Manage Your Practice
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Direction Finder: Tell Your Employees Where You're Headed
Added on January 2014 in Manage Your Practice
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Summary: It’s probably the most common scenario in independent advisory firms today: employee goes to firm owner demanding a raise, a promotion, partnership in the firm or some combination thereof. Owner, caught unprepared, gives a non-response, usually including a promise to get back to the employee. From an employee’s perspective, the very worst thing—worse than long hours, unfriendly coworkers or even a micro-managing boss—is uncertainty.
Coaches Corner: Building the Right Comp Plan for Your New Hire
Added on January 2014 in Manage Your Practice
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Summary: When structuring a compensation plan, the first thing to do is think carefully through the compensation structure of your new position and ask yourself, “Would this attract the kind of high-caliber candidates I am looking for?” To find and attract the best talent and ensure your new hire fills the role you envision, you must appropriately incentivize the new employee. This may sound simple in theory, but the truth is that a compensation discussion entails much more than “How much do I plan on paying this person.
Networking Seminars Do More Than Spark Referrals
Added on January 2014 in Manage Your Practice
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Summary: Anyone who’s ever been pressured into enduring a social “mixer,” where people stand around with a bunch of strangers more interested in their canapés than in small talk, has reason to dread such an event as an awkward waste of time. A well-crafted networking seminar should be just the opposite, experts say. With intelligent marketing and stimulating topics, advisors can create events that deliver value to current clients, entice prospects and generate buzz about their expertise, especially if they leverage the right centers of influence.
Office Décor Is More Important Than You Think
Added on January 2014 in Manage Your Practice
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Summary: An excessively outré painting or sculpture in a financial advisor’s office may alienate clients and prospects. But when the artwork, mementoes and knick-knacks that visitors see are so generic that they lose all personality, advisors may be missing an opportunity to distinguish themselves in a good way. That’s why many consider their décor a smart investment in business development.
Keep Wealth Transitions From Costing You Money
Added on January 2014 in Manage Your Practice
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Summary: You can lose a client at any time and, really, for pretty much any reason. But divorce, dementia and above all death are high on the list of unfortunate circumstances. More than half of widows (55%) ditch their husband’s advisor, and almost all (98%) of next-generation inheritors fire their parents’ advisor, says client-data reporter Blueleaf, citing a study from PwC. A measure of client attrition is inevitable. But advisors can prevent some losses by taking action before it’s too late, according to Trust Advisor.
