Our entire advisory practice revolves around pleasing our customers, we put in our best, we engage in practices fulfilling our client needs, and creating a league of happy and satisfied investors. But often, there is a gap between our perception of what clients need from us, their satisfaction and what they are really looking forward to.

A major percentage of your clients won't communicate their preferences in words. Due to the implicit nature of the client partner relationship, doctrine of substitution has a major role to play. We need to step into the shoes of clients at large and assess their lookout.

To make things easier for you, here are some common traits which most investors are looking for in their financial advisors:

A Relationship of Trust: A client would be comfortable entrusting his/her money and personal financial information to someone only if the client trusts him/her. A client partner relationship can survive only if it's based on trust, and building trust is not a day's process, it evolves over time and a number of elements go into it, two prominent ones are:

Ethics: People will trust you if you are ethical in your conduct, when you maintain integrity and high professional standards, and when you place your clients' interests above your own. Your ethical conduct will let people believe that the financial planning and investment activity will be in their best interests. So, be honest and stick to your ethics even if it means losing the client.

Knowledge & Experience: Another factor that goes into winning trust is your credibility, which banks on your knowledge about the products and the industry, practical application of financial planning concepts and your experience. A wise financial advisor is trusted by clients because of the fact that he is qualified and has the ability to deliver right advice.

Communication: One basic expectation that all investors have from their advisors is timely communication. People appreciate being informed about industry updates, new products in the market, regular review and performance of their portfolios, etc. Proactiveness in communication keeps investors in the loop and instills confidence in them, plus it helps in taking right decisions in time. Investors do not like being kept under false impressions, so it's important that you communicate the risk associated with investments, communicate even when things are not going right, because of bad markets or because of a bad decision. Timely communication is essential so that you can focus on the solution, instead of accelerating the problem.

Concern: Another universal desire most investors have from their advisors and which often goes unsaid is, they like being cared for. They want their advisor to listen to them, and base their advise on their unique needs and financial position. They must feel that you genuinely care for them and you are working in their best interests. Advising is about micro level servicing even if you have a thousand clients. When you go to see a client, quickly run through the client's profile, and his goals, because you are not exhibiting concern when you don't remember the basics about the investor. An investor will be comfortable talking to you, sharing his life story when he/she senses your authenticity.

Safe Returns: Investors want high returns, but they also don't want to lose their money. So, it's important that you explain to them the risks associated with different investment products. Risk cognizance will prevent investors from taking wrong decisions, when the risk comes to play. Also it won't fall on your shoulders since the investor was aware of the risk and took an informed decision. Also, your choice of investments and portfolio management can significantly bring down the risks.

Human Touch: Consider the example of a dietician and his/her patient. The Patient can easily source a good diet plan suitable for his body, the kind of foods he should/should not eat, that he should exercise to cut the extra fat from his body. But he prefers going to the dietician for the human touch, when the dietician asks him about his unique needs and preferences and prepares a plan “just for him”. The Dietician personally follows up on the progress of his weight loss and appreciates the patient for the efforts he is putting in. This relationship could never be established between him and google, which takes him to the dietician. Here, the advisor is the dietician and investor is the patient. Investors choose Financial Advisors over Robos for the human element, they expect to connect with you on an emotional level. So, try to build a relationship with the client which is beyond business. Empathize, Care, Share, Celebrate.

So, the above were a few points which most investors are seeking from their advisors. There are a lot of things, much simpler than what your doing, which can draw you closer to your clients. You just need to adopt a personalized approach to cater to people, gauge their unique needs and work on them.

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Over your journey as a financial advisor, you'll find two categories of investors:

1. The conservative ones And 2. The Aggressive ones

We'll be talking about the first category, the conservative ones, who do not want to risk a penny. This category generally has had a peaceful life by investing in traditional investment options like FD's, PPF, etc., and do not want to look beyond them. Their ancestors advised their children and grandchildren to protect their money by investing in these products, and probably they have taken the lineage too seriously.

So, how do you go about explaining to them the importance of Risk in Investing, that Risk and Return are two sides of the same coin, that for survival in this world they have to get over the obsession of traditional low risk products; is what we'll talk about now.

1. Evolution of Needs: Firstly, the conservative ones need to know that 20 or 30 years back, expenses and needs were limited, the scenario is totally different today. Mere protection of money will not help them sustain through their entire life. His grandfather's son did not demand an I-phone as his birthday gift, his son will. His grandfather saw airplanes on TV, he travels in one, his grandfather or father never traveled outside India, his son had his passport when he was a year old. The needs are not the same, they have evolved, so why should the investment be the same, the investments need to match with the needs in order to fund the changing lifestyle.

2. The Concept of Calculated Risk: Modern day lifestyle and consumption pattern does require more money, and more money comes for Risk. However, investing is not gambling, it does involve risk, but sane investing is about taking calculated risks, meaning taking risk after carefully estimating the probable outcomes. It involves doing a careful assessment of the investor's needs and aligning them with the risk in investing.

