Getting to Know their Clients

    At Cooper Bumpus, getting to know their clients is very important. They have to get to know their clients to understand how to assist them in their financial needs. They believe in always offering their help when assisting clients. Staff member Angie Justice states that “you got to be chameleon when interacting with people.” This means that you have to be able to connect and understand people of all levels.

Angie Justice

    Each staff member has their unique way of interacting with their clients to get the questions they need to assist. For example, staff member Sydnee likes to use a questionnaire to give her a guideline for asking clients. Veteran staff members Sharon and Lori want to ask questions that first come to mind to assist the clients. Each staff member gives substantial ways to ask clients questions without them feeling quizzed. These tactics are useful with getting to know clients because clients want to feel like they are having a  simple conversation.  It helps them feel more relatable and comfortable with the staff members.

  

  The communication tasks that financial planners should obtain to initiate a professional relationship from clients are establishing a connection, getting information about the client’s basic attitudes & characteristics, & determining the client’s goals and expectations (Sharpe et al., 2007). The first couple of meetings is where the client and financial counselor agree on goals to accomplish. Some counselors like to compare and contrast their values, priorities, and expectations to assist clients. 

    Financial counselors also gather information on the client’s personality, cultural background, values, and beliefs about money. It is important that financial counselors become culturally competent of diverse populations when getting to know clients. This will give them the ability to respond in a sensitive and appropriate manner to those who are culturally different.

References

Hawkins, B. P., & Zuiker, V. S. (2019). Financial counselors’ experiences working with clients of color: Lessons of cultural awareness. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 30(1), 6–17. https://doi.org/10.1891/1052-3073.30.1.6

Sharpe, D. L., Anderson, C., White, A., Galvan, S., & Siesta, M. (2007). Specific elements of communication that affect trust and commitment in the financial planning process. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 18(1). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2228777