Talking With Dale Gough

Dale Gough, Financial Planning Consultant, met with Kay Crooke to reflect upon his time at Prosser Knowles…

You started working with Prosser Knowles Back in September 2006, what led you to work in the Financial Services Industry and for Prosser Knowles in particular?

When I was growing up I had always enjoyed working with numbers and problem solving. I had a natural ability in maths lessons (much to the frustration of my teachers as I never really applied myself as I was usually too busy looking out of the window).

After scraping through my exams at school, I was keen to get into employment and ended up working at Lloyds TSB (as it was then) back in 2005. I found it really enjoyable applying myself to real life situations and I suppose looking back, that’s when I realised I could help people with their finances rather than just counting money for them over a counter.

After a year or so, I began to consider my options as I felt the banking role and career path was far too sales focused for my liking. Thanks to a chance encounter, whilst also working behind a bar, I ended up speaking with Ken Prosser with regards to potentially coming on board as a trainee adviser. The rest of the story as they say – is history!

You must have seen numerous changes over the years, could you tell us a bit about them?

The financial advisory landscape is a forever changing one. If you are not focusing on new product developments, you are keeping an eye on regulation, legislation and taxation.

That being said, I still think that George Osbourne announcing “pension freedoms” was a big change in the UK’s retirement landscape. This change has seen clients take control over their retirement and obtain access to funds where suitable on a flexible basis.

What is the most rewarding thing about your job?

The clients – I look after a varied group of individuals and businesses, a large majority of whom I have worked with for a number of years. I count myself very lucky to deal with such a great group of wonderful people – They really do make the job worthwhile.

Who has inspired you?

Again I find myself in the very fortunate position of being surrounded by inspirational people. I have to look at the Directors of the Business (both existing and previous) as they have all played their part in my development whilst “leading by example”. They all have different approaches and personality traits, however all work together in supporting the business whilst working hard for their clients.

What advice would you give to anyone starting out in financial services?

1. Be prepared to knuckle down! It sounds obvious, but like any job or profession, you will only really succeed if you are willing to focus on client needs and work very hard at getting this right.
2. Don’t Rush! – Good things come to those who wait.
3. Every day is a school day – no two days are the same. You are forever learning and so I would prepare to challenge yourself to constantly develop.

How do you choose to relax?

Down time with the family is top of the list here as I have a young family. We enjoy our holidays, especially skiing in the early part of the year which I’m advised is “really cool”. That being said – if I do get some time to myself, you’ll find me on a race track in something German!

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