Client Would Discuss Personal Challenges

Updated 9 months ago by VouchedFor Team

Client Would Discuss Personal Challenges is a Driver of Elevation Goal 3: Safeguarding clients’ best interests, mitigating risk

Data based on responses to the following question, asked in the Verified review form

"Would you let [adviser] / their firm know about personal challenges (e.g. bereavement, health issues, relationship difficulties)?"

Possible responses

I would let them know, even if they didn’t ask
I would let them know if they asked
I wouldn’t let them know

Client Would Discuss Personal Challenges Score

Proportion of respondents answering “I would let them know, even if they didn’t ask”

Distribution of Responses to Client Would Discuss Personal Challenges

Why do we ask about Client Would Discuss Personal Challenges ?

An adviser knowing about personal challenges a client may be experiencing can be a key factor in whether they are able to provide suitable mortgage advice - particularly when those challenges may go on to impact income or expenses.

How to improve your score:

Starting your conversations

Establish Rapport. Rapport extends beyond small-talk. Finding genuine common ground to talk about which connects you to your client. In each interaction with your client, spend time talking about what’s important to them. This could be their family, a recent important event or how their football team did at the weekend. The key is to make them feel that your relationship is more than transactional.

Beware starting your conversation with money. This can be an immediate turn off for your prospective clients and risks a superficial conversation preventing you from understanding your client’s real motivation.

Sincerity is key. Ask your client how they are and be genuinely interested in their response. Asking how someone is and then saying “great, so let’s get on with things” shows your question was insincere, killing rapport.

Understanding motivations

It can be easy to take things at face value but take the time to dig a bit deeper and find out why your client is acting. Chances are there are personal reasons or challenges motivating your client to act rather than them just “liking” the house or wanting to consolidate debt.

By getting to their real motivation, you’ll find out so much more about your client, which will help in giving the right advice.

Make it personal

Relevant to them. If you’ve established good rapport, your client will tell you about what’s going on in their life. You can use this to frame their progress in line with their life goals.

Events and milestones. Make a note of key events (ideally in your CRM system) and ask your client about them the next time you speak to them.

Touching base. Set a reminder/diary note for you to contact them around special events (retirement, child’s graduation, amazing holiday). Give them a call specifically to ask about the event – don’t talk about business at all in the call.

Active listening. Being conscious of your behaviour and body language when your client is talking. Active listening is a great way to show your client that you’re interested in what they have to say.

Be honest, be you

Be authentic. It’s easy to try and put on a “work persona” when with clients. Whilst this may come across very professional, it’s not you, and people buy into people. Be authentically yourself in all your engagements.

Own mistakes. Don’t try to cover them up. If you’ve forgotten to ask for something, it’s much better to be honest. People connect more with others who are able to show vulnerability so by being honest, you’re likely to build a deeper relationship with your client.

Be Open. Share some information about your life, including any challenges. We’re not talking about a full therapy session, however sharing shows you to be authentic. If your client feels that you’re being open about your life, they’ll feel more comfortable being open about theirs.

By being your true self, genuinely interested in your client’s life and remembering key events, you deepen your relationship. This leads to trust, a massive boost in client advocacy and you getting the real reason they want to act, so you can provide the right solutions.

Failure to get your client to tell you about their broader circumstance and future plans can mean the wrong advice, bad outcomes, and complaints so it’s worth taking the time to help your client get comfortable being open before you provide advice.