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,
Every year we talk about formalizing our client referral process, increasing our market presence and setting other growth-related goals. But we start January 1 without real plans in place. What can we do this December to ensure we are successful with our resolutions?
Leslie P.
Dear Leslie,
Your question reminds me of the definition of insanity; doing the same thing but expecting a different result. You are right to commit to breaking this trend. December is a great time to plan for the new year. While it can be a busy month, clients might be less available because of the holidays so you may not have as many external meetings. You should schedule a time on the company calendar when everyone who you want to be involved in this planning is available. I suggest allocating 2-2.5 hours for this.
Before you meet, assign “homework.” Ask everyone on the team to develop a plan that captures where they are now and where they want to be next year. Ask them to uncover their obstacles to success and note the things they will do to overcome these obstacles.
During the meeting, set an overall desired outcome for the advisory firm and for each individual present. Share the thinking behind why these goals are necessary and make sure everyone agrees on the goals that are established.
Develop specifics plans for each avenue you are approaching: New business/prospects, client referrals, center-of-Influence referrals, direct marketing, etc. Keep these plans as distinct as you can so that you can see and measure success.
Lastly, be sure to put everything you agree on into writing and circulate this written document to the firm. You will want to track how you are doing each quarter of 2015. Record the who, what, when, budget and timelines needed.
Dear Bev,
Why is it so hard to get my newer advisors to sell? They don’t want to push our firm or talk to people. One advisor tells me he feels like an insurance salesperson. I started in insurance, so I don’t think it’s a bad thing! What can I do to show them that selling is a basic requirement of the job?
Steve S.
Dear Steve,
This is a chronic problem in our industry. Advisors can’t grow their firms without having some sort of sales acumen and focus, yet most advisors enter the field because they love numbers and/or “helping” people. Sales never factored into their thinking
Culturally we tend to paint sales with a negative brush, seeing it as a strong career option for the pushy and talkative. But, as a professional salesperson and sales coach, I know that the reality is exactly the opposite. Great salespeople listen. They solve problems for people. They know that not everyone is a good prospect. They focus on long-term relationships.
I suggest you meet with your advisors to create a plan for growth next year. See what ideas they have for growing the firm that don’t include selling. Investors get bombarded with choices. Many larger firms use direct mailings, advertising and other outreach activities. This leaves the smaller advisor with the choice to spend millions of dollars to keep up or to become really good at the selling process.
“Selling” can include referrals from clients and Centers of Influence and reminding a client why they made a good choice doing business with you.
Perhaps if you could work with the team to develop a plan and talk about what sales is and what it is not, you might see a shift in their thinking. If they don’t embrace it, it will be very hard for them to be successful.
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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