With ghosting on the rise in dating, friendships and hiring, it's no surprise advisors are also affected.mathisworks/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Everyone gets ghosted, eventually. Whether in dating, friendship, hiring or financial advice, the abrupt rupture in communication, with no explanation offered, is now common in any relationship.
An online survey in 2023 from Vancouver-based Research Co. found more than half of Canadians had been ghosted, be it by a friend (32 per cent), a date (23 per cent), a relative (17 per cent), during the hiring process (15 per cent) or by a prospective client (8 per cent).
It’s become such an issue among employers that Ontario introduced legislation requiring companies to inform job applicants within 45 days of their last interview about whether a hiring decision was made.
It’s no surprise, then, that advisors are also being ghosted. Several factors could be contributing.
The most obvious is the shifting societal norms that come with increased digital interaction and forms of etiquette that move from online to the real world.
The Research Co. study found ghosting to be far more prevalent among the so-called digital natives, or those aged 18 to 34. As ghosting becomes normalized, there’s bound to be more ghosting.
Digital interaction with clients has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, and these screen-heavy relationships may establish looser bonds – and a more casual sense of accountability – than those earned through in-person meetings.
Clients also have more information and more options now when it comes to investing and may feel less dependent on their advisor.
As Helen Burnett-Nichols reported this week, advisors are also doing more marketing online, which is sure to conjure promising prospects who vanish into the digital ether.
But when it comes to money, there’s often more at play. Money elicits all kinds of complicated feelings, and sometimes clients choose to avoid those feelings, as Barbara Balfour reported this week.
Clients may feel embarrassed by overspending, debt, divorce or failed investments, or they may simply feel overwhelmed by life and reluctant to add a conversation about registered accounts to their mental load.
There are many reasons for a client’s silence. As advisors told Ms. Balfour, there’s no sense in feeling haunted by unanswered e-mails and phone calls. Being patient and courteous may lead to the client returning – sometimes with no explanation.
Have you been ghosted by a client? What do you think is contributing to the behaviour? And, dare I ask: Have you ever ghosted a client or prospect? Under what circumstances (if any) would that be okay? Let us know.
- Mark Burgess, Globe Advisor assistant editor
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