WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG. BAD INTERNET? by Bill Bachrach As all-encompassing as it's become--including investment forums, financial research databases, portfolio tracking, and online trading--the Internet may turn out to be one of the best things that has ever happened to Trusted Advisors. As people flock to manage their own portfolios with a computer, mouse, and modem, you become even more valuable than ever before--to the right people. Not convinced? Still scared of the Internet blowing your house down? Perhaps you remember the lesson of the three little pigs: Build your house of solid materials, and no hungry wolf can take it down, no matter how hard he huffs and puffs. Likewise, build your business with the right kind of clients, and the Internet won't entice them, no matter how popular e- commerce gets. Straw, Wood, or Brick There are three types of people with whom a financial services professional can choose to work. They are the Do-it-yourselfers, the Collaborators, and the Delegators. By definition, Do-it-yourselfers are not ideal clients for Trusted Advisors: They are on their own because they don't want to work with someone else. Some enjoy managing their own money and are capable of doing so. Some don't trust anybody to help them, so they have to do it themselves. Some just have their priorities mixed up and think that fiddling with their finances is more important than spending time with their families, exercising, educating themselves, or any of the other things that are more meaningful to living a quality life than money is. Trying to work with Do-it-yourselfers is like building your house of straw. They make poor clients, primarily because they see more value in doing it themselves than in working with you, and it's hard to persuade them otherwise. Don't even try. Remember that your job is to find people who would naturally value and benefit from working with you, not to convince everyone how much they need you. Just as a house made of wood is only slightly better one of straw, so is a business comprised of Collaborator-type clients only slightly better than one with Do-it-yourselfers. Collaborators mostly want to do it themselves, but they want a relationship with an advisor so they'll have a gopher. They want you to educate them, do their research for them, and confirm their own research. "Is now a good time to buy gold?" they intone. "What's happening in the Asian markets, and how will that affect me?" The Collaborator is merely a Do-it-yourselfer with an advisor as a back-up. They're in the driver's seat, and sooner or later they'll figure out that all the advisor does is give them confidence and information they could get for themselves. Once they realize this, they dump the advisor and become full-fledged Do-it-yourselfers. With Collaborators and Do-it-yourselfers, it's hard to get their focus off of individual products and short-term performance and onto the big picture. They're swayed by investment pornography, friends, and their own egos. It's even harder to get them to understand that comprehensive financial management is the way to achieve their goals and fulfill their values--if, in fact, you can convince them that goals and values are what's important in financial planning. (It's more likely that they will be interested in hearing about investment strategies so they can implement them on the 'net.) Again, because it's so difficult to convince them to do it your way, don't even try. Since the Internet makes going it alone cheaper and easier, it has its greatest appeal to these two groups. This is where it becomes most useful to you: It can help you immediately identify someone as a Do-it-yourselfer or a Collaborator. If they're interested in what the Internet offers--instant access to financial products, discounted fees, and "playing" with their assets--then they are not suitable clients for a Trusted Advisor's practice. If, on the other hand, they are Delegators, and they want the key value you provide--to free them from having to worry about their money so they can focus on other things in life--then they are perfect for you. Delegators recognize what they can confidently hand off to someone else and what they must take care of themselves. They are do-it-yourselfers only in the realms where it counts: family, friends, career, physical health, and spirituality. Otherwise, they are happy to pay competent professionals to do the rest. There's an E*trade television ad featuring a fellow sitting on a dock in front of his yacht and saying, "Why would I pay someone else to do what I can do for myself?" Indeed, why? The Delegator has an answer to that question: "So I can do other things that I can't pay someone else to do: go to my kids' soccer games, spend quiet time at home, take vacations, improve my professional skills, enjoy my retirement, volunteer my time to worthy causes, read great books, have dinner with friends . . .". The Internet's seduction of Do-it-yourselfers and Collaborators is truly a blessing in disguise. They were never great clients anyway, and now it's easier to identify them. They are also more reluctant to engage you just for information. The Internet sorts them out so that the people who are left are really, truly Delegators who would say, "Why would I do anything myself I could pay someone else to do?" Delegators are not interested in working with a financial professional as a reliable information resource. They want a Trusted Advisor. They don't regard the advisor with unwarranted awe, either. It's not "I think you're so smart that I want to know what you know." Instead, it's "I trust you so much, I'll do what you tell me to do." Trusted Advisors build their businesses, brick by brick, client by client. Salespeople grasp at straws, seeking any kind of client they can get, afraid the Internet will diminish their prospect pool. Don't be a salesperson, be a Trusted Advisor. Bill Bachrach is the San Diego based author of the best selling, industry-specific book Values-Based Selling; The Art of Building High Trust Client Relationships, and High-Trust Leadership; A Proven System for Developing an Organization of High-Performance Financial Professionals. He is a top-rated speaker and is considered by many top producers to be the financial service industry's foremost interview skills coach. His one-year top-producer Trusted Advisor Coach TMprogram starts every January and is limited to 30 financial professionals. His 3-day Values-Based Selling TM Academy is open to everyone. Bill has spoken 3 times at the MDRT Annual Meeting, 5 times at the IAFP National Convention and virtually hundreds of recognition and national conferences for just about every major firm and association in our industry. For formation about his speaking services, The Trusted Advisor Coachô program, 3-Day Academy, or to order his results-oriented books and Learning Systems contact Bachrach & Associates, Inc. at 800-347-3707 or visit their website: www.BachrachVBS.com. Request your free audio tape of Bill Bachrach "live" via www.bachrachvbs.com.