Building Trust with ERA (Critical skills education) By Martin Bradley (2008)

 

Introduction

Over the years many books and articles have been printed concerning how to be successful in selling. Many specify how to be a successful Unit Trust Consultant (UTC) or Mutual Fund Agent. Still more are begging you to let them sell you the secrets to sales successes, how to make sales and keep clients, while still others give seemingly helpful suggestions, at a price, about client retention and sweeteners, practically ad nauseam.

This article changes the focus of attention away from those concepts and looks instead at the intentions and ethics of the Unit Trust Consultant to remind you that your most important asset, in advising on Unit Trusts, is not how hard you sell, nor how persistent you are, or how many sweeteners you offer people to invest with you, but your most important asset is you, yourself, and your use of self in your client communications to build a lasting, valued, trust between you and your clientele.

The first step in building trust is a change of focus away from concepts regarding ‘selling’ and replacing them with the notions of ‘advising’ and ‘facilitating’. The Unit Trust Consultant no longer is required to sell, but to advise.

The Unit Trust Consultant becomes an advisor, and the client an advisee, the Unit Trust Consultant facilitates on the behalf of the advisee, in this way a relationship of equals is arrived at, dispelling the old one-sided power relationship of seller and buyer and its inherent difficulties in initiating, and maintaining, good working relationships and, most importantly - trust.

If the Unit Trust Consultant’s ethical base becomes focussed upon three simple markers - Empathy, Respect and Authenticity (ERA) then you have already overcome at least half of the sales/advisory difficulties and are well equipped to overcome any remaining, while giving good practise and maintaining your passion as a professional Unit Trust Consultant.

As a Unit Trust Consultant you are handling the most delicate aspects of an individual’s life – their money, clients/investors/advisees need to be able to place their trust in you and your professional abilities before they can give the go ahead for investment. How you behave towards your clients/advisees is of vital importance to the ongoing relationship you wish to build with them.

The first brick in building a better relationship involves having the ability to also build trust between yourself and your client.

Client trust is built in many ways, one proven method is through your practise of your own interpersonal skills and specifically those skills recognised as ERA (Empathy, Respect and Authenticity) – Empathy towards your client his feelings and his ideas, Respect for your client, his views, attitudes, wishes and needs, and Authenticity – your genuineness as a person, transparency in the way you achieve your goals, and honesty as a professional Unit Trust Consultant.

Empathy

To be understood is a basic human need, so is being able to understand. Real understanding is not simply the nodding of head and uttering a few complacent words, but a real attempt to comprehend what your advisee/client is saying to you, or the reason he/she might be reluctant to invest more.

Empathy involves being able to mentally put yourself in your client’s position, to see things through his/her eyes. There is an old North American Indian saying which runs something like this – ‘before you criticize your brother, walk a mile in his moccasins’. The meaning is simple – if you can try to put yourself in someone else’s place then you might be able to understand why it is he does what he does. This simple understanding aids good communication; it enables your message being properly received by your advisee/client, and vice versa.

Active empathy is trying to understand the complexities that your advisee/client has in regards to their individual problem, so that you are able to advise and facilitate in the right way for them. The use of empathy will aid a Unit Trust Consultant in knowing how and when to advise his/her advisee/client, and will ensure a better ‘fit’ between the advisee’s needs and the facilitation of the Unit Trust Consultant.

Often a simple restatement of your advisee/client’s needs, as expressed by them, in your own terminology helps clients recognise that you have listened and understand where they are coming from.

Respect

Respect is the keystone in the building of a trusting relationship between the Unit Trust Consultant advisor and his advisee/client. Trust is the basis on which a long lasting, healthy, client for life, relationship is formed, and for that reason is worthy of careful consideration.

Respect is showing concern, caring, regard and appreciation for the feelings, potentials and experiences of your advisee/client and demonstrating that their point of view is at least equal to your own.

A Unit Trust Consultant entering into a relationship with their advisee/clients and must be certain from the outset that the service they are hoping to provide is rooted in respect, and engendering trust from their advisee/client in themselves and the service(s) they wish to offer.

To build trust between the Unit Trust Consultant advisor and their advisee/client the consultant must demonstrate that their advisee/client’s diversity, perspectives, interests, strengths and cultures are respected.

Respect is about treating someone similar to the way you would wish to be treated by them. Try to remember that you and your advisee/client are equal in the power relationship you share – you may have the specialist knowledge in your area of expertise, but they have the right not to invest.

Authenticity

Being authentic is being you, the person you really are, but in this context it also means not being false, not putting on a mask or false face when dealing with people as a Unit Trust Consultant. It concerns your base-line ethical standpoint.

