We have dedicated this newsletter to the highlights of the Annual FPA BE conference in Baltimore, Maryland including wisdom from key note speaker, Cal Ripken. As you read through these bullets, contemplate how each one relates to your team and practice. What actions can you take to drive improvement?
It has been too long since we focused our newsletter on the client service associate or sales assistant role. As many of you know, we spend much of our time helping advisors build high-performance teams, and the role of the CSA or SA is critical to the long-term success of advisory practices.
In an industry that is constantly changing, high-performance advisory practices are always looking ahead, planning, and making proactive decisions to guide their future path. Average advisory practices, on the other hand, find themselves simply reacting to the everyday chaos of life and running on that proverbial hamster wheel! In which camp do you reside?
The American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) released a poll that they conducted this month asking the question, “How much do you trust the financial services industry to do what is in the best interest of its clients?” The results are not good for our industry.
Preparation for a client meeting typically involves an associate assembling a file with a number of inclusions and presenting it to the advisor in a reasonable time frame prior to the meeting. Often we find that advisors and associates spend a great deal of time going back and forth trying to decide what is needed for the meetings.
The last couple of months of tax season have probably been the usual time drain for you and your team members. Now, as tax season has become part of history for most, do you have a proactive plan for what to work on next? As you reflect on what has certainly been a challenging time for both advisors and clients, perhaps now is a good time to consider some critical components of your practice. Certainly we encourage you to get back to “FINDING” new business, but we also want to ensure that you are making time for “MINDING” or taking care of your business through proven practice management activities.
It’s spring! What a great time of year to organize our closets, dust off the cobwebs, and prepare the garden for beautiful blooms. Even if the weather isn’t cooperating, many of us are ready to pack the heavy winter clothes and bring out the lighter fare, and others are making plans to tackle their garages full of treasures to have a yard sale. The gardeners are excited to see the longer, warmer days to showcase the fruits of their labor. It’s also an ideal time for businesses to clean up, organize, and open the doors of opportunity. What better time than now to de-clutter your business, organize your clients, and conduct a Client Segmentation Campaign to freshen up your business.
2016 has definitely started out as an interesting year; to some, it may even feel like the roller coaster ride that never ends! With market volatility, the uncertainty of presidential candidates, bizarre weather, and new scandals every day, it seems as if negativity is everywhere. In a world where pessimism may seem to be at every turn, it’s time to seek ways to regain a positive approach to your practice, your clients, your family, and your community. You must maintain perspective, both personally and professionally, and draw inspiration from various sources. It’s time to take charge of that which is in your control – step up to the plate and make a difference!
Happy 2016! I hope you are weathering the start to the year and handling its wild beginning. For this newsletter, we provide a process for setting goals for the upcoming year. There are two major flaws that we see with advisors when putting together their business plans: 1. only setting production goals and 2. not involving their entire team in the goal setting. DON’T make these mistakes this year.
Last month we shared with you five strategies for turning your chaotic, reactive work into more proactive, productive results. You can read those strategies on our website at: Transitioning Your Practice from Reactive to Proactive (Part 2 of 2). As we enter into the final days of the year and holiday season, we offer a practice management checklist to help you and your team send 2015 into history and welcome 2016!