20 pieces of advice for aspiring financial advisors

Twenty years in business finance teaches you a lot, not just about the industry, but about the kind of person it takes to do well in it. As part of our anniversary celebrations, we thought we’d put together some of the advice we’d give to anyone starting out in financial services today. Some of it is practical, some of it is more about mindset, but all of it has been learned the hard way, through two decades of doing this job.

1. Learn to listen before you talk. The best advisors and brokers we know ask more questions than they answer, at least at first.
2. Get comfortable saying “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” No one respects false confidence and clients can spot it a mile off.
3. Build real relationships, not just a contact list. Anyone can collect names. Fewer people take the time to know their clients.
4. Understand that every client’s situation is different. There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution in this industry.
5. Keep learning, always. Regulation, products and markets change constantly. The moment you stop learning is the moment you fall behind.
6. Be patient with slow decisions. Business owners don’t always move at the pace you’d like them to and that’s fine.
7. Don’t chase every deal. Sometimes the right advice is to tell a client that now isn’t the time, or that a different option suits them better.
8. Get your paperwork right, every time. It’s not glamorous, but attention to detail builds trust fast, whereas mistakes destroy it even faster.
9. Understand the difference between selling and advising. Clients can tell which one you’re doing.
10. Invest time in understanding the lenders and products you work with. Depth of knowledge is what separates good advisors from average ones.
11. Don’t be afraid of technology. AI-driven credit scoring, automated processing and faster decisioning are reshaping the industry.
12. However, don’t let technology replace the conversation. The best outcomes still come from understanding a client’s actual circumstances, not just their numbers.
13. Follow up, even when there’s nothing to sell. A quick check-in when you don’t need anything from a client says more than any pitch ever will.
14. Read the wider economic picture. Interest rates, inflation and lending conditions all affect your clients, so you need to understand them too.
15. Stay on top of regulatory change. Rules like the Consumer Duty exist to protect consumers and understanding them properly makes you better at your job, not just compliant.
16. Be honest when something isn’t right for a client, even if it costs you the deal. Reputation is built over years and lost in minutes.
17. Find a mentor and be one eventually. Nobody gets good at this alone and passing on what you’ve learned is part of the job too.
18. Don’t take rejection personally. Deals fall through, clients change their minds and that’s simply part of the business.
19. Celebrate the wins, however small. Helping a business secure the funding it needs to grow is genuinely rewarding work. Don’t let that feeling get lost in the day-to-day.
20. Remember why you’re doing this. Behind every application is a real business, with real people relying on the outcome. Keep that front of mind and the rest tends to follow.

Twenty years in, these are still the principles we come back to. If you’re just starting out in financial services, we hope some of this is useful. Of course, if you ever want to chat about a career in the industry, our door is always open.