Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.
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Dear Readers,
I am writing this column on my birthday. I believe a personal new year offers us each a chance to reflect in a different way than everyone’s calendar New Year of January 1t. With the years, hopefully comes wisdom and new learnings. In honor of my own new beginnings starting today, this column is dedicated to sharing three ideas to help you hopefully start anew and become an even better financial advisor.
1. When doing something nice for clients – put thought and effort into it and make sure it is really nice. For my birthday my financial advisory firm, who are very good advisors, sent me a birthday card. The card was older stock so it had names of a former owner and my advisors added theirs in pen. Inside was a printout of ideas to help navigate the Registry of Motor Vehicles. I assume this was there because of the new license rules and the long lines people are experiencing. I don’t have to renew my license this year, I have a AAA card and will go to the DMV when I need to get my updated license. This insert was a “throw-away.” I didn’t really enjoy receiving the card or the insert because it didn’t really send a message of caring.
By contrast my bank, Santander Bank NA, sent me a really fun email with a birthday wish and a sincere note of “thanks” for being a valued customer. I forwarded it to a number of people because I was so impressed by the thoughtfulness that went into it. One was an email; the other was an actual card sent in the mail with a handwritten envelope. The former took more time and was definitely more my personal style. But the email felt as if it took more time and more thought – and it really made my day brighter!
As an addendum – after I submitted this article to Bob Huebscher for edits, later in the day on my birthday, I got an email from my own advisor. This one was colorful and upbeat and profiled two people who did amazing things in the year they were the same age I am now. It was quite inspirational and meaningful. My advisor was somehow intuiting what I was going to write – maybe they do know me better than I think!
2. Treat others (your employees, partners and clients) the way they want to be treated and not the way you would want to be treated. This is a twist on the Golden Rule we all know so well. We often project onto others things that matter to us and we don’t think about what might really matter to them. I was at an event recently with a great group of really smart people. One of the prizes for a fun event was a bottle of wine and some nice accompaniments. I participated and won a bottle, but I was using a carry-on so I couldn’t bring it home unless I checked my bag. It made the “win” a bit disappointing.
By contrast, I was at an event a few months ago and the “win” was a similar set of items. The host had prepared shipping boxes with ready-made labels and had support staff ready to pack them up and ship them for us. By the time I got home, the package was here.
Often times our good ideas are only good through our own personal lens; when we put someone else’s lens on them, we find they aren’t so impressive! It can be tricky – people who suffer from diabetes might not like to get sweets for gifts; those who can’t get out don’t enjoy a dinner gift certificate, and so on. Contributing to a charity in one’s name can be a great gift and recognition, but be sure it is something meaningful to the recipient. One of my vendors this year contributed to one of the animal rescues I am very involved with, in my name. It felt very personal and caring to me. The fact that they knew the name of the charity, knew I supported it and took the time to recognize me in that way, told me they were focused on me. This takes work but it yields such great results when you treat others taking their interests to heart.
3. It really is all about relationships. Having been in sales for many decades, I know that the bottom line is truly about knowing people. It’s about understanding them and working to develop a relationship with them where over time they know you genuinely care about them. In my business, it isn’t about how much money we can get people to pay me for the excellent work I do; it’s about doing something of value – offering tangible results and caring about the outcome.
For many advisors this is also the case. But too many people in our industry are all about the financial gain. It’s an important measurement for many, but gaining results through doing something for someone else is really the best gift you can give others and yourself. Ultimately how you treat someone, whether you show them true kindness and compassion and how you made them feel and think about their interactions with you is the one measurement that truly matters. You need to help them meet their goals and solve their problems and live the best life they can live – that’s a given, but how you do this is what separates one provider from another.
The older I get, the more I think about my own personal legacy. I share these ideas through that lens. I hope you find a “trigger” here to take a look at what you are doing and how you are doing it in your own practice.
Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry in 1995. The firm launched Advisors Sales Academy to offer practice management resources to advisors, planners and wealth managers. She is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate students Leadership & Social Responsibility. Beverly is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).
She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.
Read more articles by Beverly Flaxington
Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here. 
