Business Post
Mark O’Sullivan
6th August 2022
Do the right thing for your clients and you will gain respect, trust and, ultimately, loyalty, says O’Sullivan, managing director at Provest Private Clients
Mark O'Sullivan is the managing director at Provest Private Clients Limited, a fast-growing financial services firm in Cork which he founded in 2017. In 1989, he set up Becketts with three others which was sold to Hewitt Associates in 2003 and acquired by Aon in 2010. He subsequently worked for Aon for seven years.
I came to my current role by accident rather than by design. After I left school in 1977, I started off as an insurance clerk. After two years, an opportunity presented itself to transfer to the pension and life area of that business and at just under 20 years of age, I was on the road dealing with clients under the supervision of the directors.
That company would subsequently become part of Aon. After ten years I left and joined PIC, now Mercer, and in 1989 set up a business with three other like-minded people called Becketts, which we ran successfully until we sold it to Hewitt Associates in 2003.
They let us run and grow the enlarged business and, in 2010, Aon acquired Hewitt. I stayed for another seven years with Aon and left to form Provest Private Clients to provide a more client-focused service offering.
My goals and aspirations evolved primarily out of the necessity to survive and provide for my clients and provide a good standard of living for my family. By doing the right things for your clients, respect is earned, honesty is appreciated, trust is gained and in turn loyalty is returned.
This is the same in business and in one’s personal life: you must have integrity. Values are sometimes expressed in terms of someone’s net worth, but health and happiness with family are for me far more important. My family is my priority.
As a young person starting out in life, your focus is naturally geared more towards peer success. My family had a business which, like all family businesses, required everyone where possible to help out.
My parents owned and ran the firm and instilled in all of us a strong work ethic, and to respect everyone no matter who they were. They also told us that, in business, you had to know not only the product you were advising on, but also have a knowledge of what your opposition had to offer. Today, that might be called market research.
A colleague told me early in my career to do the various exams, gain knowledge of the industry you are working in, be inquisitive and hungry to learn every day, persevere and endeavour to excel.
Be yourself, be genuine, be honest, be respectful, work hard, gain knowledge, care for your clients like you would one of your family, never take them for granted or make them feel like they are just a number: by actions and deeds you earn trust.
In an ever-changing world, workplace politics is more prevalent that ever before. Insecurity underpins this and creates an unnecessary and unhealthy level of anxiety. Where such workplace challenges arise, talking has always been the best way to resolve matters. However, this doesn’t always work out, so keep your notes on any conversations to hand.
In managing teams, you must convey a very clear message from the outset of what the team is trying to achieve, the timelines involved, and the strengths that each person has to achieve that objective. Honesty is a key component for all the team, as is the knowledge that everyone will be listened to in a flat structure with no hierarchy. There is no room for prima donnas and there is no ‘I’ in the word team.
Sometimes with honesty there can be perceived conflict but, by talking things out, it can invariably can be overcome, people see where others are coming from. Be patient when it comes to overcoming challenges in a team.
Thankfully, over my working life I have had very few conflict situations. Where there is conflict it is important that both sides are honest with each other. If honesty isn’t present, it can be very challenging to resolve the matter at hand.
Getting both sides together affords you the opportunity to see what exactly is at issue, and allows you to frame your follow-up meeting to try to achieve a solution. Preparation for that is key. In a lot of cases, something that is essentially a misunderstanding can be blown up to a far bigger matter than it was originally.
When you speak or communicate with a group or individual you need to outline the background and the vision you are talking about, and where the team and individuals slot into that vision so that the ‘buy-in’ is made easier. Affording those present the opportunity to raise any point within the communication session also gives both sides the opportunity to tease out any queries.
Networking is not an easy thing to do, so don’t think it is. It involves extra hours outside of the normal working day to meet new people. Remember their names, be presentable and courteous throughout. It’s a forum to promote and represent your firm and create new business or contact opportunities.
Arriving on time, smartly dressed has always served me best in the past. If you arrive late you don’t know who you have missed or who has to run away at the end of the evening, thereby depriving you of the opportunity to meet someone new.
Turn up when you say you will. Deliver on anything you promised to do and deliver within the time frame agreed. Be respectful to those that you meet. Be yourself. People will see right through insincerity.