New Year…New Resolutions!

So here we are…2010!  As we all know, new years are a time to set resolutions.  Seems most folks set personal goals and those are great.  I have several myself.  But what resolutions have you set for your practice?

I would suggest they include:

1.  Get a strategic plan with quantifiable action steps for you and your team and then hire someone to keep you accountable.  We think nothing of hiring a personal trainer to hold us accountable to our diet and exercise goals but rarely think of asking for help with our firm goals.  And yet, the success or lack thereof of our firms is what drives much of the ability to reach our other goals!  Doesn’t make sense not to have someone help you here.

2.  Consider doing a SWOT analysis – Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.  This exercise can  help you formulate your action steps for the year.

3.  Build a marketing plan – what actions will you do when, by month, by quarter – don’t just say I will  meet with my COI’s 4 times this year…when, what month, what week will you schedule them.  If you have an administrator, have this person schedule them automatically.  Put your marketing plan on auto pilot…

4.  Budgeting – what an ugly word.  Just the thought of it can cause dread.  However, we all know how important budgeting is.  You ask it of your clients and you should expect nothing less of yourself. 

5.  Action Plan – for each action step you identify, you must think about what will be involved in accomplishing this action step and then set a budget (if applicable) and a DEADLINE.  Goals without deadlines are just wishes…

I will be expanding more on each of these topics in future posts.  In the meantime, if you have any questions or I can assist you in any way, please email me or give me a call.

Happy New Year and get to it!  Ginny

Goal Setting…It’s What It’s ALL About…

As many of you know and as I mentioned in some posts a few weeks ago, it is once again time for yearly strategic planning.  Where and on what will you focus your energy for the next 12 months?

The first part of this process is goal setting…personal and professional.  Personal goals can include goals for your family, your health, your personal finances…anything that goes toward the quality of life you are trying to build on the personal side.

Your business goals include anything involved with your business…revenues, new clients, number of meetings per week, technology & service model improvements, etc.

In their book, The One Thing…You Need To Do by “D” Shannon and David Drucker (click here for the amazon.com link – http://www.amazon.com/One-Thing-You-Need-Do/dp/0976497409/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255388671&sr=1-2) Paul & Leslie Strebel (certified as “E-Myth Consultants”) discuss the 10 most important principles in goal setting.  Here they are:

1.  Your most important goals MUST be yours;

2.  Your goals must be meaningful;

3.  Your goals must be specific and measurable;

4.  Your goals must be flexible;

5.  Your goals must be challenging & exciting;

6.  Your goals must be in alignment with your values

7.  Your goals must be well-balanced;

8.  Your goals must be realistic;

9.  Your goals must include contribution;

10.  Your goals need to be supported.

I think these are excellent guidelines articulated in a well-thought out, meaningful manner.

Not having goals (which usually involve change or evolution) is simply doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Know what word is that the definition for? Insanity.  Think about it!

As a reminder, I have several worksheets on my website (www.backofficeadvisor.com) for getting you started in strategic planning.  These are available for free download.

Good luck and take care, Ginny

What Do Your Clients Think About You and Your Firm…Why Don’t You Just Ask Them?

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a webinar with Marie Swift and three other outstanding coaches in our industry.  MANY good ideas were discussed and one among them, I believe, is particularly timely right now.

When was the last time you asked your clients what they really think about you and your firm?  What do they value and what do they really not value that might be taking up an inordinate amount of your time?

Right now, in this roller coaster ride of a market, it is extremely important to conserve resources.  Of course, money is always a high consideration but your time is equally important.  It’s a finite resource that must be used wisely.  So, why does it make sense to be doing something that might even be valued by your clients?  It doesn’t so now is a good time to find out exactly where you should be focusing your time.

An additional reason to conduct a survey now is it shows a commitment to your clients to hear what they have to say about you, your staff and your firm?  Do they feel they are receiving what they were promised?  Are they harboring some underlying feeling of anger or resentment over something small that you didn’t even know about?

So, how do you go about this?  Simple…http://surveymonkey.com.  For $29.90 per month (no commitment, stop and start anytime), you can put together a survey, upload client emails in a .csv format and track the results online. You even create a pdf of the survey if you have folks you know will not fill it out online.  Additionally, I have a sample survey on my website (www.backofficeadvisor.com) you can download for free to get you started.

Now, get out there and ask!

Do You Know What Your Mission Is?

Today I want to talk about your mission statement.  What is it?  Why do you need one?  How do you go about getting one in place?

