Entering Awards a good move

When I was originally approached by a colleague at work, Mark Wooster, to enter the Financial Planner of the Year Awards I immediately dismissed it out of hand with a barrage of reasons as to why I didn’t want to get involved: "It’s not my style, I don’t particularly like the limelight, I value my privacy, and anyway who is to say that I am good enough?"

It was sometime in August of 2001 and I thought the matter finished. Not so for Mark.

Much to his credit and to my subsequent appreciation he persevered and by the end of the month had convinced me that not only was it in my best interests, in the interest of our company, New Zealand Financial Planning, but that it was also in the best interests of the industry.

After all, said Mark, if you, and other good planners in the industry are apathetic and don’t swing in behind and support the awards the industry will deserve what it gets.

Stung with that I threw my name in the pot. Then is when the work started. After initially thinking this cannot be too difficult, I should be able to cobble together a presentation over an afternoon, I was quickly forced to reconsider as I sat down to write a case for the award.

What threw me was the written explanation I had to provide (max 600 words) showing why I should be judged the Financial Planner of the Year. What I thought would take but a couple of hours in fact took a week of soul searching, introspection and thought (not to mention the numerous drafts ripped up and redone).

In hindsight what emerged of course was a far better personal appreciation of my role as a financial planner and the value I believe I can provide to my clients. This exercise alone has since helped me immeasurably in my practice.

The selection of a client to write a testimonial and the provision of the plan written for that client was also very instructive. After some thought as to who amongst my clients would best give a fair (and positive) view of my services I eventually approached long-standing clients with whom I have worked for some 10 years. What better way of demonstrating the consistency of my services over time I thought .

Fortunately for me, my clients were happy to participate and graciously consented to the intrusive examination of their personal financial affairs by a panel of strangers.

As the day of the award announcement arrived I found my initial reluctance had given way to interest and a growing excitement mixed with trepidation. The gala evening itself exceeded my expectations.

I can recall only a few times in my life that I experienced the same emotional thrill as I experienced that night on winning the award. The entire evening was made even more special by being able to share it with my wife, and partner for life, Sara, who seemed to enjoy herself more than I did.

But what of the subsequent year? Has the award provided me, NZFP and our financial planning industry with any real tangible benefits?

The answer is a categorical yes. Apart from the very many congratulatory cards, letters and notes that I received, the award provided a mantle of credibility and respectability for both me and for my company, that not only helped to attract and write new business.

It was valuable for the existing clients of the company to know that the organisation that they had entrusted their financial affairs to has quality advisers that have won awards and are publicly recognized.

The award most certainly raised my public profile and is directly attributable to a number of seminars and speaking engagements over the last 12 months. In addition feedback from other professionals, lawyers, accountants, medical practitioners and academics suggests that the financial planning industry deserves credit (and credibility) for subjecting practitioners to peer review.

I can only support the continued existence of these awards and to encourage increased participation from advisers as this will inevitably raise the standards of aspiring entrants. This in turn can only help to raise the profile as well as the credibility of the financial planning industry in the eyes of the public.