Your IndustryOct 1 2015

Diary of an adviser: David Reekie

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Monday

On Monday mornings I like to be in our Weybridge office for 7.30am so I can prepare for the week ahead. As a protection specialist I like to get in front of clients as much as possible.

I attend a weekly mentoring group as part of the company’s Quantum Leap programme. And if product providers come into the office, I attend these sessions.

I will leave around 4.30pm to avoid the M25 traffic, and anything else that needs picking up after this time I will do from my home office.

Tuesday

This is generally my main client day.

First thing, I arrange to meet a client in Farnham in Surrey, where we talk through business and personal protection. From there I take the train to the London head office, where I have an internal partner and marketing meeting.

I then work from the office; summarising the activity from the day’s earlier meeting. And I begin to prepare for the following day.

Wednesday

I am back in the Weybridge office for 7.30am. I pick up any post and sort through my inbox first thing.

I then have an 11am meeting in nearby Bagshot with a successful business owner. Here I look into key protection for the business and the client. The meeting takes approximately two hours.

From here, I head across to Frimley in Surrey to meet some new clients; a husband and wife team. Their needs are primarily for personal protection. We complete a fact-find, and I give them feedback relating to the service provided.

I then arrive home at 5.30pm, and immediately go for a 30-mile cycle ride as part of my training schedule. It takes me a couple of hours.

Thursday

In the morning I work from home summarising the previous day’s appointments, doing research and starting suitability letters.

A referral leads to a 2pm new business meeting close to home. Here I provide an introduction to what I do, and we discuss life cover, income replacement and extending the couple’s cover.

When I return home, I clear my email inbox and complete the notes from my day.

Friday

In the morning, I meet a client whom I have worked with for a number of years. He is looking for pension and estate planning advice, so I bring one of Foster Denovo’s private wealth partners, Dave Stockdale.

I then head back to the home office and plan for the following week. I am due to head off on my cycle tour mid-way through the next week, so need to ensure I am all prepped for the return from that trip. In the last quarter of the year I will be seriously stepping up the number of client meetings.

A successful week is finished off with a 1.5-hour bike ride in the Surrey Hills.

David Reekie is a partner at Foster Denovo, based in Weybridge, Surrey