Your mission statement communicates the soul of your firm to many different audiences.  To your prospective clients, it drives home the fact that you are serious about adding value and positive outcomes to their lives.   To your staff, it reminds them everyday why they are doing what they do and how important their contribution is.  Most importantly, to you, it should serve as a guideline.  When new opportunities come your way, you should remind yourself of your missions statement and ask yourself if this opportunity is in line with where you want your firm to go.

How do you arrive at your mission statement?  Your  mission statement is something that comes from your heart and your head.  It’s a combination of intellectual and emotion.  It is the phrase that articulates why you got into to this business, why you want to be a fiduciary, why that is so important, why you want to be the best at what you do and what is it that you’re going to be the best at?

If you already have a mission statement, congratulations.  You are in the 1% of financial planning profession that has done so.  If not, start to think about it now.  Jott down notes, ask your staff, ask your family.  Then, take some quiet, reflective time and write it out.  Once you have it where you want it to be, frame it and put it in various locations throughout your office as a constant reminder to you and everyone why and how you do what you do so well.

If you’d like some examples, give me a call or send me an email (ginny@backofficeadvisor.com) – take care, Ginny

It’s usually about filling in the gaps…

When I’m asked what kind of work I do with advisors, I say “it’s usually about filling in the gaps”.  Here is what I mean by that.

Nine times out of 10, when an advisor calls me, they  have already built a pretty good firm.  They’re making money (usually not enough but they’re hanging in there) and they usually know exactly where they want to go but they’re not sure how to get there.  Sound familiar?

So, that’s when I come in.  I use a process that examines every aspect of your practice and I benchmark it against where you want to be or what is generally accepted practice management within the industry.  Then, together, we come up with a plan for “filling in the gaps”.  I am a little different from other coaches in that I am also a hands on implementor.  What does that mean?  I’ve done everything from interviewing potential employees, writing their position agreements and confidentiality agreements, writing drafts of newsletters, providing document templates, reviewing compliance manuals…well, I think you get the picture.  See, I believe it’s not enough just to  hand you a plan…you guys are busy and you need someone to actually help you implement it. 

In my opinion, filling in the gaps is what a good business coach does.  They are also the person always looking at the big picture so you can focus on the day-to-day activities of the firm because let’s face it, as a small business owner, this is where most of your energy is spent.  But there is a difference in spending your energy on planned activities that take you toward your goals and just putting out fires.

Bob Veres recently published a coaching report which is free to download on his website at www.bobveres.com.  In it, Bob says “As you can see, the planning profession is fortunate to have a rich and diverse group of people whose business mission is to help you, the planning practitioner, move forward, get over the success hump, and/or achieve your full business potential.”  That pretty much says it all…the folks in this report have a real drive to see you succeed.  That’s where we receive our satisfaction much in the same way you get satisfaction when a client reaches their financial goals.

I would highly recommend you look at hiring a coach to help you get to the next level or wherever you want to go.  After all, why not hire someone who has done this before and can bring ideas and enthusiasm to the table.

Please give me a call if you’d like to talk about how I might be able to assist you (225-751-8009).  Take care, Ginny

What Fall makes me think about…

Ah, September is here…the trees will begin to turn, the air will get crisp and the strategic plans will need to be written and/or updated.

Okay, I know the last one is not part of the traditional fall activities but it should be.  If you’ve read any of my posts before, you know how I feel about strategic planning.

It is the heartbeat of your company.  It is the guide you use to keep you on direction, moving forward, on task, on priority and using your time wisely.  If you have a strategic plan, congratulations but remember, it must be updated for 2010.  If you do not have one, what are you waiting for?  I have templates on my website at www.backofficeadvisor.com that can assist you in getting one in place.  Better yet, give me a call and we can talk about how you get started and how I might assist you.

Fall means alot of things and where your business is concerned, it should mean time to plan for the next year.

Give me a call, Ginny

Misplaced loyalty?

Under- or non-performing employees…I see it in nearly every engagement I have.  But as I’ve said before, financial advisors are sweethearts.  You are among the most loyal folks I have ever met which is why you are so good at what you do best which is care for your clientele.

However, sometimes this loyalty can be misplaced and lead to problems within your firm…some you might not even realize.

When you have under- or non-performing employees, you are requiring your above average employees to carry a greater burden. They’re not fools…they know why this is occurring.  It’s because you don’t have the guts to get rid of this person and you’re saying “hey, I care more about this one employee than I do about the good of my team”.  Talk about resentment!

