Trust is the foundation of most client and advisor relationships, but if you asked most advisors how to earn it, they might stumble over their answers.
On Monday at the IMCA annual conference in Boston, David Richman of the Eaton Vance Advisor Institute provided tips on how advisors can get high-net-worth individuals to want to work with them by building trust.
"Trust has always been the elephant in the room," said Richman, before asking attendees if they would trust someone merely because he said "Trust me!"
To begin building trust, Richman recommended that advisors familiarize themselves with the three levels of trust:
1) The Visceral Level
This occurs when clients feel at a gut level that they like their advisor, so Richman counseled to first listen to yourself before asking questions of the client or prospect. "Hear the words that come from your mouth."
A common flaw advisors have is they can make even very successful individuals feel stupid, Richman said. If that is the case, there's a low probability of the prospect agreeing to a second meeting.
Richman used a football analogy to explain the importance of asking good questions. A running back on a football team gains yardage on a play by using blockers; for advisors, questions can play that role. "It is the questions you ask that propel you forward," he argued, not your prepared statements. That, he said, is "why scripts fail."
There can be two types of people: learners and judgers, he said. Those that judge, and do not listen, are less likely to ask questions and appear less empathetic to others. Richman recommended that advisors try to see and feel the world through the eyes of those they are working with, and asking questions is a good place to start to do so.
