[Opinion] Life advisers need a mindset change: away from ‘we sell’ to ‘we advise’.

Opinion:  Selling is essential in life insurance, but as necessary as it is, it must now be accompanied by suitable advice. We live in a new advice environment – changes are likely needed from what we did before because there are several new expectations.

• Advisers must be competent enough to give advice with due care diligence, skill and competence – advisers must know their stuff!
• Clients must know and agree the advice they are signing up to get
• Clients must understand the advice they get
• Clients must get suitable advice, and that suitability must be ‘evidenced’
• Clients must be given enough information to make informed decisions.

For me the most important is to ensure FAPs and their advisers have a fundamental mindset change, away from ‘we sell’ to ‘we advise’. 

A life adviser’s job is not easy, it requires excellence in two usually polar opposite skills – selling (‘seeing’ people) and backroom analysis/advice/administration.  Without a suitable mindset, doing what is now expected may be haphazard, risky and probably inefficient in the long term.  Being great at both selling and at giving great advice must surely be the goal, especially for FAP’s responsible for adviser’s advice suitability.