The Smartest Don't Work the Hardest

We've seen it time and time again. Being more productive doesn't mean that you have to work harder or put in longer hours. You just have to be unreasonable with your time. When you buy a power drill, you are really buying holes. When you buy a power screwdriver you are really buying time. Getting the same job done but in less time and with less energy expended.

As we identified in an earlier tip in this series, one way to manufacture capacity, free-up time and reduce hassle factors is to right-size your client base. Focusing on how small you can stay rather than how big you can get really has worked wonders for several advisors who hit a plateau. But that isn't to say it is necessary for every advisor. Some advisors transfer B and C clients to a Call Center. Others hire a protégé to manage B clients to free themselves up to provide enhanced service to A clients.

Another approach is to come back to the Pareto Principal. If 80% of your business is stemming from 20% of your clients then you must invest 80% of your time with those clients on a 1-to-1 basis. And if 20% of your business is coming from 80% of your clients perhaps a 1-to-many approach for your B clients using a managed money platform is the answer.

You've probably considered a managed money platform for a block of your B clients but never got around to executing on the concept. I can tell you this - and this stems from countless observations - done properly following a predictable and sustainable process that is positioned professionally and as a benefit to your clients, this can manufacture time and capacity to ensure that the business serves your life and that you restore liberation and order along the way.

The key in that statement is that you position the concept as a benefit to your B clients. I say that because many advisors feel that the optics (from the clients’ perspective) of transitioning all or even just a block of B clients to a managed money program will be negative. Surely clients will feel they are being trivialized and will eventually defect to another advisor. I'm here to tell you that it all comes down to how you position it. Not to oversimplify it but you can follow this simple checklist as a starting point:

• Research - it goes without saying but scrutinize the platforms available to you and be in no hurry to select one that is the best fit.
• Apply a two-meeting approach - the first meeting is for introducing the concept and the second is for the actual transition itself
• The importance of process - explain the difference between a financial plan and on-going financial planning

And this is the essence of the secret sauce for lack of a better analogy. With your B clients, you want to explain how this is a proactive and ongoing process that helps you both take a long view to financial planning while at the same time still being nimble enough to react to fluctuations and external events along the way.

Many clients think of financial planning as a one-off event where the advisor diagnoses the client’s issues, identifies their goals and objectives and then creates a 120 page plan that the client probably won't read or understand but might feel better simply holding.

True financial planning is a fluid and dynamic process that can be affected greatly by Critical Life Events. Any one of which can render that 120 page plan obsolete. My point is, when you are transitioning your relationship to a managed money approach, you can reframe the clients understanding for your role in their life. Its one thing to explain the difference between transactional commissions and transparent asset management fees, but a Fee-Worthy Advisor goes deeper than that.

The Fee-Worthy Advisor uses words like "process", "consistency" and "predictability" - not in terms of returns on a statement but in terms of advisor-client engagement. They use metaphors like the weather, a GPS and the seasons to help the client conceptualize how the advisor navigates through storms and seasonal swings. The markets are like the weather - you can anticipate some storms and others you cannot. The markets are like the seasons. You can count on the seasons of life but the severity of each season can fluctuate from year to year. This transition can help your clients truly understand your role and your value and see past turbulent periods. Many advisors say that having a fee-worthy mindset puts you on the same side of the table as your client. I say that it puts you both on the same wave length and that syncing competitor proofs your clients, minimizes their anxieties about external factors and events and improves your refer-ability along the way. It also has proven to dramatically reduce the daily frequency of inbound client calls because of their renewed confidence in you and your process. And that takes the transitional process from time well spent to the best investment you'll ever make.

Continued Success!

Contributed by Duncan MacPherson

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The Blue Square Method is all about helping someone methodically achieve self-actualization. To become the best version of themself - personally and professionally. Framed in ambition, purpose, meaning, fulfillment and gratitude. Taking nothing for granted, but being happy with what we have as we aspire to what we want.

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