About
Hi, I'm Paul
I started my career terrified of hearing "no". And terrified of speaking in public.
Both are career-limiting fears in financial services, particularly in the sales-led industry I joined in the Eighties.
I had a choice: avoid the situations that triggered them, or find out — with the same rigour I'd apply to any professional question — exactly what the best in the world do differently. To find out how people successfully influence, persuade and get to the word we all want to hear: "YES!". Most importantly, to do so in a way that felt natural and ethical.
Thirty years later, that choice has shaped everything I do. And it is the reason I can offer something that almost no other coach or trainer in this profession can: not theory borrowed from the outside, but hard-won, evidence-based mastery developed from the inside.
30 years of study and research
For thirty years, influence, persuasion and the psychology of communication have been the subject that fascinated me. Not an academic interest. A practical obsession — always focused on the question of what actually works, not what sounds plausible in theory.
The subject I chose to immerse myself in was not soft. The science of influence and persuasion — from Cialdini's foundational research on the principles of reciprocity, commitment and social proof, to the neuroscience of how human beings actually make decisions, to the forensic study of what separated the great orators of history from the merely competent — is among the most rigorously researched fields in applied psychology.
I studied speechwriting and oratory — not to become a speechwriter, but to understand what the most effective communicators in history did structurally that others did not. Churchill's use of rhythm and repetition. The economy of language displayed by Barack Obama and Steve Jobs. The construction of a sentence that is impossible to forget. These are not accidents of personality. They are techniques. Learnable, teachable techniques.
I studied the structure of influence — not manipulation, but the ethical architecture of communication that moves people towards positive decisions. The difference between persuasion that exploits psychological weakness and persuasion that illuminates genuine value. This distinction mattered enormously to me working in a regulated profession where the trust of clients is the foundation of everything.
"My research was always evidence-first. Not 'what sounds right?' but 'what does the evidence show actually works, with real people, in real situations?'"
The result of thirty years, and over 10,000 hours, of research is not a collection of theories. It is a body of practical knowledge about what works — tested in client meetings, in seminar rooms, in one-to-one coaching sessions with advisers who started where I started, and arrived somewhere very different.
The overlooked skill that determines growth
Financial planners are, as a profession, rigorous researchers. Before recommending a platform, an adviser conducts due diligence. Before constructing an investment portfolio, there is analysis — of risk, of return, of correlation, of the evidence base for different approaches. Before selecting a protection product, there is comparison. The professional standards that govern the advice process exist precisely because the quality of recommendation depends on the quality of the research that underlies it.
Yet the moments that most influence client decisions — discovery conversations, plan presentations, public presence — are still left to instinct.
Not because evidence doesn’t exist. But because it’s never been translated for this profession.
That’s what I do.
How my work is different
Most communication training is generic. Most sales training is misaligned with professional advice.
My work is different because it is:
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Evidence‑based — grounded in behavioural science and decision research
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Ethically robust — designed for regulated environments
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Practically tested — refined in real advisory contexts
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Profession‑specific — built for financial planners, not sales teams
The goal isn’t persuasion for its own sake. It’s helping clients make better decisions — and helping advisers grow without compromising integrity.
What I work on
I help financial planning firms transform three moments that determine growth:
1. Discovery conversations
So clients feel understood — and choose you with confidence.
2. Plan presentations
So recommendations land clearly, ethically, and decisively.
3. Public presence
So your expertise is recognised before the first meeting.
This isn’t about scripts or tricks. It’s about clarity, confidence, and ethical influence.
Free Guide — Download Now
Why the best financial planners struggle to communicate their value — and what to do about it.
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The four moments in a client relationship where communication breaks down
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Why technical excellence can actually work against an adviser in a discovery meeting
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The question framework that transforms exploratory conversations
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How to present fees with confidence — a practical structure
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The one thing that separates advisers who grow their practice from those who plateau
Free Resource
A guide worth reading before your next client meeting
Written for financial planners navigating the shift to goals-based advice. No generic communication theory — specific, practical insight drawn from the advice process itself.
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