If you are like most elite advisors, growing your practice by acquiring ideal clients is one of your goals this year. However, there is never enough time to build a process for ideal clients, so we keep acquiring average clients. Then you run into capacity issues to service all of your clients, only to lose a good client because of lack of service. Sound familiar? Well, I have great news for you. First, we have expanded our coaching program to include proven online training, video’s and scripts, ( podcasts coming soon) so you have the process in writing. Check out our updated website and video’s here www.advisorpracticemanagement.com

Second, I have been working with Bill Bachrach and I am excited to share with you a new progra...

Guest post by Bill Bachrach, CSP, CPAE

The experts on achieving goals say the first, and a very important step, to achieve a goal is deciding to. My hope is that this article points out some opportunities for you to make more money and serve your clients at a higher level and that you decide to do something about it.

The 5 ways FAs leave money on the table are:
1. Not charging a fee, or charging too small of a fee, for up-front planning and advice work.
2. Not consolidating your client’s assets.
3. Unimplemented advice.
4. Referrals.
5. Wasting time.

1. Not charging a fee, or charging too small of a fee, for up-front planning and advice work.

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard an FA say, “I do the planning for free in t...

If you are like most elite advisors, growing your practice by acquiring ideal clients is one of your goals this year. However, there is never enough time to build a process for ideal clients, so we keep acquiring average clients. Then you run into capacity issues to service all of your clients, only to lose a good client because lack of service. Sound familiar? Well, I have great news for you. First, we have expanded our coaching program to include proven online training, video’s and scripts, ( podcasts coming soon) so you have the process in writing. Check out our updated website and video’s here www.advisorpracticemanagement.com

Second, I have been working with Bill Bachrach and I am excited to share with you a new program t...

Here is some motivation to help get you and your team going this fall
Summer is over, and every fall as a hockey player I would be excited and nervous for training camp. I always felt that a few words of encouragement could go a long way. After all, it is the power of words that help us in difficult and stressful times. The fall brings a busy time of the year, with children back to school and work getting busy for financial advisors, I thought I would give you a few ideas to focus on, and a few words of encouragement.

Focus on the BIG three items this fall.If you are like me, you set goals, annual goals short and long term goals. I just finished my 90-day planning and I highly encourage you to focus on your 90-day plan or your end of the y...

If trust is NOT the goal of acquiring new ideal clients, then what is the goal? The answer is, It is simple and complex. The goal is the experience. Do you have a process that creates an exceptional experience, creates a high level of trust and that inspires people to hire you? Could your process need some work? When I ask a room full of advisors, could your process of client acquisition need some work? Most of the hands go up, simply because most financial advisors do NOT have a process for acquiring ideal clients. Sure they can acquire clients, but to acquire more ideal clients, more high net worth clients, most financial advisors are struggling to achieve success.

What is your process?

“Practice management is about process, proces...

o you get valuable information that you need when meeting with an ideal prospect? Financial advisors spend time getting a meeting with a potential ideal prospect, only to find the prospect is very reluctant to share information with them until they prove themselves. It puts the advisor on the hot seat to answer questions that the prospect has. Questions such as, “ What can I expect when I work with you? What does it cost? How are you different from my current advisor?” While these questions are important to a prospect and answered when speaking about your value promise, they don’t help an advisor determine if this is an ideal prospect.

The opposite approachThe client thinks that the advisor has to impress or prove themse...

We have all heard the saying that real estate is about location, location, location. The three keys to practice management are process, process, process “ Grant Hicks “. When you have a problem, make it a process. “Growth is a process of trial and error: experimentation". Benjamin Franklin.” I believe that successful advisors in the past, will not be the same successful advisors in the future. They will be the complete opposite of successful advisors in the past. Let me explain. In researching successful advisors, I discovered that they are doing the exact opposite of what other successful advisors are doing. You see, advisors of the future are focused on advice and planning and not products and services. They hav...

The real risk is not reaching your goals, especially if there is no clear plan to get there. Performance won’t matter, asset allocation won’t matter, and the best products won’t matter if clients don’t reach their goals. Do you do goals-based planning with your ideal clients? A big challenge for people is to clearly define their future on paper. A crucial role of a financial advisor is to help their ideal clients get a deeper sense of clarity around their future. So how do you do that? In my workshops with financial advisors, I ask two questions in relation to their own personal goals. First look at the list below and tell me how many goals you personally have? The answer is usually 5 or more, and about a third of...

You are sitting on a dock in a comfy Adirondack chair on a hot day, with a glass of lemonade filled to the brim with ice cubes. You decide to pick up a good book. You can’t get into a new mystery novel for some reason so you turn to your business books. You are a student of the industry, a lifelong learner, and you have a library of good books. Before you sit down into that comfy chair on a hot day, consider picking up one of these books. I chose them based on practice management topics for financial advisors and wealth managers focusing on productivity and capacity. I start with my newest book launched in the fall of 2016.