Being genuine, being yourself within the natural bounds of the advisor/advisee relationship helps to put your advisee/client at their ease, and helps them develop trust in you as a consultant and as a person. If a client is unable to trust you as a person they cannot trust your professional advice.

Be authentically yourself when dealing with clients. Be genuine, don’t put on a front and act out of character as people will soon spot this, and withhold their trust in you.

‘Know’ yourself and what you really think, and feel – this comes through in good interpersonal interaction without you being aware of it, so try to be aware of who you are and what you believe.

Be aware of your limitations, and acknowledge when you need to gain advice from other sources. A client will respect a consultant who freely acknowledges that there are limitations to their areas of knowledge, as no one can know everything, and a client will be suspicious if you claim to.

Therefore say what is pertinent to what you are doing, and be clear of your own knowledge limitations. This way you may stop being defensive to your client if they are not able to understand your communication with them.

Be open to your clients and their needs, putting your needs secondary if required, there is equality in your relationship and you do not need to protect yourself against your clients.

You are not in a position whereby you need to persuade, nor convince your advisee/client, nor to manipulate them in any way, but to present them with facts and alternatives answering questions to the best of your ability then enabling your advisee/client to make a decision of their own choosing. Being genuinely you helps to facilitate this process.

Active Listening

To facilitate ERA the prudent Unit Trust Consultant needs to be able to acknowledge that people want to be listened to, and to be able to demonstrate to their clients that they have been listened to. The art of achieving this is called active listening.

A professional Unit Trust Consultant engages in active listening and understands what their client is saying - not what the Unit Trust Consultant thinks they are saying. The need is to focus upon what your client is actually saying, not upon the response you feel that you want to give. You need to demonstrate that you are listening, and not merely hearing, what your client is saying by asking questions or giving feedback to clarify - If in doubt ask in your own words. That is, to restate what your client has said, clearly in your own words. Summarising, when your client has finished talking, also shows that you have at least listened.

Good non-verbal ways of showing an interest in your client are a) give good eye contact and b) being conscious that your body is giving the messages the same messages as your words.

Poor body language can defeat the overall message you wish to send your client, about your trustworthiness and honesty. Folding arms can be seen as defensiveness - blocking your client off from you. Hand on mouth gives the message that you are covering the truth. Slouching in the chair is often offensive while placing your hands behind your head may be interpreted as arrogance.

Transparency

Transparency is about being open and honest in everything you do, and having the integrity to do the right thing at the right time. This is invaluable to a Unit Trust Consultant.

Practising transparency means being straight forward, open and accountable to your clients and their issues. Communication is the watch word with good practise in business, and transparent communication that is clear, direct, obvious communication enables a healthier, trusting relationship between Unit Trust Consultant and their clientele.

A transparent Unit Trust Consultant enables his client to be transparent also. The net result is a relationship whereby each is in good communication with the other, understanding and knowledgeable about expectations, remuneration and aware of difficulties each may be experiencing. In such a relationship there are no ‘nasty’ surprises, such as clients suddenly withdrawing monies or adverse to further investment. Issues are aired, discussed, and solutions found through the transparency of an earnest professional relationship – Unit Trust Consultant to client.

Summation

ERA – Empathy, Respect and Authenticity.

These three simple words can enhance the interpersonal relationships that Unit Trust Consultants hope to build with their clients.

This simple ethical base enhances the working relationship between clientele and Unit Trust Consultants by laying down the foundation to all interactions between them.

Empathy, respect and authenticity are the necessary attributes a Unit Trust Consultant must gain to be able to forestall difficulties when working with clientele, to approach new clientele and to encourage lapsed investors back into believing in unit trusts as a longer term investment strategy.

The message is simple – a Unit Trust Consultant must be professional at all times, trust worthy in their dealings with clientele, colleagues and those they come in contact with. They must maintain a positive attitude in interactions with clients, be honest, earnest and transparent in their dealings with people and their investments.

Unit Trust Consultants need to be good listeners, they need to be responsible, appropriate and present themselves well in their dress sense, their verbal and non-verbal approach and must always be respectful towards clients’ sex, culture, race or religion and do remember that the Unit Trust Consultant needs the client much more than the client needs you.

The Unit Trust Consultant must remember that they are their own greatest asset, their knowledge, their abilities and the way they are towards other people is dependent upon their own interpersonal skills, which may be learnt.

Learning how to interact with clientele appropriately, respectfully and honestly enables better working relationships.

If the Unit Trust Consultant can make a practise of ERA, learn transparency and understand the skills needed to be an active listener towards their clients and prospective clients, then the hard part is over, and clientele will always work with them to achieve mutual goals.

It is important that Unit Trust Consultants remember that the old order of selling has been replaced by advising, and that they must learn new skills if they are to survive in this new world.