” eradicating our ability to
Ourselves?
Louise Agnew
So how do we press the refresh key on thinking for ourselves and find these facts amongst the online haze in
order to live a life we have personally forged and created rather than followed in a popularity contest, in which we
only feel more self-conscious and lame compared with those who have gone before as thought leaders, celebs,
and notables we idolise in our world today?
Simply…the five simple truths to finding your inner expert:
1
2
3
Never follow someone who has become a breakout
success and try to follow in their footsteps. We all
know a few who have struck it lucky, and therefore
relate their own professional and personal success
to your situation, convincing you it’s possible for you
too. Considering their success as specific to them,
question how they got there, what qualifies them to
provide such advice (even though it may be difficult
to detract from the fame and sexy-looking keynote
speaker we might swoon over (no, I have never done
this!!), and assess how it could be more relevant to
your personal needs and financial situation.
Find specific journals and white papers written by
industry professionals and not a collaboration of a
group of housewife journalists writing for a blogfest
on the topic of finance and money with little specific
qualification on the subject matter. Find credible
resources rather than online blogs and success
bloggers who just know how to herd the readers to
their blog by offering quirky titles and self-professing
expertise.
4
5
Look at regulated government sites and not for-profit
information sites like moneysmart.gov.au to provide
the latest updated information relevant to your
circumstances. Watch their client stories, reviews,
and YouTube clips of people in real life sharing and
collaborating on their successes.
REMEMBER: There is still and will always be a REAL place for
professionals with several qualifications, numerous certificates, and
longstanding experience in one particular area. Best to seek out a
financial planner, mortgage broker, or real estate agent who has seen
at least one market cycle in their lifetime and experienced both highs
and lows in their own careers and lives. People want to deal with
“Real” people. Ask the hard questions and do your due diligence well
before taking on the service of a popularised view!
Pay for specialist advice. Everyone
claims to be an expert, but a
specialist has further qualifications,
experience, and expertise beyond
the generalisation of an expert.
For instance, an Adv DFP or CFPqualified financial adviser or strategist
with perhaps an SMSF specialist
designation has undertaken a lot
more formal training than a mortgage
broker with a few years behind them
and a Cert IV. Most specialists want
to stand out and therefore they are
avidly aware that further study and
qualification will provide this point of
difference to their personal brand and
business.
Conflicted remuneration “experts”
always stand out. If their commissions
come from one particular product
and source, then buyer beware!
These experts will often sway their
strategies depending on what’s
HOT in the market and change
with the changing regulations and
commissions that come with it. If
you are being referred internally in a
business, that’s a caution, but if being
directed to a specialist in a company
or external company then you are
more safeguarded in someone having
your best interests at heart, especially
if the different companies are small
businesses owners themselves.
Reputation is key to small-business
owners and your likelihood of being
scammed, ripped off, or “sold to” are
marginally reduced.