Our marketing materials don’t say very much. I have worked at five other RIAs and they could all say the exact same things as us. It is possible to create a message to talk about what we do that is actually different?
I read your response last week from the person whose firm has two fighting leaders. It seemed you were saying when people can’t communicate well, just move away from them so as not to get caught in their difficulty. This seems counter to what you often write.
The street smarts necessary for our work is missing from my team - the ability to encounter a problem and, instead of raising it to me, come up with a solution on their own. Can I teach these skills?
Now that the new year has started we are prospecting and no one is responding. I don’t know if we are still dealing with holiday fallout but it seems someone should be ready to go. Is there a technique we could use to generate a response? Should we be more or less aggressive?
To kick off the new year, I’ll share some secrets of my success from 2016. Here are three scenarios where I resolved difficult situations. The lessons I applied yielded tips and tools that could be useful for you and your staff if you encounter similar situations.
As the year comes to a close, I thought it would be helpful to incorporate information from the thousands of people I have worked with. Here are some of the questions and issues that came up related to the interpersonal aspect of the financial advisory business.
We just held our annual client holiday party. Clients were happy and enjoyed themselves, but should we be talking about our work or the news on the political front?
Our lead advisor tells us that he wants to plan for the coming year. But each December we get too busy and the planning never happens.
Some clients just don’t want to help themselves. If we recommend a client make an estate plan or consider additional insurance, we are doing it because we believe it is in the client’s best interest. Some clients are very good about following through, but others nod “yes” when I’m talking but then don’t do anything.
We are under siege. Clients are focusing on fees and our active management approach like never before. We would never take advantage of the clients we serve – we see ourselves as the protector of their assets. How do we confront these misplaced allegations and get back to the business at hand?
I always feel guilty when Thanksgiving rolls around. I’m thankful but feel more and more stressed as the year progresses. I know you are a hypnotherapist among other things. Do I need hypnosis or just a good old-fashioned shrink?
I hired five new people. The new employees ask for things I haven’t thought about, and then don’t seem to care about other things I have put in place. What kind of structure is most important?
As a female owner of an advisory firm, often times I find myself telling my male colleagues to do what I do naturally – listen, be empathic, solve problems, etc. Do you think that women are wired to be more effective financial advisors than men?
At a recent conference I heard you speak about the importance of training younger generation advisors in new and different ways. Could you elaborate on the ways to offer that training?
We hired a new advisor – a very smart guy in his 30s. I was in our lunch area the other day and heard him say to a colleague, “I have no intention of working these 7-6:30 hours for very long. I enjoy my free time too much.” Should I say something to him?
We just acquired another advisory firm. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a mess. People are tripping over one another, no one seems to remember what their jobs should be and the tension is palpable.
How can I convince my managers that it is in our firm’s best interests to embrace a sales-driven culture?
