Three Tips for Finance Professionals to Differentiate

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Brazilian society has developed an outdated culture: to centralize the investments preferentially in real estate and savings, hoping to live off income from rent and from “savings account” when retirement comes.

Because of that, for a long time now, investments have been concentrated in real estate or banks. When it comes to financial investments, banks account for 98% of all investments in Brazil. However, with the dissemination of information, people began to educate themselves financially, knowing new products beyond those traditionally offered by banks – which, for the most part, offer low profitability.

Finance Professionals

These new investment products are offered by brokerage firms and securities distributors. Customers have access to them over the internet. To a large extent, however, they are advised by specialized professionals: autonomous investment agents, financial advisors or investment analysts.

In a growing market demanding new investment products, these professionals gain notoriety. But how can they differentiate themselves?

In partnership with Jansen Costa, from Fatorial Investimentos & Seguros, I listed some key topics on which these specialists should be keen to differentiate themselves in the market:

1 – Training

The finance professional should have a broad training and knowledge. Certifications like CPA20, CEA and CFP, among others, make a huge difference.

2 – Information

An excellent finance professional is information-savvy. He reads various news sources daily and should be able to translate this information in a simple and direct way for his client.

3 – Market knowledge

Look for theoretical training, but practical, day-to-day experience counts a lot. Having lived different moments (economic growth and economic crisis) of the market can balance your decisions and opinions.

4 – Financial education and knowledge of your client

Do not assist your client only on the how-to. One way to differentiate yourself is by knowing his/her projects and dreams. Understand his/her goals, make simulations, assist in decision making. Be concerned about the outcome that the customer will get as per their needs and desires. Be 100% aligned with the client without worrying only about your personal compensation.

5 – Make partnerships

The finance professional should work in good partnerships with accountants, lawyers, bank managers and solution providers to offer better customer service.

6 – Be an example

If you operate in the investment sector, clients will follow what you say as long as you do what you say. If you operate with investments and have financial independence, this will be a good example when convincing a customer to acquire some financial product you are advising him to.

7 – Look after your appearance

Taking care of appearance may be a detail that goes unnoticed, but it can make a difference when it comes to conveying trust and credibility to the customer. Always remember to be well dressed.

8 – Relationship

Having good customer relationships and extensive networking is very important. When talking about investments and finances, share personal projects and intimacies. Before you win the “account” of your client, you need to gain his/her trust.

9 – Contacts with the market

A finance professional in the market must have an excellent relationship and contacts with financial agents, such as managers, brokers, banks, among others.

10 – Credibility

Invest in credibility. If you want to be close to your clients and advise them the best possible way, it is important to have personal credibility. That is, be more careful with your attitudes in the professional environment and day-to-day.

11 – Contents

People, especially young ones, are used to seek information preferentially on the internet. One relevant strategy is to start writing about finance and investment issues. In this way, you generate credibility and can be found by others who are looking for information on how to invest better, financial education and related subjects. The content can be made available in different sources, like LinkedIn Pulse, MyPush, Facebook, Twitter and personal blog.

12 – Personal Blog

Having a personal blog is a relevant and powerful tool. Through a blog you can centralize your tips, comments, content and tools for financial education and simulations. Your customers and other users on the internet can seek information and thus learn more about your work.

13 – Innovation and Startup

Another way to differentiate yourself in the market is to innovate and invest in technological solutions. Create your own tools, spreadsheets, differentiated products and services. Think about how your customers could use your intelligence and knowledge even if they were not with you. In this sense, many investment professionals have invested in developing their own technology solutions, creating new products, Startups and Fintechs in the investment market.

Have you thought about innovating? Talk to Cedro and see how we can turn your idea into a successful Fintech.