Our designated successor is not at all like his father, who founded our firm. He is arrogant, does not listen, seems disinterested in the investment side of our business and has already alienated one client by asking inappropriate questions.
To celebrate another great year of doing the work I do with my firm’s valued clients, this week’s column is devoted to resolutions I hope you are able to make and keep in your businesses.
My boss overcommits. No matter how many times we get our work finalized, she adds something that creates an uproar and we have to redo the whole plan.
Our office manager is sleeping with one of our principals.
I’m not interested in letting most of my staff go. But I am also not up for adding to staff and therefore expenses.
I have a team of five who do analysis, trading and help craft investment strategy for the firm. But a couple of our advisors insist on implementing their own investment philosophies.
During the interview process, a job candidate I liked very much talked about another offer she was considering and mentioned one of the benefits was “unlimited paid time off.”
Clients are nervous. Things have been good for so long and, as one client told me, when she asked us to move most of her assets into safe instruments, “What goes up will eventually come down and possibly come down really hard.” We don’t agree.
How do I get my financial advisors to understand they don’t know everything about their clients?
As a senior woman in the investment industry, I am consistently appalled at how my male colleagues think nothing of talking about a woman’s physique, “beauty” or personality in my presence.
What’s the value of niche marketing? Does it limit you and make you more narrowly focused than you should be?
Clients have started commenting on the connection between my new, expensive car (which I am excited about) and their fees.
Should my support staff and younger advisors meet with clients?
We’re being asked to cut expenses across the board. In our world, we have to take clients out to dinner and spend money to make money.
Younger advisors shouldn’t need so much coaching and mentoring. They should have to figure it out, just like I did.
Our advisory firm is very professional with clients. But on days we do not have clients visiting we have a casual dress policy. Our guidelines are clear and most people adhere by wearing decent clothing. But one person doesn’t…
Would it be wrong to feature an article on one of our long-time (32 year) team members who worked in our office and passed away very suddenly a couple of weeks ago?
How do you push someone who is doing well – from a financial and “numbers” perspective – to do things differently?
I can’t get out of here before 7 p.m. and working weekends to catch up. I’m not sure what I’ve done wrong.
We are holding a client event on climate change and what each person can do to help. The problem is a couple of my team members have chosen to make this about politics.
Isn’t the purpose of marketing to increase awareness and bring in prospects? I would like to see some new fee revenue associated with what our marketing firm is doing to offset the cost.
How does an advisor know when the time is right to merge their practice?
It would be nice to have a more personal discussion with my clients and not just always talk about portfolio results.
I will share some general thoughts and observations about things I see, teach and understand about the challenges financial advisors face. Here are five themes to consider.
Is it my role to fix a troubling, persistent personality conflict between two key team members?
I have joined a “lifestyle practice,” meaning that the lead advisors care as much about their personal lives and other interests as they do about growing the firm.
Do we have to hire a recruiter? The cost is prohibitive for a small firm like ours (we are nine people). Where are advisors having success finding the right talent?
Could buying my team a book help them be more effective at sales? I am very skeptical. Convince me.
I’m looking for an employee performance-measurement process that works and is easy to implement and use.
I don’t want to give up my practice. But I have this gnawing desire to do more with my life.
My boss, the senior advisor, is a no-nonsense, almost nasty guy.
One of our analysts is making serious mistakes time and time again. Is it possible to change someone’s behavior?
Is it necessary for a financial advisor to be active on social media? The limitations we have due to compliance are significant and there already are not enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done.
What ways are new and innovative to connect more deeply with clients?
Should advisors be pushy about selling or be more discreet in our approach?
Are financial advisors more stressed out than other professionals?
The problem is my boss – I keep asking for a job description, or at minimum a set of outcomes that I am being measured against.
Am I destined to work for people who think they know everything? Is that this business?
We are trying to sell our firm or merge with a new firm. There are dozens of opportunities but we can’t find the one with the right cultural fit.
I hate to sound like an old advisor (I’m not even 50 yet), but I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the casual nature of the younger people we are hiring at the firm.
I am about to have my first child and plan to work through the pregnancy and directly afterwards. Should I address my pregnancy with prospects and clients?
One of our partners won’t listen to reason on anything, thinks he knows everything and shuts people down literally in the middle of their sentences.
If we do an offsite on our own, can you share any tips about how to make it most effective?
Where do we go to find good talent? We have a thriving advisory firm, run by great leaders and we grow every single year. We rarely lose any of our team. But when we do, it is usually because someone is moving out of state or leaving the industry. We’ve never lost anyone to a competitive financial firm.
Our millennial advisors push us (the three partners) on our “value to the community.”
I have a question about the importance of gossip. Some of the people I work with learn things they should not know, and because they weren’t told them directly, they don’t consider them to be secrets. However, many of the things that get passed around could be misconstrued and hurtful to others.
A recent conversation with a highly successful advisor prompted me to write on the importance of understanding “behavioral style.”
Is it possible to deal effectively with senior people who are irrational and don’t care about the truth?
Our founder wants to put a halt to any new hires who he doesn’t personally approve. I don’t see how this is manageable – we are at 32 people.
How can I identify advisors looking to retire and position myself as a worthy candidate for their succession needs?
