The last few years have been stressful for everyone. A global pandemic, political turmoil, rampaging inflation, rapidly rising interest rates, market volatility, dire predictions about impending recessions — you’d have to be made of stone to get through all of this without at least a touch of anxiety.
The job of a financial advisor is to manage client portfolios through good times and bad. Winning and keeping your clients’ business is hard enough as it is, but assuaging concerns when the market flounders and the economic outlook darkens is exponentially harder. Rationality goes out the window, as some clients may push to liquidate their positions in knee-jerk attempts to stem the losses.
You can’t stop your clients from having emotions. Even the most grounded people can start thinking and acting irrationally when they perceive their life savings to be at risk. Trust is key — a 2019 report by Edelman found that 81% of consumers say they must feel like they can trust the businesses they engage with, even with the most cursory purchases. The good news is stressful times like these are the perfect opportunity to build trust and establish the kind of long-lasting bonds that will keep your clients in your book for years to come.