1. Guerrilla Marketing for Financial Advisors 2nd edition Innovating financial professionals through practice management”. Grant Hicks and Jay Conrad Levinson Morgan James Publishing 2016“As part of the “Guerrilla Marketing” series which has sold over 21 million copies worldwide, financial advisors will find the book packed full of ideas to acquire ideal clients and create an ideal client experience. Utilizing “Guerrilla Marketing” strategies combined with key practice management research, the book guides the reader to tackle critical issues such as capacity, client acquisition, and double-digit growth. It is your process manual for practice management.

http://amzn.to/2td04TQ

2. The 5 choices The path to extraordinary productivity, by Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill and Leena Rinne, published by Simon and Shuster 2015 : This book is backed by science and Franklin Covey's years of experience and research in this field. The 5 Choices will help a financial advisor or wealth manager increase their productivity and develop an inner sense of fulfillment and peace. The five choices are simple but require a radical shift in mindset and will lead to increased personal and professional success. It is your time management manual.

http://amzn.to/2tNfPON

3. The Ensemble Practice, A Team-Based Approach to Building a Superior Wealth Management Firm, 2012 by Philip Palaveev Bloomberg Press 2012 . Why do ten percent of wealth management firms grow faster than the rest of the industry, often despite the turbulence of the markets? The answer, according to industry consultant and researcher, P. Palaveev, is that the most successful firms are those which, create and promote a team-based service model that serves as the foundation of their enterprise. It is your team building manual.

http://amzn.to/2tNfnzS

4.. Succession Planning for Financial Advisors, + Website: Building an Enduring Business by David Grau Sr. Wiley Finance, June 2014 With all the succession discussions, why not just get it done. This book is a step by step guide and will challenge you and everything you think you know about succession planning. It is your succession manual.

http://amzn.to/2tbF8fm

5. Technology Tools for Today's High-Margin Practice: How Client-Centered Financial Advisors Can Cut Paperwork, Overhead, and Wasted Hours, by David J. Drucker and Joel P. Bruckenstein, Bloomberg Press 2013 With robo-advising on everybody’s radar screen, this will help financial advisors focus on what they can control, their processes. In a newly revised edition of the "bible" of practice management and technology for financial professionals, two leading financial planners, with some help from their friends, deliver the knowledge advisors have been begging for. It is your technology manual.

http://amzn.to/2sejMKb

6. Exploring Advice: What You Need to Know About Good Financial Advice, a Quality Financial Plan and the Role of a Fiduciary Createspace Publishing – September 29, 2016 by Kevin Knull CFP®

Based on research, qualitative insight from hundreds of conversations with industry advisors, regulators, attorneys, academics and consultants, and data from over 1 million plans, Knull outlines the elements of a quality financial plan, how a quality financial plan is an effective and prudent way to comply with the DOL regulations and how it can help financial advisors differentiate their firms in a challenging environment. It is your advice manual.

http://amzn.to/2u9os5y

7. The Enduring Advisory Firm: How to Serve Your Clients More Effectively and Operate More Efficiently (Bloomberg Financial) 1st Edition by Mark C. Tibergien (Author), Kimberly G. Dellarocca (Author) Wiley; 1 edition (November 30, 2016) Combining a facts-based approach with case studies and examples from the field, The Enduring Advisory Firm will ignite your imagination by demonstrating practical strategies for attracting clients and streamlining operations. It is your operations manual.

http://amzn.to/2rU6lQk

Enjoy your summer reading and building your elite financial advisory practice! Pick up your copy or online version at your favorite online retailer. For a FREE preview of my latest book go to www.advisorpracticemanagement.com

Quality financial and investment plan

One final comment. In my workshops with financial advisors, I always ask a veteran advisor, “in twenty plus years, how many quality financial and investment plans in writing have you seen from your competitors?” The answer is usually less than 5 quality plans in 20 years. My mission is simple, “Coaching financial advisors to create 1 million quality financial and investment plans for their ideal clients”. Ask your clients and prospects this question " What does a quality financial and investment plan mean to you? Let me know if I can help you grow your practice.

If you want to learn better scripts and would like to have a community of Ideal Clients, then join me and Bill Bachrach in San Diego this summer. Attend the next People Skills Workshop, August 16-18th in San Diego. https://peopleskillsnetwork.com/
If you would like more information about financial advisor workshops or coaching to build your value promise process, email us at grant@ghicks.com
For a copy of our guide " Future Ready Financial Advisor" go to http://www.advisorpracticemanagement.com/resources or http://futurereadyfinancialadvisor.subscribemenow.com/
Join me and Bill Bachrach in San Diego this summer. Attend the next People Skills Workshop, August 16-18th in San Diego. https://peopleskillsnetwork.com/

The difference between an average producer and an elite producer is how they manage their time. How does an elite financial advisor manage their time? By time blocking three critical categories. First, there must be time for growth. An elite advisor typically grows at a 17% rate annually. Therefore, they know they must time block 17% or more of their time on a weekly basis for ideal prospects. An elite advisor work week is 50 hours. At 50 hours per week, top advisors spend at least 50% of their time ( 25 hours ) in front of clients and prospects. this means they must block approximately 4 hours per week with ideal prospects or ideal prospecting activities. Second, they block 70% of their time with ideal clients ( 70% of 25 hours equals 1...