Joseph

Dearman

March 5th, 2015

Candace Blasi Gray Reflection

Last Thursday, Candace Blasi Gary, CFP and LSU CFP Board-Registered
Program Advisory Board Member, came and spoke at the Student Financial Planning
Association meeting. I was unable to attend due to work reasons (Dr. Lawrence
approved), but that didnt stop me from talking to other students who attended the
meeting and listened to Candaces experience within the industry, as well as her tips
on how to sustain a positive reputation as a financial planner.


I spoke to fellow CFP Board-Registered Program students, Grant Hodgins
and Christopher Tayeh, about her presentation and what they got out of it. The way
that they explained it to me, was that one of her main points on how to stay
successful in the financial planning industry, is to develop close, lasting
relationships with clients. One of the most unique facts that stuck out to them was
when Candace discussed how she goes about working with clients. Candaces
approach is that she only takes referrals and only works with people who have a
genuine interest in working with her.


Even though I wasnt there, I was easily able to pick up on the topics that we
have discussed thus far in the course that she incorporated into her presentation.
The first two steps of the financial planning process is to define the client
relationship and then to gather client information. Candace already has her foot in
the door with new clients based on the referrals from her other clients, who
obviously put enough trust into her to do a referral in the first place.

I truly wish that I was able to be in attendance last Thursday, as it seemed
that Candace offered unique, relevant and helpful advice for a hopeful future
financial planner like me. Building relationships with trust is an absolute must in the
financial planning industry, and I think we can all take a few notes from Candace
Blasi Garys book.