Women are outliving men, on average, and women are expected to spend longer periods living alone, according to Statistics Canada. As a result, financial advisors are going to be dealing with more women clients in the coming years. But many advisors have difficulty when it comes to communicating with their women clients, says Bev Moir, senior wealth advisor with ScotiaMcLeod Inc. in Toronto.
“One of the things that I hear from women who come to speak with me,”Moir says, “is that they feel that they have been talked down to or have been a little bit patronized.”
It’s critical to engage women in important conversations surrounding long-term planning. But how will you know if you are connecting with your female clients in a meaningful way?
Start by avoiding these common mistakes:
1. Using too much jargon
One way of ensuring your clients feel out of the loop is to use buzzwords and technical jargon, Moir says.
For example, the acronyms “RESP” and “TFSA” and “RRIF” are like household words to you. But they might be unfamiliar to your client. Describe an RESP as a registered education savings plan, which can help finance your client’s children’s or grandchildren’s post-secondary education.
“It’s important that we use words that our clients understand so that they feel that we’re on the same side of the table as them,” Moir says.
By relying too heavily on jargon and seeming to speak in an unfamiliar language, you may be signalling that the client doesn’t have a say in her financial decisions.
Explain the pros and cons of a decision, provide options, and then explain why you would recommend a particular approach. This process makes female clients more like an equal partner in the decision-making process.
2. Dealing with only one spouse
In couples, one partner often takes the lead in handling financial matters. But it’s a mistake for you to assume that only one spouse is participating in a discussion.
Moir has a strategy for dealing with such couples. Before meeting a husband and wife, she plans out where the less-involved spouse — often the wife — should sit. Moir will often have the female sit beside her, with the woman’s husband sitting across the table.
This way, when Moir refers to a statement or another document, she can easily point it out to the wife, who can follow along.
“It’s a simple little thing,” Moir says. “But if somebody is less involved in reading the statements that I’m presenting, they can feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.”
3. Focusing on just numbers
Talking solely about finances is a mistake, especially considering that female clients have many broad concerns related to family issues that will affect their wealth planning. For example, Moir says, women are more likely to worry about their family’s health, the risks of premature death or the responsibility of caring for parents.
Rather than focusing solely on how your client’s investments are doing, demonstrate the relationship between her finances and important family issues.