A while back, I received an email from Tom McCullough of Northwood Stephens, a Toronto high net worth firm which was recently recognized by Euromoney as Canada's top family office operation. Tom forwarded a couple of articles written by consultant Charles Green, co author of The Trusted Advisor, a book considered the definitive resource for managers of professional service firms in areas such as law, accounting and consulting.One of the articles "Create Trust, Gain a Client" tackles the thorny issue of how professionals can build trust with potential clients - I was struck by the relevance of his advice to financial advisors.

Green talks about four critical mistakes which undermine our ability to gain trust with clients and prospects.

1. We are overly rational - buying is both an emotional and a rational process, something we forget at our peril.
2. It's too much about us - clients usually ask us to tell them about us but don't really mean it, they really want us to be asking about them.
3. We are control oriented in meetings - rather than focusing on helping clients, we stick to predetermined agendas and objectives.
4. We focus too much on the transaction - rather than concentrating on the sale, we should make the relationship our priority; the best transactions happen when we do not focus on transactions but on the relationship.

Green goes on to say that the only way to be trusted is to be trustworthy. Some ways to achieve that:

1. Truly put client needs first.
2. Take a medium to long-term perspective, even if it costs us revenue in the short run.
3. Be willing to open up and to be transparent.
4. Really concentrate on listening - make paying attention your top priority.
5. Be insatiably curious - make asking questions and getting the client to open up a primary focus.

A final suggestion is to limit conversation about yourself to two minutes. When clients ask a question about your background, answer it and after two minutes say "But enough about me ...". If they ask for more information or another question, talk for another two minutes, then say "Tell me more about your situation on..."

To read the full article go to.
http://trustedadvisor.com/public/File/pdf/create_trust.pdf