What are Your Commitments?

If you are the “seller?”

Regardless of the product or service, in the back of the mind of many consumers are questions about the seller’s trustworthiness. Once trust is established, the fear that encourages the “I want to think about it” response is substantially reduced. There is little substitute for having your commitments listed and professionally communicated. The following are some excellent samples of categories and descriptions of commitments (from the financial services sector) that you may consider adopting, or at least using as a reference to build your own list:

Fact Finding and Suitability: We will be thorough in establishing the facts of your case, and only when we fully appreciate your financial objectives and tolerance to the various types of risk will we suggest investments or a strategy that is suitable for you.

Due Diligence: We will perform thorough due diligence on any fund manager, company, person or investment strategy before recommending it to you. This will include past risk and return, analysis of the strategy, monitoring of fees, assessing the financial strength of the investment manager and any other significant risks unique to that investment. We will recommend only the most reputable of fund managers and service providers.

Specialists: We are considered experts in our chosen field. Our clients want and deserve experts, not general practitioners.

Confidentiality: Your business is your business, and we intend to keep it that way.

Cost Effectiveness: Our clients are in business to make money, and our job is to support that goal by staying focused on their budgeted projections.

Proactive: We believe that the proactive party has the advantage over the reactive party. Whatever the nature of the challenge, we will have a proactive plan.

Risk Tolerance: We will alert you of the risks involved in any strategy, in writing, before recommending that investment. We will offer a comprehensive financial planning service that takes into account personal investments, insurance, mortgages and debt management, estate planning and taxation.

Continuing Education: We will continue our professional development on an ongoing basis to keep our qualifications up to date…because laws, people and markets change.

Communication: We will communicate our investment strategy and the underlying principles of investment to you as clearly as possible. This will occur in numerous ways, including thorough discussion of investment strategies, at reviews, and through specialty seminars which we will host routinely.

Reciprocity: At all times we will treat you in the manner that we would like to be treated. We will be as careful in managing your money as we would be with our own money, if we were in your situation.

Professionalism: We are committed to a long term professional relationship based on a high degree of service, communication, reliability and integrity.

If you are the “buyer?”

“Buyer beware” has never been truer than in today’s digitally complex decision making environment. As a part of their selling model, exceptional professionals will demonstrate in written form their solemn commitments to you as a buyer. If not, then run the other way. And, the larger the cost of the purchase, the more vital this subject becomes.