First words: What do you say to a prospective client?

You’ve got an hour. The usual length of that first - often free – meeting, and in it you must convince potential clients that you can be trusted. First impressions count, so where do you start? According to Brett Davidson, consultant at FP Advance, the one thing you must never do is introduce the word ‘trust’ into the conversation. “Never, never tell clients how honest you are, you’ll scare them and sound like a second-hand car dealer,” he says.  A second thing you must avoid, Davidson says, is talking too much. James Harvey, managing director of James Harvey Associates, agrees. “A...