Firm gives a Legg up

With the belief that body language can play a role in the financial adviser-client relationship, Legg Mason Inc. is launching an educational program for planners designed to help them interpret signs such as client dress, gestures and eye contact.

The program aims to teach advisers how to read non-verbal cues from clients, according to Gary Kleinschmidt, director of retirement sales at Baltimore-based Legg Mason. The service, which is part of the company’s Confidence program and is set to begin this month, will reach more than 20,000 advisers, he said.

The program was first designed exclusively for defined contribution plan advisers but has since been marketed to include retail planners, said Mr. Kleinschmidt, who consulted with Bill Acheson, a communications professor at the University of Pittsburgh who is an expert in non-verbal communications in sales, when creating the program.

“If you can read [body language], you have a better chance of empathy with clients,” Mr. Kleinschmidt said.

Knowledge of body language can help advisers read clients, he said. For example, men tend to nod their head as a sign of agreement, while for women, nodding tends to be a sign of giving the other party permission to speak or that they are listening, Mr. Kleinschmidt said.

He also said that if a client tilts his or her head back while sitting, it could show that they aren’t interested.

Another aspect of Legg Mason’s Confidence program, planned for early 2009, will address how clients interpret adviser body language.

Legg Mason, which had $923 billion in assets under management June 30, is also planning to incorporate a program that will help advisers read the body language of the members of a committee when conducting presentations.