Julie Littlechild’s new book, The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement. Intentionally Design a Business That Supports the Life You (Really) Want to Live is a guide for financial advisors ready to make significant changes for a better life and career.

“If things aren’t bad, you probably don’t stop and ask yourself if there’s something more. You probably don’t ask yourself what you really want to create. But some have stopped and asked those questions: They’re Absolutely Engaged,’’ Littlechild writes.

In her book, Littlechild outlines five practical steps financial advisors can use to achieve improved business:  she calls them awareness, audacity, action, accountability and renewal. She suggests advisors apply three principles to achieve these steps: Personal vision drives business vision; client and team experience should be tailored to actively support your business vision; and, you’re human, don’t forget it!

Speaking from her office in Toronto, Littlechild said her research and advisor coaching show that advisors ready to make changes are usually in their 40s and 50s and have had successful careers.
“I had the successful in mind when I was writing the book. For them, things are looking good, but the next phase questions start creeping in. What are they looking forward to, what more do they want to accomplish?’’
 
Twenty years ago, Littlechild, a researcher and writer, formed AbsoluteEngagement.com, which gives speaker presentations and workshops on advisor issues such as client and team engagement. Advisors overhaul their way of doing business are tell Littlechild how they are faring with the five-step program.

“Where I think people struggle the most is in the first step (awareness) and the last step (renewal). Both require you to think about your own personal vision and prioritize that. From what I have observed, it is most difficult dealing with your internal demons—why are you questioning this? You are successful, why make a change that could have an effect on you, your team, your clients?  Having an open mind can be challenging,’’ she said.

The book has numerous anecdotes from advisors and planners who have improved their life and career by “determining their passion and tailoring their business in a really specific way to reflect their vision.

“Once you’ve figured out how to translate your passion into a business vision, and then tailored the business in a really specific way, you get down to defining your target client base: who you really want to focus on, and, is it really realistic?’’ Littlechild said

One financial advisor of many years told Littlechild that he decided to start over by only representing his favorite clients—professional athletes. After an 18-month transition, his income was back where it had been and, she says, it has increased since. Father-and-son financial planners changed their client list to strictly dentists, then baby boomer dentists and exceeded their former success, she writes.

Other advisors whittled their client list down to only women in transition through widowhood or divorce, or retired business owners. She gives advice on how to tell current clients that you are changing your client list.

An influence on Littlechild’s work, Jon Jones, is co-CEO of Brighton Jones, Seattle. As the business grew, he turned his personal passion for charitable giving into a firm that incorporates and encourages philanthropic giving into legacy planning for his clients.

“Jon Jones reflects a lot of what we saw in our research and interviews,’’ Littlechild said.
 
But how does an advisor make money during the upheaval of change?

“So much of that depends on where they started. More often than not, it is just a tweak, not an overhaul. Or, it’s focusing your work or changing your team or changing your clients. It doesn’t have to be a transformation. It doesn’t have to take 12 months to make money. Many FAs get through a couple of the steps and find they have a clarity about who they are targeting and then that passion becomes a magnet for clients,’’ Littlechild says.

 “Advisors should ask themselves what would be the impact of change and how it would affect income. Should you do it gradually over a two-year period? You should get a clear idea about the size of the market you want to pursue and the economic impact of that and map out a plan that is reasonable,’’ she said.

 Littlechild says advisors must clearly define what kind of work they want to do for clients—she calls it “the ideal offer.’’ It can range from comprehensive financial planning and investment management to more specialized areas such as divorce or cross border planning.

 “If I looked at the overall driving idea behind the book, I’d say it is the notion that we need to create alignment between personal, client and team engagement. For those who want a business to be growing and fulfilling, they need alignment.’’

Newcomers to financial advising are “largely focused on having to pay a mortgage and feed a family, but if someone is new to the business, I would urge them to think about their passion. It’s harder to do when you are just starting out, but it’s worth the effort, ’’ Littlechild said.

She said she sees “a different kind of energy in the industry lately’’ regarding women in financial advising.

“There is more talking to one another (among women), and the creating of mastermind groups, study groups, doing these specialized conferences—something is going on there that will have an impact. Even though I didn’t write this book for women, I think it really resonates with women a lot. I meet so many women who are running a great business, and trying to do all the rest of these great things. But they are also trying to re-jig things,’’ Littlechild said.

Littlechild said her research and her interviews with financial advisors dramatically influenced the models and principles of Absolute Engagement.

“So really, the book’s ideas and principles are based on the reality of being a financial advisor. It’s a layering in of their experience, based on what we have seen, and then, how can I break it down into a model.’’

The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement. Intentionally Design a Business That Supports the Life You (Really) Want to Live, by Julie Littlechild.  258 pages. $23.95.

Eleanor O’Sullivan is an award-winning freelance journalist who writes for Financial Advisor magazine.