The 5 Rules to Create Conviction in Financial Services

Conviction is the confidence necessary to convert a prospective client into an actual client, and the critical assurance to keep clients from defecting. Personal relationships between asset managers and prospects (from institutional gatekeepers to broker/dealer producers) are the main conduit to creating this conviction.

Without this perceived relationship, prospects cannot “bet” on the portfolio manager. But personal relationships can’t scale. With over 650,000 registered securities representatives in the US alone, asset managers need additional tools.

How are companies augmenting relationships and creating conviction in financial services? The internet is assisting by providing content and managing perceptions. The following rules are being followed:

• Deliver Results: This is the most important aspect, and the web can only help display and explain performance. During times of unexpected results, however, communication is essential. Are you fostering a conversation effectively?
• Provide Information: Speed and inclusivity of information is essential. Without it, decision makers can’t perform their job. The faster the information is delivered, the greater the opportunity to create conviction. How are you informing your constituency? How are you shaping their knowledge? Who else is shaping their knowledge before you?
• Supply Education: We are all looking to excel and become better at what we do. We need people to inform us, show us alternative views, and stimulate us intellectually. How are you helping your clients get better at their jobs and partnering with them for success?
• Allow Access: Decision makers need to know they can get information from accountable and informed people. Whether this is in person, phone, email, or indirect, decision makers need to know why decision were made. How are you enabling access, without overwhelming your staff?
• Exhibit Transparency: Without it, trust is in jeopardy. Given compliance and corporate scandals, people are naturally cynical and assume the whole story is not being told. Are you exhibiting transparency or creating a veil of secrecy?

Over the next few weeks, I will be touching on each one of these points. I welcome your comments, insights, and additions at eric.karofsky@molecular.com.