As a veteran sports reporter, Jim Gray used to write about the relationships between coaches and players. Now as the principal owner of Media Strategy Inc. in Toronto, Gray is a coach himself, teaching financial advisors how to better communicate with their clients.
“I live and breathe this company. I work really hard at it. I value relationships. To me, you can discover the mettle of a person in tough times, and we are in tough times. It has to be the relationship over the transaction,” Gray told Advisor.ca.
In talking to Gray, who has been involved in the communications industry in one form or another for 36 years, one soon begins to understand that the concept of putting people first is the cornerstone of his teachings. It is a crucial business lesson he tries to impress upon all of his clients.
Recently, Gray worked hand in hand with a large U.S. bank and its wealth managers. He was surprised at the elementary mistakes even experienced advisors made as they went through various simulations, scenarios and role-playing exercises developed to put them through their paces.
“They were still making deadly mistakes that were sometimes ruining relationships or not taking full advantage of the relationship that existed,” Gray says. “Most people think they are great communicators, and most people are not great communicators.”
As a keynote speaker at the Distinguished Advisor Conference this weekend, Gray hopes to alert the advisors in attendance to the fatal flaws in their day-to-day business dealings that could be harming not only their businesses but also their careers. Entitled “The 10 Biggest Communications Mistakes Financial Advisors Make,” Gray’s presentation will focus on immediate changes that can result in immediate improvements.
“What leaders do is make everyone around them feel valued, comfortable and inspired so they will run through brick walls for them. It is astonishingly easy to do. All it takes is thinking about the other person’s best interests,” said Gray.
Previewing his presentation, Gray spoke of the importance that all advisors learn to tell their own stories and concisely communicate who they are, where they have come from and what separates them from anyone else. Once that is communicated, it is time for advisors to pay very strict attention to their clients’ needs and expectations. That involves listening.
“Advisors, in my experience, don’t listen enough,” says Gray candidly. “The power of listening, especially when clients are hurting and have lost a ton of money, is incredible. If clients know you have their best interests at heart, in the good times or bad, and if you cut them a break on price every once in awhile, they really appreciate that. You have to build a sense of trust.”
“If I just lost a couple of hundred thousand, I am not interested in your shtick until I tell you how I have been hurt and how I am feeling,” Gray continued. “If you don’t care, we don’t have a relationship.”
Besides giving advice at the conference, Gray says he looks forward to meeting professionals in the field and discussing how they are interacting with their clients and what their clients are telling them. He is hoping that he will be able to use some of the information and case studies in his new book, How Leaders Speak, which is slated to be published in 2010.
“I never felt fulfilled in journalism. When I teach, there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction in seeing people do better as a result of a contribution I have made. The combination of what I do now—writing and teaching—is it for me. I love this job,” he said.
The Distinguished Advisor Conference runs from Nov. 8 to 11 in Tucson, Ariz., at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. For more information, click here.
The main theme of this year’s conference is Leadership and Opportunity in Turbulent Times.
(11/05/09)