Search
As a business coaching firm that works with leading financial advisors to create client acquisition structures that consistently raise $25-100 million in assets each year, we pay a lot of attention to the key elements that contribute to this success.
Indeed, we’ve written a fair bit on this topic:
Here, we chat up the value of a client acquisition checklist
And here, we point out the catalytic boost of referrals
In this post, we discuss how to create your “genius” marketing plan
Now that you have many of the systems and processes in place, there is one missing key ingredient. It is somewhat intangible, yet very real. It is a Growth Mindset.
{Mindset: A set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines one's behavior, outlook, and mental attitude.}
Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford, has written extensively about mindsets. Her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Ballentine, 2007 was published a few years ago. In this, she frames the differences between a growth mindset, and its polar opposite, i.e. a fixed mindset.
Characteristics of a fixed mindset include:
- Being worried about how smart you appear,
- Concerned about making mistakes,
- Fearful about venturing outside your comfort zone,
- React to setbacks defensively,
- Search for excuses, not explanations,
- Feel measured by a “failure”,
- Bear the weight of the expectations of others,
- Regards effort as fruitless,
- Ignore useful criticism,
- Creates an internal dialogue that is focused on judging.
In contrast, a growth mindset exhibits these traits:
- Challenge yourself and grow,
- Take reasonable risks,
- Explore to find your unknown abilities,
- Embrace passion, dedication, growth, learning…not your “brilliance”,
- View challenges as exciting, not threatening,
- Focus on the process, not the outcome,
- Values effort as path to mastery,
- Learn from criticism,
- Create an internal dialogue that does not judge, but is attuned to the implications for learning and constructive, forward action.
By the way, neither a growth nor a fixed mindset is innate – it’s learned over time. So, there’s hope for even the most entrenched fixed mind – self-awareness, experience, learning and coaching can all help transform that mindset into a growth mindset. You have a choice.
[If you want learn more regarding how to change your mindset, go here.]
The best-of-the-best financial advisors at client acquisition are not daunted by goals that might seem ‘impossible.’ They approach their business development endeavors with a growth mindset. They are not fearful about trying approaches or methods that push them into the discomfort zone. They view every situation as a learning situation where they ask, “What can I learn from this experience that will help me move forward next time.”
We trust this helps.
By the way, we have also observed that one of the key aids to creating a Growth Mindset is coaching. To learn more about how you might do this, please download this complimentary ClientWise Learning Tool:
