Gentille Alouette

In professional football, “I’ve got your back” isn’t motivational language. It’s a survival code. When I interviewed Bo Banner, former U.S. college athlete and a defender with the Montreal Alouettes, he didn’t describe trust in visual terms. He described it as a feeling.

“It’s internal,” he told me. “When you’re in a close game under pressure, you’re 100% confident in the guy next to you. You’re not worried. You’re excited. You feel it.”

That’s how Banner runs his advisory practice, with Investia Financial Services in Whistler, B.C. For him, “I’ve got your back” isn’t a slogan carried over from sport. It’s the operating system behind how he serves clients, centres of influence (COI), partners and community. His business is built on trust.

One of Banner’s defining lessons came during a U.S. College football game. His defence dominated the opponent. The offense stalled. All they needed was a field goal to win. They didn’t get it. “We had faith,” he said. “But when pressure hit, we folded.”

In sports, failure is public. Film sessions replay your mistakes in front of teammates. Coaches rewind assignments repeatedly. There’s no hiding from preparation gaps or emotional cracks.

“In football, you find out quickly who’s ready for the moment,” he said.

Pressure comes at you differently in advisory work, but it is just as revealing. “If you walk into a meeting unprepared and try to wing it, clients feel it,” Banner said. “Nobody wants someone improvising when the stakes are high.”

Preparation is respect. So is the ability to compartmentalize. Advisors carry personal pressures like anyone else — family stress, financial obligations, health concerns — but clients still expect clarity and steadiness.

“You have to know when to lock in,” he said. “That’s what professionals do.”

A big part of being respectful is being a good listener. “In football, communication is about execution,” Banner said. “In this business, people are starving to be heard.”

When clients leave his office saying that they feel understood, that’s the equivalent of a defensive stop on third down. It builds confidence — not just in the plan, but in the partnership.

Real relationships

Banner talked about a book called Bluefishing, which emphasizes building a business around people you genuinely enjoy working with. “Energy has to match,” he said. “Just because something looks perfect doesn’t mean it is.”

That applies to clients as much as COIs. He looks beyond assets and revenue potential. He listens for alignment — loyalty, communication patterns, emotional drivers and a shared commitment to following up.

Real relationships take time, whereas transactional ones rarely survive volatility. Reliability matters.

That’s shaped his advisory practice in ways many newer advisors struggle to adopt: If a client consistently ignores recommendations, resists implementation or dismisses the process, Banner sees it as a breakdown in partnership.

“You have to ask hard questions,” he said. “Besides the numbers, what don’t I know about this client?”

He has discovered that implementation isn’t purely logical. It’s emotional. Paying down debt, staying invested during downturns, committing to long-term strategy — they all require behavioural buy-in. “You need to know what makes them tick,” he said. “Returns alone don’t earn respect.”

In sport, trust is built through repetition and accountability. In advisory work, it’s built through emotional understanding and consistency.

“If you mess up, you say, ‘It’s my bad,’” Banner said. “Immediately.” No excuses. No deflection.

Banner rejects the notion that advisors simply work for clients. “It’s a partnership,” he said. “They have work to do too.”

His style is direct. He doesn’t hesitate to discuss market realities or planning gaps. “When you sugarcoat, people think you have an agenda,” he said.

His directness invites clients to do the same. They admit confusion, voice fear and ask tough questions.

That openness creates shared accountability, building trust along the way.