The Advice Strategy

 “I’ve always been reluctant to approach family members or people at my country club,” says Linda, a Boston advisor. “I just feel awkward about it. Any advice here?”

When many advisors consider pursuing the business of relatives and even social contacts, they feel like they run into a wall that they just can’t climb. To approach these people is to somehow violate a trust, to betray the friendship and look like they’re only interested in the other person’s business. People can feel sleazy bringing up their services to family and friends.

The primary hurdle to cross is broadening your perspective, as Bob David, Director of Advisor Programs at Horsesmouth, says:

 “At some point you have to look at the other side of that question, which is if you avoid family members or people at the country club, how are you gonna feel if you hear, for example, that Uncle Joe did something stupid with his IRA rollover after working 30 years at the company, or a friend of yours at the country club never really did any estate planning and he left his or her family in a bind, and you know the spouse and the kids, and you’ve got that on your conscience that you had the expertise and skill set to help there. So there is a price to be paid for not approaching those folks.”

In addition to seeing things in full light, you can also adjust how you approach people. One way to conquer your anxiety is to enlist the advice strategy, as detailed by Bob:

“You might initially approach a family member or close friend or country club to ask them for their advice about how to reach others like them. And when you do that it puts them at ease. It appeals to their ego, and it also gives them a chance to see you in action. It might make it easier to bridge that conversation, and you might find them approaching you eventually about helping with what they’re doing.”

When approached this way, offense is taken out of the picture, and you leave your baggage behind and start helping people.