating personal connections will likely be what sets apart those that thrive in the next era and those that don’t.