“…the Bell tolls for Thee!”.

I’ve just received my copy of the 2007 Moss-Adams Compensation and Staffing Study of Advisory Firms and the very first line of the Executive Summary is as follows:

“The advisory profession has a good but challenging problem on its hands: It is caught between an influx of new clients and a shortage of talented staff.”

How many times have I heard this in the last year?  I cannot pick up a financial advisory-related publication without seeing something to this effect.  But that’s okay because I have a feeling that most advisors need to be told this over and over again before they will get it. 

Hire now, hire well and pay them just a little more than your scariest salary number.  There will be no shortage of business but if you’re not proactive now, you will be left in the dust. 

This is an excellent study with lots of good information regarding salaries, compensation structures and salaries. 

Please let me know if there is a specific question I can answer for you regarding this issue.  I’d like to hear from you if you’re in the process of hiring now as to whether or not you’re having difficulties and what kinds of salaries you are paying to retain this top talent.

Happy hunting…

Employees are taking over…Oh, Happy Day!

Frequently, when I’m working with advisors, as we’re going through their strategic plan or service model, they say to me, “if my employees are doing all of this, what am I going to do?” and I usually laugh and say, “what do you mean what will you be doing?  Isn’t that the point of doing all of this work…so you can do whatever you enjoy most!”.

If you’re lucky enough to have staff that are bright, motivated and “invested” in your vision, delegate to them at every turn. Now, don’t get me wrong…I don’t want you burning them out.  You need to continually assess whether or not they have the necessary tools to do their jobs efficiently, if more staff needs to be added but the point is, let it go. Many advisors seem to get to a point where they don’t think they’ll have an identity if they aren’t somehow involved in the day to day back office.

You’ve simply forgotten why you got into this in the first place so let me remind you.  You became a financial advisor to help others fulfill their dreams and build a quality of life for yourself but you’ve become so ensconced in the back office, you’ve lost sight of this truth.

It’s time to get back to the light of day and spend more time with your existing clients, your family and prospects so you can build the dream you have for your family, not just your client families.

Call me or email me if I can assist you or if you have any thoughts you’d like to share.

Thanks!

Asking for Referrals

There were two excellent articles written by Susan Hirshman for Investment Advisor Magazine in December of last year.  I’ve provided the links below.

Along with others, Susan poses the question of “is it your attitude toward asking for referrals that is keeping you from getting them (even when you ask for them) and she offers some solutions for overcoming your hesitancies.

We all know that most successful advisory practices are built on the referrals of our existing clients and our strategic alliances.  You know you need to do it but clearly this is a difficult issue for many advisors.

If you have a chance to read these two articles (Part 1 and Part2), I’d be very interested in your thoughts.

Thanks!

 http://www.investmentadvisor.com/article.php?article=8357

http://www.investmentadvisor.com/article.php?article=8418

Cost of Not Having a COO (or outsourced administrative parnter)

It’s not hard to recognize the signs…too many hours spent on back office work, client service slipping even just a little, no time to market for new prospects.

Dollars to donuts this is happening because you do have a COO on staff or have not effectively delegated to an outsourced administrative partner.

According to Mission Possible: Finding the Optimal Operations Model, a report published jointly by Pershing & Moss Adams, firms with a COO see their revenue leap 189% compared to those without.

Did that get your attention?  I hope so because if you are spending time in your back office, you are spinning your wheels.

Spend the money and hire a great COO or a great administrative partner.  If you delegate properly to them, they will pay for themselves in new business and increased efficiencies in no time!

Strategic Alliances – are you forming them for the right reasons?

Strategic alliances – we hear this all the time when discussing marketing for financial advisors.  Everyone is telling you to form strategic alliances for referrrals.

I believe looking at strategic alliances this way is a sure fire way to miss the boat.  Why?  Because in my opinion, strategic alliances should be formed to service your clients in the best manner possible.

I encourage you to form them but pick the CPA, the attorney, the banker, the insurance person because they can offer the very best service to your clients and will treat you as the QB of the relationship. 

And here is the kicker…if you do this in this thoughtful manner, guess what?  They will truly understand what you do, how you do it and will send you qualifed referrals.  It may not happen right away but I’ve seen this happen over and over again and I know it works.

Give it a try and let me know your thoughts. Thanks… 

You know you need to purge your client base…or do you?

One thing that ALL advisors have in common as they grow is “how do I serve my larger, more ideal clients effectively while still trying to be loyal to my smaller legacy clients”.

Most of the time, it seems like the only thing to do is to find another trusted advisor who will take the smaller accounts and then have that always tough conversation with your smaller (although these are usually the folks that have been there with you from the beginning) about the fact that you now need to transition them out of your firm for one reason or another.

However, in an article written by Glenn Kautt this month and in Financial Planning magazine, talks about taking a different route that allows you to hold on to these clients.

I would encourge you to read this article (Divide & Conquer) – http://www.financial-planning.com/asset/article/545941/divide-and-conquer.html?pg and let me have your thoughts.

Thanks!

Processes, Processes & More Processes

You just can’t escape it no matter how you try.  You must have processes for your firm.  There is no negotiation on this point.

But where and how do you start?  I have written a white paper that is posted on my website about tackling a Practice Policies Manual.  I have also developed a “Master Task List” as it were that can help you capture various tasks, etc. (there are some categories on the Master Task List that do no apply to writing processes but it is a good “big picture” diagram).  Please send me an email requesting the Master Task List if you’d like to have a copy. 

Okay, so how do you do about it?  First of all, DON’T try to do it all at once. This is where most of my clients get tripped up.  They feel like they have to sit down and complete it in one sitting.  NO ONE would do this.  You’re setting yourself up for failure.

Take a look at the Master Task List.  Pick a category and then write one procedure every morning (should not take more than 15 minutes) until you have that category completed and then go on to the next.

At the end of a couple of months, you should have 50 or so procedures in place.  It may not be the completed version but it’s a great start and once you get going on this, you will find it easier and easier to do.

Make this a priority for you and your staff.  If they know it’s a priority, they’ll get it done!

Good luck and email or call me with any questions.

Service Teams

For those of you that have multiple advisors and associate advisors on your staff, I want you to consider what I call “service teams”.

As you grow and take on more clients, you add more employees which is the natural progression for your business.   However, many times what happens?  The work is passed off to any of a number of associate advisors and this can lead to inefficiencies.

I would suggest that each of your top, revenue producing advisors be assigned an associate planner that works with solely with them.  This will lead to efficiencies on many fronts:

1. They get to know all of your clients.  They don’t have to get “up to speed” each time

2. They get to know your work style. You will develop a rhythm with the associate planner again, cutting down on the reinvention of the wheel

3.  Your team can work a certain niche thereby gaining expertise in this area that can be marketed easily.

4.  Your associate planner now has a clear career path to producing advisor.

Take the time to set up your teams.  It will pay dividends down the road.

Please email me or leave a comment if you are using this model and have any other suggestions as to how to make it even more efficient.

Thanks!