EDITION 1 | MAY 2021
17
Starting out as a fully-fledged anaesthetic technician , working in operating theatres supporting the teams undertaking complex surgery , he had first-hand experience of human frailty and the fragility of life . He comments ‘ Sitting monitoring instruments whist someone is lying on the operating table , where their life is in the balance is simply part of the job , but this added dimension has obviously compounded some of my thinking – as how could it not ?’
Taking a change of career after several years in the NHS , Steve moved into the advice sector preferring the engagement and interaction this brought , alongside the ability to meet people ’ s requirements and support them at a time when they needed it most . As an adviser , Steve is driven to do the right thing , and his conviction and belief has led to a significant track record , which amongst the many other types of business he places for his clients , sees him averaging between 90 and 115 client cases , where protection plans feature in 70 – 80 ; a significantly strong percentage . It strikes you early that Steve sets out his stall early to succeed , having a strong administrative team in place to support him in what he does best – advising his clients .
He takes with him a number of mantras and tried and tested processes , one being that in order to engender trust in an advisory position there are a number of steps in the journey that clients need to take with you . ‘ They need to know you , trust you , like you , do business with you , and then recommend you .’ This is all part of the structured presentation he has designed and perfected over a number of years . In that engagement there is so much more that is taking place , but Steve really believes this is one of the approaches that has played a role in the strength of his service . He is also personally driven to do the right thing , certainly in his advice provision and we are sure in other elements of his life .
Asking ‘ What has been the secret of your success ?’ he is clear . ‘ If you set out to do the right thing and offer the advice the client wants , you also have to offer the advice the client needs .
‘ I didn ’ t specifically set out to achieve the number of mortgage or protection cases I ’ m now recording monthly , that is something that has come as a result from my original commitment – because by doing the right thing , that success comes as the additional benefit .
‘ The paradox being , you actually earn more money when you stop doing the job for the money .’
He has long been an exponent of the topic of protection and firmly believes that it is every adviser ’ s responsibility to provide protection advice to their clients , whether they take it or not . For Steve , this as the key element of his interactions with all those he engages . Not being a shrinking violet , he says ‘ not to offer protection advice is a dereliction of an adviser ’ s duty and I challenge those that don ’ t take this approach to simply ask themselves how they would feel if something happened to one of their clients , where they were in that unique position to have been able to help , had they just engaged in the protection conversation and not shied from it , for whatever reason .
‘ By all means protect the house , car , belongings and pets – but put the key thing , their lives , first .’
Steve has never seen the difficulty in raising the topic of protection with his clients . His confidence envelopes you from the outset and that comes from his nature and his wish to support
From a business focus , advisers who don ’ t underpin and protect their own work and the future security of their clients are not even doing the best they can for their own business – let alone their clients ! and provide a system of support .
When asked what he would say to those who shy from protection as part of the advice process due to it having negative connotations or being a difficult topic to raise , he pulls no punches , coming straight forward into ‘ If that is how they feel about protecting their client , then I am afraid I would say they need to grow a pair . The fact that all the other advice is offered on the basis that all stays well is potentially creating a house of cards on very unstable foundations . No one knows when that might all come tumbling down and there is then no remaining Plan B .
‘ We all know that you can ’ t protect the individual against serious illness or death just by arranging a protection policy , but you can ensure that should that be the outcome , you have done your very best to reduce the worry of paying the bills and ensuring the dependents and the family of that person will be financially secure should the worst happen .
‘ From a business focus , advisers who don ’ t underpin and protect their own work and the future security of their clients are not even doing the best they can for their own business – let alone their clients !’
Steve has personal experience of calling on the cover offered by his own protection policies when he was diagnosed with mouth and throat cancer . This saw him suffering well over a year of gruelling and aggressive treatments , including chemoand radio therapy . In addition to that , he also succumbed to pneumonia , had to deal with a stomach feeding tube and the rigours of a kevlar radio therapy mask , plus other associated conditions on his road to remission which naturally took him out of the business for a long time . Even then , he was thinking about his approach , but this time it was how he was going to deal with his own life-threatening situation .