Not confident of the potential disadvantages of their advisers' recommendations
How to improve your score:
Visualise potential issues
Connect to emotions. Ask your client to visualise what would happen if something didn’t go according to plan. How would they feel? By getting them to visualise potential issues now, you’ll create an emotional reaction.You can judge the strength of the emotion, which may mean you need to revisit their risk profile.
Connect to events. To help them visualise, you can use events your client will remember as examples of what could happen in the future:
2000 – Dot-com bubble
2008 – Credit crunch
2018 – Crypto crash
Ask how it would affect them if something like this happened again and what impact it would have on their plan. By broaching these issues now your client will register this outcome as a possibility, making it easier to come to terms with things if it does happen.
Connect to events. To help them visualise, you can use events your client will remember as examples of what could happen in the future:
2000 – Dot-com bubble
2008 – Credit crunch
2018 – Crypto crash
Ask how it would affect them if something like this happened again and what impact it would have on their plan. By broaching these issues now your client will register this outcome as a possibility, making it easier to come to terms with things if it does happen.
Include risk in communications
Follow up. Include details of your conversation about risk and potential disadvantages in follow up communications to your client. By replaying the risks closely after your meeting, this reinforces the concept you’ve discussed and helps your client to feel that they understand the risks fully.
Validate
Repeat back. Get your client to explain the potential disadvantages and risks back to you. This confirms that they understand and gives them the chance to ask questions.
Examples & Variables. Include a variable, such as a market correction, and how this would affect the plan and what would happen in that situation. By understanding how a risk event would affect, and potentially change, the plan, your client will have a practical understanding of the risks they are taking.
Examples & Variables. Include a variable, such as a market correction, and how this would affect the plan and what would happen in that situation. By understanding how a risk event would affect, and potentially change, the plan, your client will have a practical understanding of the risks they are taking.
Remember, you need to follow your company’s compliance approved process when explaining risk. However, getting the client to visualise potential issues can be useful to gauge their reaction and create this as a possibility in their minds, reducing the shock if the risk does occur. Validating understanding will bring out any questions they may have and give the chance to explain again if they don’t understand. A clear understanding of risk also boosts client advocacy so it’s worth investing the time in this area!