We asked Tamsin Caine about what she likes most about her role, the most successful change she’s made to her business, and why she’d invite Freddy Mercury to dinner.
What do you like most about your role?
Essentially, I like helping people.
I work predominantly with divorced clients and with them it’s about holding their hands through one of the most traumatic experiences they’ll ever go through. I help them move from a place of helplessness and defeat to seeing them fly.
I liken the process to the metamorphosis when a chrysalis becomes a butterfly – seeing them start to shed their old life and move into a new phase is wonderful.
What’s been the most successful change you’ve made to your business?
Using social media to market ourselves. We use the four main channels – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. We post on Twitter and LinkedIn three or four times a week and on Facebook and Instagram every day. We also run paid ads through Facebook which signpost people to our latest free download.
Instagram in particular works well for us because it has quite a community feel and enables us to have lots of conversations – a lot of our potential clients hide in the shadows, so this long-form style of content marketing makes it easy for them to contact us when they’re ready.
What’s the best piece of tech you’ve introduced to your business?
Drift live chat, which is great for chatting to high-value website visitors in real time.
If you could change one thing about the profession, what would it be?
I’d change the PI insurance retention clause on Defined Benefit transfers. This has caused us problems because we need to be able to advise on DB schemes and it’s hard for us to find someone to refer to – very often we’re dealing with small cases.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a financial adviser?
I don’t know, but I used to be a pub manager, which was a brilliant environment to work in if you want to work with people – you quickly lose any fear of people with big titles when you can see that essentially, we’re all the same (especially after a few drinks).
What one word sums you up and why?
I’m naturally empathetic – you have to be to do what I do – and it’s something I’ve built on. The majority of clients we meet have experienced some kind of abuse, so I’ve studied this area in particular through gaining ‘Surviving economic abuse level 2’ accreditation and through further reading.
Caron Kipping specialises in domestic abuse recovery and has been a major source of inspiration. Divorcing a Narcissist: The Lure, the Loss and the Law, has also been a great read.
Which three people would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Freddy Mercury, who’d be entertaining, Michelle Obama for her insights, and my good friend Vic Johnston, who is the funniest person I know and amazing at bringing people together and keeping the conversation flowing.