I would say it comes down to two simple, but very significant and effective points: we always remind the advisors that we're in partnership with throughout the process to focus not on what this is, but to instead focus on what it does.
Point number one...
Through every specific and proven exercise, we help our advisors develop and create their own personal and professional branding strategies (their proprietary process). This is not something we build for or sell to our advisors, but something that comes from within themselves and their teams. The significance of the personal and professional contrast, and the emotional and philosophical connection this forges with clients, has a measurable impact on the practice. This lends itself to advisors articulating their unique value so that clients and prospects fully and completely understand and appreciate everything the advisor can provide over the life of a relationship without having to remember the “things” or the “pieces”. This is the idea of “future-pacing” and additionally taking the abstract nature of financial services and making it tangible. The idea here… once clients can internalize and understand what their advisor does, they can and will share it with others. The outcome is that clients now have a compelling way to share the experience they have with their advisor with friends and family members. And instead of clients sending over referrals, they now make personal introductions - a huge difference! We know that these proven processes apply to both new client acquisition and to reframing of current client relationships, so think retention.
Point number two...
We fully consult with our advisors through an ongoing series of programs and processes designed to match the continuing evolution of a practice, and over months and years increase enterprise value. It would be accurate to say that we specialize in business refinement and that it's really not the same as coaching or practice management in the traditional sense. Business refinement requires that an advisor has a business to refine, and so in most cases the advisors we partner with already have achieved a level of success and are doing so many things well. Our focus is on “opportunity gaps”. Where do issues and challenges live in a practice year after year, and where do those issues and challenges illuminate opportunities for progress? Client Classification, Rightsizing a Practice, Time Allocation, Creating Exceptional Teams, Duplicating Best Clients, and Creating a Service Matrix are but a few of the processes we implement with our advisors, and often times it is the minor adjustments that lead to major improvements.
To learn more about how you can take the trial and error out of growing your financial practice, be sure to visit our Coaching & Consulting page.