3. Start with Baby Steps: The risk element in each investment product is different. It may not be ideal for a Conservative investor to take the giant leap to an Equity Mutual Fund to begin with. There are options in Mutual Funds which cater to their requirements of low risk. They can start with a low risk product like an FMP, where the risk involved is super low, since the returns are predictable, and then gradually move to bonds, and then to balanced Mutual Funds, and lastly to Equity MF's.

4. Equity for Long Term investing: Another facet of risk that all investors, who are scared of Equity, must understand is the core of it. Risk in Equity is primarily driven by market volatility, which is short term in nature. Market Volatility is the resultant impact of the market sentiment, it can be positive sometimes and negative the other times. The impact of this volatility on Equity stocks is they can witness quick picks and falls, and this transition cannot be predicted, which puts the investor's money into the Risky zone. Meaning, if an investor has invested in an Equity Mutual Fund today, he can't be sure that after six months his investment's value will only rise, the volatility and the sentiment may not be working in his favour. But over the long term, the prices of equity are not left at the market sentiment's discretion, rather it is driven by the growth and profits of the underlying companies. So, when your investor is investing for his long term goals, he should choose Equity. Because firstly, it's only Equity that can help him achieve his Long Term goals, since Equity over long periods has generated superior returns and has been able to beat all other asset classes, the traditional ones don't stand a chance. And Secondly, the risk is neutralized over long periods.

So, the bottomline is many investors are conservative because of their inherent nature, because of bad experiences, scary anecdotes, and limited exposure, and thus they don't want to restrict themselves to their 'Safe Zone'. But what they are not realizing is the safe zone isn't safe anymore, because the circumstances, the rising prices, the lifestyle upgradation, increasing choices; demand more. You have to bring them out of their shell, and explain to them that not taking Risk is the biggest Risk they are taking.

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Many financial advisors have achieved great success and have grown big in business, we have a team of people who help us sustain the scale which we have achieved. However, we often face troubles with our staff struck with low productivity, low work ethics, poor quality of work, and of course high retention, which put together hampers the growth of the business. The most evident solution that may occur to many of us would be a pay hike or a fat bonus, but this solution is not sustainable for a very long time. Getting the best out of your employees, it isn't just limited to remuneration, rather it is way beyond the pay cheque, the secret is job satisfaction, creating a team of happy and motivated people.

So, how do you go about keeping your employees motivated? We have listed down few effective ways which can help you in this direction:

Appreciate their efforts, Recognize and reward success: When you praise an employee for his/her hard work and achievements, a rush of excitement runs down their spine. This way you are setting examples for others also, people appreciate being recognized and glorified for their efforts and performance, and a culture of appreciation in office motivates the staff to work hard. Also, when your employees commit genuine mistakes, encourage them to learn from their mistakes, instead of being harsh on them.

Amiable environment: A clean work station, a comfortable chair, a pleasant working environment, makes a difference. Give them opportunities to connect with people and socialize. You can take them out for a team lunch, give them opportunities to work together as a team, encourage discussions among people, which may or may not be related to work. The idea is to create an environment which can make the employee look forward to coming to office the next day.

Let them know they are important: Encourage employees' participation in matters that matter. Seek feedbacks, suggestions, their inputs on client handling and while developing business strategies, since they are engaged in client interaction for most of their time, their inputs would be relevant on one hand and will motivate them on the other. Also, pass on the positive feedback that you may receive from the clients and let them know they are adding value to someone's life.

Employee self development: Give your employees opportunities for self development, provide trainings which can help them upgrade their skills, help them gain knowledge about the industry and products, thus accelerating the value they can contribute to your organization, and increasing their worth from a career perspective.

Quality of Work: A major factor which can keep an employee happy and motivated at work, is Quality of Work. Trust their abilities and give them challenging tasks, tasks which are important for the organization. When the work is challenging, it is likely that the employees will put in extra efforts and consummation of complex tasks will give them a sense of fulfillment, which will keep them motivated. Repetitive tasks can also put off people, give them opportunities to engage in different and more advanced activities, so as to break the monotony at work.

When you give them responsibility, give them authority as well: A top down approach may not be sustainable with the millennial population. Let your employees decide the strategy they are going to use to achieve their targets. Help them, guide them, advise them, but do not micromanage, let them take decisions, let them brainstorm and find their ways. This approach will create a sense of ownership within them.

Pay as per the industry standards: Money does matter, and at the end it's money which we all are working for, so do not underpay your employees, no matter how happy they are, they won't stick for long if they aren't paid in line with the industry standards.

Your leadership: Lastly, you play a very important role in effectuating the above and keeping your employees happy, by transmitting a happy and a positive vibe. Your employees look upto you, they get influenced by your ways, if they see a happy, optimistic and hardworking leader, they'll follow suit. You have the ability to shape the organizational culture to a large extent.

To conclude, motivation is the primary factor behind people who work hard and are productive.
When people are happy in their jobs, satisfied with their work, they rank high on the productivity meter.
A combination of the above can help you motivate your employees, let talent retain and grow.

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