New Skills Required to Thrive In The Midst Of COVID-19

COVID-19 has drastically changed the financial services landscape, leaving many advisors looking for the skills they need to deliver the best financial outcomes for their clients while building a rewarding financial practice.

To identify some of the skill sets that are in high demand today, we spoke with a couple of industry experts, and this is what they shared. (From Robert Arzt, CEO of Polaris One. He coaches professionals who want to achieve more.)

Living during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for almost everyone. Our ability to remain positive and bounce back from disappointments or business setbacks is perhaps one of the most important skills we can possess if we are to achieve our goals — even if they need to be revised this year. Our outlook on life and our resilience are key drivers that can determine whether our efforts end in success or in failure.

People who are resilient have the best chances of succeeding in business and in life. Resilience is one of the most important emotional intelligence competencies you can possess — especially now.

Here are some attributes that resilient people possess. I hope that one or more of them will inspire you to create a plan of action that you can begin to implement immediately.

People who are the most resilient:

» Have a deep sense of purpose and passion for what they do, and find meaning as well as purpose in their struggles.

» Have a strong faith in something bigger than themselves.

» Keep their energy reserves built up with regular periods of rest, reflection and renewal.

» Have people they can depend on, and who know and love them as they are.

» Build their day around rewarding and high payoff activities.

» Use their peak time effectively and attack high priority items at the time of day they are most mentally sharp and alert.

» Know their feelings, label them correctly and express them routinely to others.

» Are emotionally and physically flexible enough to recover from disappointment and fatigue. They select new paths to follow, even if that means temporarily moving backward or sideways to eventually move forward again to continue their pursuits.

» Know when they need help, and don’t hesitate to get it.

Following Through

The COVID-19 pandemic has no doubt caused you to re-think how you do business. You may need to implement new strategies, tactics or systems. What can you do to successfully implement those changes? Here are some follow-through strategies to help you along the way.

» Don’t get too discouraged.

» Create bold, compelling reasons why you need to follow through on your new strategy or system.

» Start small and get into the habit of getting started. Then build on this habit by adding the actions required to achieve your end result.

» Reward yourself for both getting started and staying on track. (From Bryce Sanders, president of Perceptive Business Solutions. He provides high net worth client acquisition training for the financial services industry.)

We might never actually experience a “post pandemic” world. Instead, we might simply experience a cycle of “recovery and recurrence.”

Traditionally, advisors interacted with clients in the office or in the client’s home or workplace. Now the advisor’s home may be a third point of interaction. As such, advisors must learn how to work successfully from home.

To do this, they will need a home office where they can “go to work” and close up. Likely, this will mean repurposing another room for part of the day when they are working from home. A key element will be seeing people via videoconferencing. Previously, this was a technology add-on for an advisor’s business. Now, it may be the next best thing to meeting in person when in-person meetings are impractical.

While they are working from home, advisors will need to become comfortable with the major videoconference platforms. These will likely be WebEx, Zoom, Skype and FaceTime. Advisors at all experience levels will need to learn related technical features. Sharing your screen for presentations and messaging is a good example. Since advisors may receive as well as send calls, they also need to know that their calls may be recorded.

Advisors will need to “dress for work,” especially with the prospect of receiving incoming calls from clients. If they look professional in the office, their “video self” must measure up too. The area that appears on camera must be neat and organized, similar to their office or conference room that is set up for client meetings.

Advisors also need the ability to access client documents in a secure online format. Calls to the office will need to be forwarded to the advisor’s remote location. Checks mailed to the office need to be deposited, and mail sent to the office needs to reach the advisor. Although correspondence may have shifted online, there are still prospecting projects involving surface mail. Compliance oversight will be needed. Most firms will likely address these needs on behalf of the advisor, for purposes of standardization.

Ayo Mseka has more than 30 years of experience reporting on the financial services industry. She formerly served as editor-in-chief of NAIFA’s Advisor Today magazine. Contact her at [email protected].