It is becoming increasingly evident that digital and hybrid advice is proving to be an invaluable tool in achieving cost effective solutions with the goal of making advice more easily accessible to more people. This is also free up time and resources for advisors and paraplanners who are no longer bogged down with tedious tasks. However, it is all in vain if clients do not understand why they should take the advice they are being given.
There are three key points that need to be taken into consideration when determining why clients should adhere to the advice they are being offered: Firstly, clients have to have trust in the advice they are receiving, it must be tangible and fit with the clients goals and needs. The client’s understanding of how it applies to their specific actions and decisions is also crucial. They must also be aware of any implications, for example, risk management, that the advice might possibly lead to.
The second important aspect of this is gaining insight from clients first-hand. Depending on their individual situation, it is imperative that the advisor solicits input from the client, gaining an understanding of their goals and objectives, so the thought process and advice behind each decision can be clearly explained to them.
Lastly, advisors should devise a way to communicate efficiently and effectively with the client. Utilizing digital and hybrid resources, such as reports and other tools, allows advisors to provide a ‘visual’ to further explain why they have come to the conclusions they have.
Ensuring that these three points are fully implemented into the advice and guidance process means that clients are far more likely to fully understand why they are following a particular course of action and gain trust in the advice they are being given. Without this knowledge and trust, the advantages of digital and hybrid advice are meaningless. It is important to remember that while the client may be doing more for themselves in terms of the advice they receive, they must still be fully informed of why they are making the decisions they are.