The ClientWise Blog

If we only had a dollar for every time we’ve heard an advisor say “I’d really prefer not to add new team members because I just don’t like managing people.” Mind you, these are the very same advisors who are phenomenal at managing client relationships – highly adept at deciphering precisely what their clients hope to achieve and creating strategies to help them reach those objectives. So exactly HOW is that any different from managing team member relationships? 

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The best in the business know that a critical part of their role is mentoring, coaching and developing their team. It's extremely important to gain the skills and experiences they will need in order to be even more valuable to the future team. It begins with developing a higher sense of self-awareness in the individual and a keener awareness of others: two of the most important emotional intelligence skills.

 

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You didn’t become the founder of a successful financial advisory practice without having a host of extraordinary talents – from strong rainmaking and relationship management skills to advisory and technical expertise. Early on, out of necessity, you had no choice but to become a jack-of-all-trades. As your practice grows and matures, however, it’s imperative that you learn to move beyond the lone ranger mindset and more tightly define and constrain your role in the firm. 

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Whether you call it outcomes-based financial planning, goals-based wealth management, or some other moniker, there’s no getting around the fact that it’s an essential component of being a true fiduciary. That’s because being a great steward of other people’s money is ultimately about helping each individual achieve the outcomes they dream – whether their goal is a simple comfortable retirement or a second yacht anchored in the Mediterranean.

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In general, entrepreneurs are successful because they can see a future that nobody else sees, and imagine things that others simply can’t bring themselves to envision. How many of us twenty years ago could have imagined carrying around a device with more than 120 million times the power of the guidance computer that successfully landed and returned Apollo 11? Yet today, nearly two billion of us worldwide are doing precisely that with our smartphones.

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At ClientWise, we often stress the critical importance of developing an interdependent team rather
than an autonomous work group. But how do you objectively determine which of those two you currently have, and if the latter, how do you evolve them into a true team?

 

 

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As we approach the 5-year anniversary of the death of Steve Jobs, he continues to remain one of the world’s most respected business visionaries and innovators. A creative genius and passionate non-conformist who never accepted conventional wisdom at face value, but instead rebelled against the inherent laziness of “business as usual.” 

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Over the last few years, there have been many articles published about the increasing economic power of women both here in the U.S. and globally. By 2020 (essentially right around the corner) women will control two-thirds of this country’s $22 trillion in private wealth, along with two-thirds of our $12 trillion in annual spending. However, few wealth managers have made any efforts to meaningfully adapt their service model to the unique needs and preferences of women clients. 

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There’s an old adage that states, “Great leaders don’t tell you what to do; they show you how it’s done.” It’s a point we try to strongly emphasize anytime we work with advisors looking to evolve from Lone Ranger to Leader™.

As team leader, it’s your responsibility to model the behaviors, habits and attitudes that will foster a more cohesive and interdependent team. Often, these are behaviors and habits that may not be a natural part of your team’s DNA. Therefore, they must be cultivated through repetition and practiced by all team members, especially you. The following are four quick rules that can help you become the type of leader who leads by example. 

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You sit at your desk and review a pile of resumes. For the most part, you can quickly make a determination as to whether or not individual candidates have the requisite skills and experience needed to be the right fit. Therefore, from a purely technical ability perspective, personal interviews more often than not merely serve to validate your preconceptions – very infrequently raising a competency red flag. 

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In order to achieve your defined measures of financial reward now and upon exit from your practice, you must design and hire a team that is:

1. Capable of all aspects of practice management, client development and client service delivery without you

2. Sufficient in size to create enterprise value in your practice

3. Interested in assuming the reins of the business after your exit

At its core, enterprise value (the economic value of equity in your firm) is what not only will attract other strong advisors into your firm, but also serve as the key determinant of the economic return you’ll be paid upon your exit from the practice.

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It goes without saying that the support of a highly-skilled team is essential to achieving the future firm you’ve always envisioned. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that most team leaders focus almost exclusively on a prospect’s skill set when making hiring decisions. Unfortunately, that can quickly become a recipe for team discord and a problematic lack of cooperation.

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Many successful financial advisors out there have found ways to cultivate centers of influence and build momentum with their wealth management team. Here at ClientWise, we are often connecting with wealth management advisors who are looking to create stronger relationships with their advocates in the effort to build a partnership that serves them both well. So, how can you better leverage your strengths as a leader to implement advocacy into your client acquisition strategy?

The following 4 tips are not only ways to better partner with potential advocates, but also smart ways to motivate your team members.

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The simple truth is that people will both join your team, as well as quit your team, usually for the exact same four reasons:

Not only are team continuity and employee retention vital to building enduring client relationships, they optimize operational efficiency, improve profitability and provide a sound foundation for your firm’s long-term sustainability. So, what do the best financial advisors do? 
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Perhaps no generation is as misunderstood as millennials – the people who represent the future of our financial services business. We tend to haphazardly paint their ranks with an incredibly broad brush as self-centered narcissists, lacking all manners in social skills as a result of growing up behind a computer screen.

Spend any considerable amount of time with these 20-somethings, however, and you quickly begin to realize how socially-aware, compassionate and relationship-oriented so many of them are. They simply have a different approach to communicating and engaging than previous generations.

But what if that millennial is your own kid, and possibly the future leader of your firm?

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