Everyone can benefit from professional guidance. If nothing more, just to remind us of the guardrails put in place to help us stay in our lane. If your lane is financial services, you need solutions to combat security and fraud issues while building trusting relationships.

Universally, every company seeks to improve efficiency, increase value, and lower costs. Technology companies servicing the financial and payments industries must secure pathways to make transactions faster, safer, and more convenient. However, advancing new and emerging concepts while maintaining the trust of clientele is a significant challenge.

In Financial Services, Trust is as Important as Performance

A highly trusted advisor has grown a client base from referrals and relationships built over years of credible performance. Equally, clients with high-​trust levels are far more likely to offer referrals than those with a moderate level. The consequence of this “trust multiplies” occurrence will establish a solid book of business for any worthy financial practitioner.

The transfer of personal funds and data across multiple networks is worrisome for everyone. Therefore, anyone beginning their career in financial services must be intently aware that distrust is natural. Consequently, the financial advisor who can cultivate trust stands the best chance of converting prospects.

Cultivate Trust by Projecting Positive, Realistic Expectations

Above all, your clients want to protect their investment and reduce their vulnerability. And, as a new vendor of a sophisticated service, there is little basis to judge your claimed expertise. James Pollard, theadvisorcoach, maintains that your greatest competitor is client inertia, rather than competing financial practitioners.

In this article, Pollard offers no-​nonsense tips to building client trust. He begins with educating clients on various products and how they may benefit from their adoption. Citing real-​world examples, Pollard demonstrates the painstaking process of building trust.

Trust is Built on Consistent, Serious Intent

1. DWYSYWD – Do What You Said You Would Do. As easy as it is to make promises; it’s far more difficult to follow through. Ideally, financial service advisors have a client base that is appropriate for their experience and expertise. You should consider what kind of client you want to attract and keep.

Once you’ve drawn a base of like-​minded individuals with similar (not identical) goals, you have an opportunity and a challenge:

• Act in your clients’ best interests.
• Continue to work for your client by doing what you said you would do.

2. Feeling and Believing – The Wharton School studied the influence of emotions and revealed that anger decreases trust and gratitude strengthens it. Pollard saw the connection and recommended that financial agents focus on their client’s lifestyle. Ask and attend to details of their family, their interests and their hobbies.

Further, don’t be shy about taking your relationship to the next level (within reason). Clients will be grateful that you’re trying to build a connection and may respond accordingly. You immediately become relatable, which increases your level of trust.

3. Advocate for Your Client - Going beyond transactional relationships to understand and support your clients' priorities and goals is a substantial foundation. From this platform, you can actively represent and defend the clients' financial interests. Imparting strategic insights, identifying trends, and highlighting potential opportunities help clients drive growth and unlock their full potential.

Customer advocacy includes helping them navigate complex regulations and tax requirements. Regulatory scrutiny can be minimized or eliminated with skilled foresight and your attention to detail. Importantly, adherence to tax and legal compliance is a service your clients expect and deserve.

Embracing these standards of building trust will be rewarding. Financial services agents can effectively champion the interests of their clients and contribute to their long-​term success. Furthermore, your relationships will be stronger, and your referrals abundant while you will build a profitable business.

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