Those who succeed are best at human interaction, study says

“Our business is completely dependent on advisers, and we wanted to see if we could find elements that make up success for them beyond financial measures,” says Jeffrey R. Lauterbach, chairman and CEO of Capital Trust Company of Delaware in Wilmington.

“We believe that so much of an adviser’s success is in their people relationships,” he adds.

People oriented

Capital Trust, which offers personal trust services through advisers, generated a list of 1,792 investment advisers, accountants, attorneys and other professionals for the survey. Out of that group, 492 responded.

The study’s main goal is to answer the question, “How do successful advisers behave?” It also asks, “What adviser values and attitudes resonate with clients and prospective clients?” The study also identifies common sets of styles and values among successful advisers.

“[The study] was actually interesting,” says Rick Adkins, president of Arkansas Financial Group in Little Rock.

“It’s kind of [a] schematic of what I saw 20 years ago in the life insurance [industry]. People who have been in the profession for 20 to 30 years and came from a life insurance background will relate to [the study] easily,” Mr. Adkins says.

According to the survey, successful advisers are people oriented with a strong desire to build relationships and to assist others in achieving their potential. Such advisers recognize the technical and analytical demands of their profession and modify their behavior to address those needs.

The study identified six attitude traits possessed by successful advisers.

Sixty-three percent of respondents said their strongest trait was a passion to gain a return on all investments involving time, money and resources.

And 13.9% said their strongest trait was a passion to invest one’s self, time and resources to help others achieve their full potential.

Of those surveyed, 310 respondents, or 66.4%, said the artistic aspects of life were not their primary concern. The study defined that as “the passion to experience impressions of the world and achieve form and harmony in life.”

The study also looked at what it called “natural and adapted behavioral” styles.

Building relationships

Most advisers, 21.2%, identified themselves as cooperative team players, while 15.9% saw themselves as “supporters,” which the study defined as “accommodating and persistent.”

Another 15.3% saw themselves as “promoters.”

According to the study, those results reflect advisers’ need to concentrate on building relationships first and then work on the detailed aspects of the financial services industry.

“It was good if you were adapting your natural style a little because it shows you are flexible, but you can’t go too far from your natural style because it doesn’t work. A very analytical person may not be a good adviser, but they certainly do have a place in a firm,” says Laura Tarbox, a certified financial planner and president of Tarbox Equity in Newport Beach, Calif., which has $115 million under management.

“This is a psychological study,” says Gregory L. Olsen, a CFP and senior managing director at Cowan Financial Group in New York.

“It starts and ends off [by] saying, `True success in the advisory business hinges on whether clients like and trust advisers.’ We knew that, we’ve always known that,” he adds.

According to Mr. Olsen, clients are looking for an adviser who is smart and trustworthy.

“I can’t sit in front of my client and determine if he is a `driver’ or `expresser.’ [But] I would be analyzing every situation to the point of my detriment,” he says.

While Mr. Lauterbach agrees that advisers already are focused on the human aspects of the job, he says the study proves that independent advisers are successful at what they do because they are motivated to assist people in creating practical solutions and maintaining a positive and healthy outlook.

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