Client Needs Are Becoming More Diverse. The Industry Should, Too

Introducing women to the career at an earlier age is critical to this aging field. Young women may find this business rewarding and the entrepreneurial aspect exciting in controlling both income and flexibility. Women can use their interpersonal skills to develop networks and provide a service model to clients that will make them more referable. Moreover, today’s millennial woman is attracted to companies and businesses that have strong values and cultures, and provide a civic service such as volunteer opportunities. The financial services industry can provide women a fulfilling career. 

My partner, John Bucsek, and I started building advisor teams over 10 years ago. The initial concept was to partner financial professionals that had unique abilities that could complement each other and offset their weaknesses. Throughout the years, teams continued to evolve as they expanded by adding talented members that offered areas of specializations to enhance the practice.  For women, teaming offers a great environment to flourish. Also, by working with the support of team members that market together and share prospects and clients, team members can support each other in the engagement process with the client. The female advisor has a group of team members that encourage her to succeed and will provide a team environment of learning, mentoring and on-the-job support. One of the main reasons behind the “Queen Bee Regime” was work environments where women were in male-dominated industries. The few women that moved into leadership roles become very protective of their environment, sometimes seeing other women as threats, as though there couldn’t be more than one woman. They tended not to help or support one another and sometimes were known to sabotage other women instead of helping them. Women today are becoming more aware and more supportive of each other. The new work environment is morphing because younger women coming into the work force have a different mindset. Women understand the strong support that other women can bring. We are seeing this with more awareness, women’s organizations and mentorship programs that are focused on building up women. 

Our industry continues to be challenged with the shifts in demographics, regulations, laws and products that are changing so often in order to stay competitive and attractive. Advisors need to keep themselves relevant by being fluid with the changes, being involved in industry groups, researching information by doing their due diligence with products and services they recommend. Advisors need to stay current with licenses and focus on their education by obtaining accredited designations and joining study groups. Advisors need to focus on the future by understanding the impact of technology on our practice and being open to social media and other uses of technology as they become available within compliance guidelines.