Additionally, when you finally do pull the trigger on this person, you will more than likely see relief on their face.  Why, because you’ve done something for them they didn’t have the guts to do to themselves.  Usually the employee who is terminated reveals they were not happy and how could they be?  They know they’re not up to par…how stressful that must be!

Now is the time…survey your staff.  Do you  have all A players?  If not, do you have B’s that can become A’s?  Or do you have some C’s in there that you know are never going to be up to par and it’s time to send them on to the next chapter in their work life?  If so, do it now!  Don’t wait another day…you’ll be glad you did and they may just thank you as well.  I know your staff will.

Take action and take care, Ginny

Office Clutter…time to take it seriously

Okay, I will admit we all have different work styles.  I myself, prefer order.  A place for everything and everything in it’s place.  I like lists…lists of things to do, lists of things I want do…lists.  A way to keep order and compensate for my horrible short term memory.

Still, I occasionally go into client’s offices and what I see is nothing short of a natural disaster.  It looks like a funnel cloud ransacked the place.  Piles of papers, files, post it notes, magazines, books…you get the picture.  And enviably, they tell me, “but I work best in chaos” and to that, I say…what a crock!

Noboby works well in that kind of situation and let me tell you what I believe the biggest reason for this is (in my opinion)…it’s overwhelming, it’s depressing, it’s a big reason that so many people become “frozen” by their daily work and can’t make any progress.

Additionally, when you keep files and loads of paper in your office, you reduce the efficiencies in your office by slowing down retrieval and access by your staff or yourself to documents you need.  They are not where they should be and subsequently, this slows down the flow of work, sometimes to a crawl as you and/or your staff take precious time to search for what they need, many times that being one piece of paper.

Here is a link to a book on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Office-Clutter-Cure-Don-Aslett/dp/1593373325/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248962895&sr=8-1# that for $9.95 will walk you through decluttering your office space (and along the way address your excuses for not doing so and the rewards of completing this task).

It might not sound important but it is!  It can, in extreme cases, have a large impact on how much you and your staff get accomplished and feel about your workspace and in very extreme cases, cause a compliance nightmare or something to be dropped or poorly handled for a client.

Now get moving!

Call me if I can assist…Ginny

Town Hall Meetings…yes, they really work

In many of my posts this year, I have talked about how important it is to be a resource for your clients, your strategic alliances and your community. 

I recently spent some time on the phone with another coach who is writing a follow up article for one of the advisor magazine’s regarding what is working in this market as far as growing your practice.

We both agreed that Town Hall Meetings are a great way to connect with clients and prospective clients right now. Why?  Because the game has changed and getting new clients is going to require a higher level of trust and comfort than at any time in our history (and this isn’t going to go away for some time if ever).

So what exactly is a Town Hall Meeting?  In my definition, it involves about 7 or 8 couples (about 15 to 20 folks at the most) in a private setting asking you questions, getting answers from each other, talking about what is worrying them with you as the central glue that provides information, keeps the discussion going and allows everyone to voice their opinions, thoughts, fears, etc.

I know there are alot of marketing folks out there that advocate getting speakers or you doing a presenation but honestly, I think that has been “so done” and people are not going to spend their already short amount of time listening to one more presentation.  They want to be able to talk about what’s important to them and have you there as a resource, to answer questions when you can and if you can’t, find out the answer and get back to them.

If you’re interested in this kind of get together, send me an email.   I have a template invitation and can help you with some tips on pulling this together.

Let me know how it goes!

Get over it…

I am frequently amazed when I work with advisors and we begin a discussion of their personal goals, most of the time which include working less hours and then they say to me “Oh, I can’t cut back that much, I’ll be working less than my staff”.  Seriously, this is what they say and I say “Yes?”.

For some reason, you folks have it in your brain you have to be the first one there and last one to leave.  To that, I ask, why are you hiring staff then? 

You are the team’s leader and you have a responsibility to be clear-headed, thoughtful in your actions and forward thinking.  How can you do this if you are always exhausted by working, probably getting very little (or worse, no) exercise AND on top of all of this, during these turbulent markets, worrying about your clients all the time.

TAKE SOME TIME FOR YOURSELF EVERY WEEK!  Take an afternoon off, take time in the middle of day to exercise, read, spend time with your family, whatever but do it away from the office and get over the fact that your staff are there working.  That’s what you are paying them for!

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.