Get a game plan now!

Two and 1/2 years ago, my husband and I moved to the South Louisiana.  Up to that point, I had never thought about hurricanes and all that implies.  Now, it’s a part of every day life from every June to October.  Right now, as I write, Hurricane Gustav is bearing down on the gulf coast and I am sitting here thinking, do I have an emergency plan in place?  What would happen to all my data if my home office were damaged? 

Now is a good time to think about your disaster plan even if you don’t live in a coastal area.  Tornadoes, flooding, fire…can strike at any time.  Additionally, do you actively work to assist your clients in staying prepared.  My financial advisor (thank you to Bob Reed of Covington LA) sent his clients an email a couple of days ago to remind us of the basics (keep some cash on hand, know where your valuable documents are, etc.) and gave us cell phone numbers for each member of his firm.  I find this to be outstanding customer service!

Take some time to think about your own disaster plan even if you already have one.  Is it up to date, have you tested it recently, how quickly can you be up and running again, where is your worst exposure?  Then, remind your clients of the same. 

Most of us don’t think about this until it’s too late…I used to be one of those.  However, when you live in a coastal area, you are reminded more frequently whether you want to be or not!

If you currently live in one of the coastal areas being threatened by Gustav, take care of yourself and leave if you’re asked to.  Be proactive, go early and be safe.  Everything but you can be replaced!

All my best, Ginny

Time keeps on slippin…

Time.  It’s such an elusive commodity.  We all complain about needing more and I’m sure that’s true for many but I think most of have plenty of it and we just don’t use it well.

As a financial advisor growing a business, time management is one of the most important skills you need.  You either have it or you need to learn it.  It’s that simple because when time is used poorly, it can be the difference between your success and failure.

There are many statistics out there but one that comes to my mind is that according to the Rydex 2008 Benchmarking study, the average advisor spends 26% of their day on client service and client meetings & acquisition while the best practices spend 49%.  That’s a stunning difference.  Additionally, the average advisor spends 18% a day on administration & back office while the best practices spend 5%.

What do you think the best practices are doing differently?  My guess would be they have highly trusted staff or outsource partners that take the back office and administration off of them.  They delegate effectively.  They don’t micro-manage.  They know their job is to service clients and build the business, not to stand over everyone else’s shoulder to see what they’re doing.  They check their emails once or twice a day, they turn off their PDA, they don’t leave the internet up and running on their computers and they have a list of what they want to accomplish that day and they stay on task.

Do me a favor.  Keep track of EVERYTHING you do for one week, in 15 minute increments and then evaluate it honestly.  How did you spend your time?  Are you numbers in line with the average advisor or the best practices?

Email me and let me know the results.  Thanks!

So what is it you do?

How many times have we heard that question?  Better known as your “elevator speech”, it’s the question we get over and over again…at parties, when meeting someone new, on airplanes, etc.  So let me ask you…”what is it you do”?

Do you have a good 1 minute, 2 or 3 line answer other than “I’m a financial advisor”?  A good elevator speech should intrigue the listener and then turn it back on the person who answered the question.  For instance, you might say “I spend my days making dreams come true for my clients” and then say, “tell me something about yourself”.  Try to keep the conversation on them and once you have found out something about them you can connect to what you do, come back to it.  For instance, if they say, “we are hoping to take a trip soon to England”, you might say, “wow, that’s fantastic, alot of my clients travel to europe each year”.

Keep the conversation on the benefits of what you do, not how you do it.  Noboby cares how you prepare a financial plan or how you invest money.  They only care how it effects them, how it helps them reach their goals.

Sit down and take some time to think this through.  You may be missing opportunities here by not giving this crucial answer to an oft-asked question some thought.

Let me know your thought and I’d really enjoy hearing some of your elevator speeches.

Thanks!

Sometimes growth requires a very hard decision…

I am working with a client who is having to make a very hard choice in order to grow her business…she must fire someone who has been with her for a while.  We have tried everything we know…training, re-training, position goal statements, helping her be better organized, be someone who prioritizes well.  However, nothing seemed to work.  On top of that, her attitude is getting really hard to predict.  You never know is going to come in the door.  The other side of the coin…most of the time she’s sweet and trying very hard.

The bottom line is her skill set does not fit the needs of the firm going forward.  If this firm is to grow in the manner we’ve planned for, we must upgrade at this point.  Part of my job is help you identify if there are any holes in your staff because hear me and believe me…unless you plan on outsourcing everything in your firm, you will NEVER reach your goals without top notch staff.  This means the best of the best who will not come cheaply.  You must be prepared to pay them well and put an incentive plan in place.  However, the right staff can take you places you never imagined!

Fortunately, I don’t run into this situation very often (having to replace someone).  What I usually see are advisors with great people on staff who are going to leave if we don’t incentivize them so we put an incentive plan in place.  You will be amazed at the difference this makes…you have now transformed your team from “employees” to “fellow visionaries”. Which would you rather work with?

If you haven’t taken an honest look at your staff recently, it’s time to.  But first, sit down and write out job descriptions for every position in your firm and the skill set needed to excel in that position.  Then with this in hand, take a look at your staff and see if they fit the skill set.  If they do, great, move on.  If they don’t but can be re-trained, etc., get them trained or re-trained.  If they don’t and you just don’t see how you can get them there (mistakes are multiplying, attitude is disintegrating, etc.), then make the hard decision for you and for them.  You are not doing them any favors keeping them a job where they cannot excel and feel great about themselves.

Give me a call if you’d like to dicuss this further.

So, how important is my web site?

This is a question that I get from advisors all the time…”my clients are old, they won’t look at a web site”.  Wanna bet?  Okay, I’ll admit it, my 70 year old mother mostly uses her computer as a big email box.  But she and her friends can email like the wind and I guarantee you this is their main source of communication.  But she can also check a web site with the best of them IF it’s simple in design and has something she needs or values.  I mean, after all, that’s what it’s about right…keep it simple and valuable.  It’s ALL about the client.  Who cares when you graduated from college?  I’m assuming if you’re a CFP, you’ve done the work. 

When was the last time you really reviewed your web site?  If you can’t remember, it’s time!  Take a look at it from a client’s perspective or better yet, have some of your clients view it and be really honest with you.  Would they feel comfortable sending a prospective client to this web site to get good, simple information on why you’re different from the rest and how you can help them with their challenges?

Whether you want to admit it or not, your web site (or shame on you, lack of one) is a big part of your marketing and client service strategy.  You can now easily add portals where client documents can be stored and retreived, you can set up community chats among your clients where they can share information and you can give your ideal clients a place to send prospective clients as part of your education process.  You can post your ideal client profile there (hey, this is who we work best with) and in general save yourself alot of time and energy by letting this tool do some of the work for you.

Don’t get me wrong, a web site is not a substitute for talking to your clients and asking them for referrals. But it is an important piece of the whole puzzle that is your firm and if constructed correctly, can set you apart from the others.

Give me a call if you’d like to discuss this further. Thanks!