1. Adds experience to your resume. Volunteering within the market that you serve is an excellent way to add reputable, and recognizable, experience to your career. When talking to a potential client later, you may be surprised to find common ground in a previous volunteer activity and thus, an immediate personal connection.
2. Builds professional contacts. Reaching out can also mean gaining more back than you expected. Working with and around potential clients can undoubtedly open up new business opportunities and expand your next seminar contact list.
3. Develops your communication skills. Interacting face-to-face, or phone-to-phone, is an important part of the advisor-client relationship. Sharpen your people skills by spending time with them and learning to talk about things other than business. In many cases, appearing multi-dimensional is as important as appearing professional.
4. Advertizes you. The people, and potential clients, who see you working as hard as they, will have a good sense what type of person you are. That free advertisement can pay off: turn what they liked about you as a volunteer into what they'll love about you as an advisor.
