The police struggle to keep pace with computer hacking, and criminals are profiting by laundering their ill-gotten gains through several cryptocurrency wallets on the dark web.

Last Saturday, my son, aged 32, proposed to his girlfriend Laura on Glastonbury Tor a hill in the county of Somerset. I was surprised by the responses of some people which included the cynic who asked if they were in their right mind - the answer is yes, because they are happy and want to be together for the rest of their lives!

Most professional advisers network to win business which they say produces a poor return on both time and money. They leave the rest to their marketing department. This is not a strategy.

Nerds like professional advisers overestimate the value of their knowledge. Eighty five percent of clients believe professional advisers have similar competence. They don’t. They choose their advisers by brand, social proofing and recommendations which are sales techniques. In Chapter 11 of Peter Thiel’s book ‘If I build it will they come?’ he says the answer is no! With just a few sales tips and techniques professional advisers could achieve exponential growth through Viral Marteting. Find out how.

A 68 year study shows that it is not career achievements, money fitness, or a good diet that makes us happy, but positive relationships. With this in mind we should work harder at making our relationships both at work and at home more positive.

In most sectors other than the professional services industry business cards are going out of fashion. They give scant information about the services provided by the professional and without this information contact details are meaningless.

At Caroline’s Club we teach our members how to network strategically, using our digital platform to store, access and retrieve carefully curated marketing material designed to sidestep the innate fear of the influence of strangers, the reason why it is so hard to communicate what you do for clients with those who you meet.

These links can then be shared through a QR code with colleagues, contacts and anyone else you may meet. Sign up to our short introductory Workshop on Strategic Business Development to find out more.

There comes a point at which people change their behaviour to avoid paying a rate of tax which is too high. Rachel Reeves has raised taxes above this point and we are seeing an exodus of wealthy people from the UK with the result that the tax collected will go down not up.

Conspicuous Cognition is the new status of the professional elite according to Dan Williams, it is signified by certificates, awards and similar hobbies. Dan says professional advisers need to rethink how they deliver knowledge with respect and sympathy for the person to whom the knowledge is needed to navigate the complex world in which we live. If professional advisers want to improve the profitability of their organisation they need to understand what it like to be a client and adopt some psychological methodologies to improve profits by adopting a ‘Client First’ approach which is set out in the Club’s training program and Executive Briefing.

Expanding for growth by opening regional offices where overheads are lower should not be embarked upon until a thorough investigation has been made into what clients want and what they are prepared to pay for. Are they fully briefed as to the benefit of the service rather than the facts and are they prepared to pay more for a CMP (Client Mapping Practitioners) accredited adviser?

The famous Stella Artois slogan ‘Reassuringly Expensive,’ is worth noting because the service of a professional should not just be about fees. A lesson can be learned from the luxury industry. Making a client feel special is essential. In luxury hotels, clients will pay more to have a butler who will book their restaurants, reserve the best sun loungers and provide them with a cool box stocked with all their favourite snacks and drinks.

Maybe clients will pay extra to have a professional adviser who can be contacted 24/7 and provide recommendations to any other adviser they may need, regardless of location or skill.

If professional advisers shift their focus away from their skill and expertise towards the client and their needs, the demand for their services will undoubtedly increase as will the profits.

Alistair Beddow of Meridian West asked professional advisers whether they knew the client type which produced the most profits. This is not the same as knowing which clients produced the most revenue. If the client wants discounted fees and an urgent turnaround without paying more, or pays the invoices late, these clients may not be the most profitable.

If a professional adviser does not know the work and client type which is the most profitable then they will not be able to be strategic in getting more of the better quality work.

Then it is essential to brain storm what other professionals they work with, a banker, accountant, tax specialist and if you don’t know ask them. Then actively seek out these professionals to network with. This is ‘Client Mapping’.

The innate fear of the influence of strangers is the reason why only three percent of any audience will be interested in the facts about a product being sold. This fear can be sidestepped with repetition, but this is time consuming and still produces a low return. The more effective methods are education, case studies, reciprocation and aggregation. Caroline’s Club has combined all four to devise a methodology which works in getting your message across direct to your target audience.