Robin writes:
I gave a presentation to financial advice firms for Dimensional Fund Advisors the other day. One of the issues we discussed was how evidence-based firms can generate new business, and I was asked at the end to provide an actionable tip.
My suggestion was this: give your clients and prospects a book about personal finance and investing for young people.
Most clients have children, grandchildren or godchildren, and, as I wrote the other day, young people have a real thirst for helpful and impartial information. By helping the younger generation to put their financial house in order, control their spending, get some savings behind them and start investing properly, we are doing them a huge favour.
But giving a book away also makes commercial sense. In his book , Robert Cialdini sets out six principles of persuasion, and the first is reciprocation. From childhood, Cialdini explains, we learn that if we’re given something, we should give something back in return.
Most young people can’t afford, and don’t really need, a financial adviser. But one day they will. If you give them something that genuinely helps them now, they are more likely to come back to you when they want an on-going relationship with an adviser.
I’m pleased to announce, therefore, that Harriman House, the publisher of the new book I’ve co-authored with Ben Carlson, , is offering discounts on bulk orders from financial advice and planning firms. There is also an option to produce customised versions of the book, with your own foreword.
Primarily written for a UK audience, the book has no hidden sales agenda and is based on peer-reviewed academic evidence. It explains, in simple terms, how young investors can develop good habits, save a fortune in unnecessary fees, and achieve financial freedom many years earlier than they otherwise would.
Contact Craig Pearce at Harriman House if either of those options is of interest.