Barron’s recently ran a cover story by Suzanne McGee about the top 100 female financial advisers. Reading it, I couldn’t stop thinking about how important it is to really know your customers, in any industry – not casually, not haphazardly, but intimately, totally, inside-out, top to bottom, 24/7.
The financial-services industry has been hit in recent years with headline-making scandals involving women. The scandals range from discrimination in hiring and job promotions to sexual harassment. As an industry, financial services are renowned as an old boys’ bastion. Their glass ceiling was aquarium-thick and bulletproof – but no longer.
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Look again. McGee’s article proves that, over the past 20 years, women have taken giant strides in this industry. In fact, they have led the charge in transforming it. They have put real, devoted customer service into a business the old boys too often ran as a frenzied sales contest.
In the old game, commissions reigned supreme. Success was measured in sales consummated and commissions collected.
Today – due in part to the pioneering efforts of women – brokerage dealers and big banks are starting to de-emphasize commission profits in favor of fee-based advisory services.
Women financial advisers have spearheaded this holistic approach to managing wealth. They concentrate on preserving it while growing it.
Consider this: The top 100 female financial advisers are managing $104 billion today. That represents an increase of 25 percent from the level estimated two years ago. Perhaps more importantly, this increase matches the growth level achieved by the top male financial advisers.
Women have demonstrated that pursuing long-term client relationships didn’t prevent maximizing profits. Indeed, it had the opposite effect.
“It’s as if the world has come around to my way of thinking about my practice,” Dalal Solomon stated in the article. “In 22 years, I am not doing anything differently, but the world around me has changed considerably. I’ve been doing quarterly reviews for my clients since Day One – and now, that’s considered to be a best practice.” Dalal is the Solomon in the Solomon & Ludwin Financial Consulting Group in Richmond, Va., part of Wachovia Corp.’s wealth-management division.
Or listen to Kathy Lynn Tully, of Morgan Stanley: “Every three months, I call each of my clients and check in, asking what is new in their lives. Initially, they were really cautious; they were waiting to hear what it was I was trying to sell them.” It sometimes took months for her clients to realize she was calling to better understand their needs, rather than to sell them a particular financial product.
There is clear evidence that women excel at advisory services.
Consider Mary Deatherage, who has worked at Smith Barney in New Jersey for 20 years, and who manages $880 million in assets. “Talking with people about money is one of the most intimate relationships possible,” she says. “People will talk about their relationship problems or their kids at dinner parties – but not about their financial worries.”
It’s noteworthy that Deatherage had trained as a teacher and an accountant before launching her career as a financial adviser. “You need to learn to listen,” she insists. Like many of the top 100 female financial advisers, she didn’t hit upon her career right out of school.
Susan Kaplan, of Kaplan Financial Services in Newton, Mass., waited until her children started school before she earned an MBA. She followed that up by becoming a Certified Financial Planner. Then she opened her own firm, which now oversees $720 million in client assets.
“When it’s between you and the client – when you take care of their needs and listen to their concerns and offer solutions that help them – it doesn’t matter what gender you are, or what your bosses say about whether you’re making enough commission,” Kaplan maintains.
Why? Dalal Solomon explains: “At some point along the way, the approach started to be rewarded with referrals and assets – a language the firm could understand.”
Reading about these women made me realize, yet again, that you can’t be too close to your customers.
Intimacy in business is emblematic of caring. In selling long-term (a synonym for customer service), it’s crucial. It leads to partnerships. And you can never know too much about your partners.
Mackay’s Moral: The more sophisticated selling becomes, the more human and personal it needs to be.
Harvey Mackay is the author of the New York Times best-seller “Pushing the Envelope.” He can be reached through his Web site, www.mackay.com, or at Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414.
