prospect expects from the financial planner. After all, early in the client–financial planner relationship, when a client has only a small amount of information from which to make assumptions, the content of communication is arguably even more important. In general, people tend to overmagnify the meaning of information when only a small amount of information is available. For example, let’s assume the prospective client reviewed the financial planner’s website, and then initiated a phone call to the planning professional to ask some questions.
Prospect: “Hello, could you tell me a little about the services you offer.”
Planner: “Sure, we provide investment management and retirement planning advice. Would you like to set up an appointment?”
Prospect: “Oh, okay. I guess that would be all right.”
At this point, the website and quick phone call served as communication tools to deliver a certain message to the client. What has the financial planner communicated on this short phone call? Did the prospect really want to know about the services offered? Maybe, but maybe she also wanted to know if the people within the firm would be approachable and take the time to listen to her. These first-impression messages can be quite powerful and have a lasting effect. Research suggests there may be some truth to the old adage: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”15 Given the persistence of first impressions, a financial planner should choose to be intentional in their initial communication with a client.
The financial planner also may benefit from asking open-ended questions to determine what services the client is really looking for and whether the client is a good fit for the services provided by the planner before scheduling an in-person meeting. By asking the right questions, the financial planner may begin building trust and commitment with the client or save time on the part of both the client and financial planner if the relationship is not a good fit.
Prospect: “Hello, could you tell me a little about the services you offer.”
Planner: “Sure, we provide a wide array of financial planning services and customize those services to each client. Perhaps you could help me understand which financial issues you’re most interested in addressing.
Prospect: “Oh, okay, well three main concerns come to mind, and they are whether I’m currently saving enough, investing the right way, as well as figuring out a long-term plan for one of my kids who has special needs.”
Planner: “Okay, thank you, this information is really helpful. Our team has worked with a number of other families to set up life-care plans for their child who has special needs, as well as provided retirement and investment planning specific to their situation. It sounds like our firm would be a great fit for your needs. Would you like to set up an appointment to learn more about our services?”
Prospect: “Yes, definitely. I’m excited to get started.”
Communication between the prospective client and planning staff started again the moment the prospect entered the business premises. Was the person greeted? How was the greeting received? Did the client feel welcomed? Was the prospect immediately offered something to drink or not until she reached the conference room? What were the environmental triggers in the waiting room that signaled the financial planner’s working style? Was there a television showing business news or were general readership magazines available to peruse? Was the client sitting in silence? Was there classical music playing in the background, or was the client able to overhear conversations taking place within the office? Each of these elements will be discussed in more detail throughout this book. At this point, it’s just important to note that the environment can influence the way clients decode a financial planner’s message. The concepts of encoding and decoding a message are examples of elements within communication theory. The office environment and staff interactions, in particular, can shape the manner in which communication does and will take place, as well as influencing the comfort level and expectations of the client.
Now that the client is sitting down directly with the financial planner, imagine that the following brief discussion occurs between the prospect and financial planner:
Planner: “It is so nice to meet you.”
Prospect: “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”
Planner: “You are welcome. How was the traffic today?”
Prospect: “Not bad. It took only 20 minutes to get here.”
It is apparent that some form of communication is occurring. Specifically, the prospective client and financial planner are engaged in oral discussion. While communicating orally is very important, there is a lot more to communication than simply talking. Communication encompasses much more than a spoken or written word. Neither the prospective client nor the financial planner are robots speaking in monotones. The way in which the words are spoken and interpreted is just as important – and sometimes more important – than what is actually stated. It is precisely what is not being said that often dictates the manner in which dialog is coded, received, and decoded. That is, what we are not “seeing” in this example are things like:
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