Selling financial products may be an inevitable part of Jason Stalker’s job, but the advisor with Worldsource Financial Management Inc. in Winnipeg cringes at the thought of being identified that way.

“I’m a relationship person,” he says, “not a salesperson.”

Stalker, 40, made this differentiation early in his career. When he joined Worldsource and began building his practice in 1999, he went into client meetings prepared to provide them with extensive research on various investment and insurance options. But he quickly determined that although research was important, it was not effective at winning clients over.

“I didn’t realize that clients didn’t really care much about data, charts, graphs and returns,” he says. “They cared that I cared. That is when I realized it was the relationship that was going to make me successful.”

Since then, Stalker has built his practice around this focus on relationships. He works with clients of all ages, providing them with comprehensive financial planning services. When new clients come in, he spends a considerable amount of time getting to know them, assessing their current financial situations and their aspirations. He then develops a long-term plan that gets updated and adjusted throughout the duration of the relationship.

Stalker has found that showing clients that he cares about helping them, right from the first meeting, helps ensure that they trust him.

“People can really tell when you care,” he says. “It’s not just saying you care; they can see when you actually care about their situation.”

After that, there are no doubts on the part of his clients, he says: “They know you’re looking out for their best interests.”

That strategy has proven to be extremely effective for Stalker. Throughout the past decade, his practice has grown to include a hefty 1,200 clients and $100 million in assets under management. Stalker has never engaged in any formal marketing programs; almost all of his clients have come through referrals.

“I don’t ask for referrals,” Stalker says. “It’s just that people are always very happy with the relationship.”

Stalker’s volume of referrals has ballooned recently. In fact, he says, the size of his practice has roughly doubled in the past 24 months, despite the challenges posed by the recent financial crisis of 2008-09. “And there’s no sign of stopping,” he adds.

Stalker attributes this growth to his increased contact with clients throughout that crisis — a time in which many other advisors were avoiding their clients altogether.

Stalker also attributes the recent growth in his practice to his policy of being honest with his clients, at the outset of the relationship, about the risks of investing. Stalker always ensures that before a client agrees to any investment, he or she is familiar with all the risks and negative aspects associated with it.

“I spend a lot of time talking about the pros and cons,” Stalker says. “I actually spend more time talking about the downside.”

As a result, when market downturns do occur, Stalker finds clients are better prepared and less likely to panic. And his clients respond surprisingly well to a conversation about the potential downside of a product, he says. It demonstrates that he’s not trying to hide anything from them.

“It almost seems as if the more time I spend talking about the ‘cons,’ the more comfortable a client is,” he explains. “I think that puts them at ease.”

@page_break@Even when times are good, Stalker ensures clients are realistic in their expectations. He avoids promising clients any specific level of returns from an investment.

Stalker also uses this honest, up-front approach with prospects who are considering leaving other advisors to join him. When Stalker is approached by people who had become dissatisfied with their existing advisors during the downturn, he admits to them that his clients also lost money during that period. In these situations, Stalker typically reviews the client’s existing portfolio and, if he finds that it has been managed effectively by the other advisor, he’ll admit that, too.

Most of the time, Stalker says, those clients still decide to transfer their assets to him, and are impressed by his honesty.

Stalker also credits having a positive attitude and enjoying his work as key factors in his success. People are naturally drawn to individuals who take joy in life, he says: “I spend most of my life just having a lot of fun, and it seems to just keep driving business.”

In order to have fun in business, Stalker adds, it’s important to work with people you like. He hires staff members that he respects and enjoys working with. “If you cannot enjoy the company of the people you’re spending a great deal of time with,” he says, “make a change.”

To that end, Stalker points to his team as another reason his business has succeeded. He works with an office manager and an assistant who help him manage administrative work, compliance and other day-to-day tasks. The office functions effectively, Stalker says, because each team member’s role is defined clearly: “We all know our roles very well, and everyone is very capable at what they do.”

Relationships between team members are built on mutual respect, he adds.

The approach that Stalker takes in his business is largely an extension of the approach he takes in his personal life, which also revolves around strong relationships. Stalker’s wife of 12 years and two children, ages 9 and 7, are his top priorities, along with a large group of close friends he has maintained for more than 20 years.

Having the flexibility to create his own schedule allows Stalker to make time for these important people in his life — a key factor in his decision to pursue a career as a financial advisor.

Stalker had initially planned to become a doctor and, to that end, spent a year studying science in university. But he quickly got sidetracked by a joint venture in which he established a roller-hockey league that grew to become the largest in Manitoba. That experience made him realize his passion for entrepreneurship: “I loved the idea of owning my own company.”

He later landed a job as an assistant to another advisor, which provided Stalker with an introduction to the financial services industry. After a few years gaining experience, Stalker made the decision to launch his own practice.

Although the demanding financial services industry consumes a major portion of Stalker’s time, he is diligent about balancing work and play. For instance, he has never missed an annual boating trip with his friends, a tradition for 20 years.

“I’ve always put my family and friends first,” Stalker says, “and my business has just always fallen into place.” IE