Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
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Dear Bev,
We are making a foray into retirement planning. One of our newer advisors is skilled in the industry and wants it to become more of a focus for our firm. He is talking about changing our website, updating our materials and repositioning to reflect this focus. I don’t agree that we should be profiling retirement planning when only one person in the firm is focused on it. I think we should wait until we see if this develops more fully. Who do you think is right, and how do we reach a conclusion when we disagree?
Bradley N.
Dear Bradley,
Wow – you have two very loaded questions here. First off, it would be a bit dangerous for me to claim that one is “right” and the other “wrong.” I think both of your perspectives probably have merit. I often write about our filters on the world – the views we have based on our life experiences, values, etc. Because we all have different filters, it’s hard to say who is more right in this circumstance – especially without knowing more about your firm and what’s in place today.
I am in favor of providing whatever tools and resources (within cost reason, of course) this advisor needs. The fact that he is willing to forge a new market for your practice is likely good for you! In terms of marketing tools, however, I agree with you that it is important to identify what’s necessary, know where and how resources will be used in the process and calculate your return on investment. For example, if the advisor is only focused on this project part-time, or of there isn’t a great deal of opportunity in your area, he might hypothetically close only one retirement client that will yield $40,000 in fees in the first year. That’s certainly not worth $200,000 in marketing materials! Aim for “high quality on the cheap,” which means identifying one or two things that you can do well – perhaps a one pager on your capabilities or a landing page on your website about your retirement focus. Let him take this into the market and see how much opportunity is there. You can build materials as the opportunity increases and he gains traction.
So, I think you are both right – he needs to be armed and supported in these efforts, but you don’t need to change all of your materials and invest a lot of money at this stage.
Dear Bev,
My partner and I left our previous firm to start an independent advisory practice. We had issues with a number of the business approaches of our old firm regarding the treatment of clients and even some ethical concerns about decisions that were made. We have no interest in bashing our old firm, but our former colleagues seem intent on bashing us. Many of our ex-clients have called us to say our prior firm was telling them negative things about our work and our new firm. Part of me thinks we should let our clients know of the firm’s nefarious ways, but part of me thinks that is behind us and we should look forward. Any advice?
Patrick J.
Dear Patrick,
You raise one of the hardest issues in business. What should we do when we believe (or know) that a person or firm is “bad,” yet others (in this case, the clients) can’t see it? Do we protect the innocent by trying to expose the problem, or do we hope that the problem will reveal itself?
In my experience, there is a push/pull that goes on. The harder you try to show that someone is doing “wrong” or not behaving in the most upstanding way, the more you look like the problem! In this situation, your clients don’t want to be in the middle. They don’t want to hear one negative thing from your previous firm and then another from you. There are thousands and thousands of options for them out there, and they could determine they don’t want to work with either firm if the fighting gets too messy.
I believe that taking the higher ground is always safest. Instead of lowering yourself to the bashing game that your previous firm is playing, work diligently to show clients what you do well and how you can help them. Invite them in for a “no-pressure” visit to your office. Take them to lunch and chat about their lives. Send handwritten cards or put them on an email list. Of course, don’t do this all at once! You want to “drip” on them, not drown them. If you push too hard, often it has the opposite effect and the former client feels pushed away from you.
I realize it’s hard in a new firm that needs revenue, but you may need to turn your attention to other avenues to find new clients. While some former clients will likely follow you, others may take their time to make a switch. Remember that while those of us in the industry see a switch as an easy money transfer, it does represent change for clients. For now, find other avenues to show what you do and how well you do it. As you just go about your new business and don’t put as much emphasis on the former firm, those former clients may want to learn more about your new business without feeling pushed to do so.
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995; in 2008 she co-founded Advisors Trusted Advisor to offer dedicated practice management resources to advisors, planners and wealth managers. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Leadership & Social Responsibility. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
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