Behavioural Finance Australia (“BFA”) has today formally launched a consulting service for financial advisers, to help them implement behavioural finance insights in their businesses. Since inception BFA has provided specialist behavioural finance training to several hundred financial advisers and other financial services professionals. The consulting service will complement this training by assisting advisers to translate what they learn into tangible business and customer benefits.
“The challenge has always been how advisers choose to apply the insights and ideas from the workshops when they go back to their businesses. It can require an individual approach. The new consulting service will help bridge that gap.”
Feedback from advisers who have participated in workshops is that they appreciate the evidence-based approach, drawing insights and examples directly from relevant psychology and behavioural finance studies, and “real-world” applications. The new consulting service will follow a similar philosophy. It will use a 4-step process to translate insights into practical solutions. The steps are:
- Behavioural audit: identifying relevant behavioural issues & opportunities, such as barriers to prospective clients accepting a service offer.
- Validation: gathering evidence of how these issues apply specifically to the adviser and their business, by analysing current client engagement processes and outcomes
- Solution design: designing behaviourally-aware solutions, potentially including improvements to how the benefits of advice are framed
- Implementation: embedding the improvements in the practice, including any necessary staff training.
Specific opportunities advisers may wish to target are improvements to how their services are priced and positioned, approaches for building client trust, tailoring engagement to different client profiles, influencing clients to accept and stick to recommended strategies, and developing client loyalty as part of an on-going relationship.
“Behavioural finance research shows that small changes to the way choices are framed can make large improvements to clients’ decisions. A 10-30% increase in client referrals, or conversion rate from first appointment can translate into significant additional on-going revenue.”
By ethically assisting more clients receive more advice, and stick to that advice, the client, the adviser, as well as the institution or dealergroup to which they may belong should all benefit.
BFA will partner with quality advice businesses, large and small, and whether independent or part of an institution or super fund. They must be looking for an evidence-based, practical approach to better influence clients.
Source: Behavioural Finance Australia
