That message should resonate in your office culture as well. You need to have top-notch people working together and supporting each other’s efforts to get the best results for your clients. I also see many advisors adding additional value by widening the scope of their teams.
One way of doing that is to develop strong relationships with legal, financial, and medical professionals in your community. If a client needs a pro to help sort through Medicare options, you want them calling you for a recommendation.
Another example is how David Dunn designed his practice from day one to be a one-stop shop that can meet all the needs of ultra-high-net-worth clients.
And Brent Kessel’s team at Abacus Wealth applies philosophies from yoga to create a unique brand of financial advisory focused on self-reflection and total wellness.
Offering additional resources that your client base will appreciate will underscore your value and strengthen the quality of your team.
3. “Work Hard, Play Hard.”
OK, so we’ve all heard this one before. But David says that this maxim isn’t just about achieving a healthier work-life balance. It’s about being as engaged outside of the office as you are in it.
“Your work and play are inter-meshed,” he says. “When you play, you gain this diversity of experiences in different things that fire off connections that you didn't know exist. You won't know what you're going to connect until you get outside of your work. What we want to see is that when you're in the play piece, your other life outside of work, you are just as engaged and present as you are when you're at work. A lot of times what I see is people just waiting to get back to work. Instead of taking that aspect of their lives just as seriously, and putting in just as much intention and engagement, and being 100% present in that play piece, they use it as a filler, and just wait to get back to work. That has horrible consequences over the long term.”
David was strict about insisting his SEAL team take days off, especially after they’d been away on a long mission. But he also found ways to let his team unwind during the workday. Their office was well-stocked with Nerf guns, and the occasional ten-minute “firefight” would break out just to ease some tension and blow off some steam.
Your clients probably don’t want to see foam darts flying over their heads. But your team can’t stay chained to their desks all day either. I used to encourage employees to take walks or browse the nearby library and come to our next meeting with an idea that grabbed them, even if it wasn’t necessarily about finance.