Having worked with so many advisers over the years, I know the biggest challenge many of them will face on January 1, 2018, will be the combination of their new business commission being reduced for the next three years and clawback periods being extended to two years. It’s a double whammy.

The biggest issue I see with the current service model for an adviser is that there is no cash flow, control or certainty. If your service proposition relates purely to the sale of a product, what level of control do you have over the remuneration you receive? What level of control do you have over the quality of the products you sell or even the level of service you receive from a life-insurance company? You have little control and, therefore, you have no certainty.

So many of the industry’s issues are the result of an adviser not being in a position to articulate their value to a client and charge for it. One of the single biggest problems with this service modelº is dis-intermediation, and so many advisers have been subjected to it.

Here’s how it works. A client comes in to see you, you invest your time, energy and resources into providing insights and knowledge into their current situation. You do research and investigation, present a statement of your advice and the client takes that information (all of which you haven’t charged for) and they see if they can get a cheaper price. Sound familiar? How many clients have you lost as a result of this happening?

If advisers are going to survive in the new world, they need a set of strategies to protect themselves against this practice.

First, you need to decide to make a shift from the model you offer to a model that packages a range of additional services, so you can begin to generate an income outside of the financial products you sell. It must be a model that facilitates a range of additional professional services and can help you generate multiple revenue streams, to protect you from regulation and dis-intermediation.

You’ll start to become the project manager for your clients’ entire life and you’ll begin to realise that most of the value you create happens outside of the financial services industry.

I have travelled the world extensively to research global best practice. I have met and worked with some of the best financial advisers on the planet. The most successful, by far, have been those who have developed ways to facilitate a range of other services – health and wellbeing, career counseling and other professional offerings outside of financial services – that assist their clients in navigating life’s challenges and achieving their lifelong goals. These advisers have become a place where most things can be sourced.

After all, it makes so much sense. We are fully integrated, holistic human beings who don’t operate in compartments. All parts of our lives affect one another. Our health and lifestyle choices affect our financial situation; our financial situation affects our health and lifestyle. And both those elements affect our overall wellbeing.

When you begin to think of yourself as a conduit for true holistic services, all of a sudden you have a multifaceted client conversation and a much broader service proposition for which you can charge. It completely transforms your client engagement and not only start generating additional income, you become far better placed to engage with your clients on an ongoing basis – which in turn becomes a best-practice retention strategy.

This way of thinking is validated by the whitepaper Advice Based World developed by Deloitte in 2015, which states that advice will probably expand into health, career counseling and other areas related to financial wellbeing.

The advisers who thrive in this new world will be those who recognise the importance of shifting their mindset and their model to embrace a much broader conversation, and who become facilitators of additional professional services.

 Vicki Writer is an international speaker and coach in the areas of peak performance and motivation. She is the author of The 360° Solution and the founder and creator of the online, digital, seven-stage whole-of-life coaching program titled Fit for Life. She is also the first Australian woman to speak on the main platform for Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT).

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