Podcast #135: Making the most of your first client meeting with Melissa Kidd, Director, Speaker and Soft Skills Specialist

In this week’s episode of IFA Talk, we’re shining a spotlight on one of the most important and often overlooked parts of the advice process: the first client meeting.

Joining Jenny and Sue for the chat is the fantastic Melissa Kidd, Director, Speaker and Soft Skills expert, who’s on a mission to help advisers make the most of that all-important first hour with a potential client.

Earlier this year, Melissa spoke to over 100 financial advisers to find out what’s really going on in those initial meetings. Why do some advisers convert with ease, while others struggle to get the outcomes they’re hoping for? What are the common communication pitfalls? And how can a few small mindset shifts lead to big improvements in results?

Melissa shares the outcomes of her research, as well as practical ideas and insight from the mentoring work she’s been doing to help advisers up their game, including starting a Finesse Your First Meeting Mentoring Programme.

This episode is packed with thoughtful takeaways on how to build trust, communicate value, and boost client engagement right from the start. Tune in now to hear Melissa’s top tips on turning a first meeting into the start of a strong and lasting client relationship.

Melissa has also compiled a list of 15 questions that can be useful to ask during first meetings. Also, check out the Finesse Your First Meeting Mentoring Programme and sign up for the Humanising Money newsletter here.

You can listen to IFA Talk on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon!

Also, be sure to listen to the episode with Schroder Investment Solutions’ Ryan Patterson, mentioned in this podcast, by clicking here!

Melissa Kidd

Melissa is the director of Motem Ltd. She specialises in helping financial advisers to win and keep clients through great communication.  Her background is psychology and she’s endlessly fascinated in language and how it affects behaviour. She’s been trained by the Plain English Campaign, is a master NLP practitioner and a certified coach. 

Her clients include the PFS, CII, CISI, SJP and Saltus among many other boutique financial planning firms.