Arguably, as financial planning has evolved to become a discreet professional service in its own right the softer skills that are required to truly engage with clients, and draw out their innermost life ambitions and goals, are more important than ever.
Some people believe that soft skills only come with experience and cannot be learned, but I beg to differ.
What is true is that experience generally brings confidence and that confidence improves empathy; without empathy we cannot hope to truly engage with clients.Let's be clear about what we mean by soft skills. They are typically those that involve our emotional intelligence and the way we relate to others. Examples include listening and questioning techniques, presenting and engaging with audiences. Sales training still has a place, but it must recognise that times have changed: today advisers are just an arms-length from product and solution providers, and there is a clear understanding that client suitability and outcomes are central to advisory businesses.
I recently read a blog suggesting that advisers who have been in business for many years already have adequate soft skills "that may just need brushing up after a recent focus on qualifications”. Our blogger pointed the finger at new entrants, who he suggested: "had taken the exams, but didn’t yet have the accompanying life experience/skills”.
The reality is that advisers working in today's profession – irrespective of age – need skills necessary to communicate effectively with their chosen client type/segment in a way that suits the client.
Times change. Social media and Skype were not around 20 years ago, and they require a very different skillset as part of a wider portfolio of communications. Previously learned skills remain useful, but they must be kept relevant to the modern environment.
Incidentally, the blogger in question suggested that advisers have an average age of 58. However, the reality in today's post-Retail Distribution Review world is that the average age is aligned with other professions at mid-40s.
On that note, advisers of a certain age really need to be open-minded about soft skills. But results from our own events show a distinct polarisation in the scores from 10/10 to 1/10, with the lowest scores tending to come from the more mature members that sit back with their arms folded.
One of the hardest things for small firms is being able to identify where they need to brush up on soft skills. The same 360 degree appraisal processes are not there as they are in large firms.
Probably the best way to find out is to ask those that matter: your clients. Feedback as part of a regular survey can easily include this information, and it can be especially insightful.
At least one small firm I know of has taken this a step further and invited a handful of clients to form an advisory board for the firm. The advisory board is then consulted first about ideas, proposed changes and new initiatives.
The firm in question gets terrific value from understanding perceptions early and it allows them to refine propositions and positioning ahead of full implementation. It brings clarity on perceived value and avoids potentially harmful mis-communication.
Tailored courses are not the only way to undertake soft skills training. Mentoring is also a great way to develop them, as is volunteering.
I know by talking to some of our advisers who volunteer regularly with the Citizens Advice as part of our MoneyPlan initiative that they were often taken out of their comfort zone, especially when dealing with vulnerable consumers.
In addition to finding such work supremely rewarding, these encounters have enabled them to learn and develop new skills that they have subsequently been able to integrate into dealings with their commercial clients.
Mark Hutchinson is head of marketing at the PFS