Primary ROL Propositions
If your goal is to bring value that cannot be commoditized and to have clients gain appreciation for your services, offerings that cannot be priced out by competition, then what follows will be of interest. The intangible values below encompass the wants and needs of your clients in their financial life—and only deeply interested financial professionals can deliver. The six core values of the advisor/client relationship in the ROL planning model are as follows:
1. Organization: We will help bring order to your financial life.
2. Accountability: We will help you follow through on your financial commitments.
3. Objectivity: We will provide insight from the outside to help you avoid making emotional decisions about important money matters.
4. Proactivity: We will help you anticipate the key transitions in your life so that you will be financially prepared for them.
5. Education: We will explore the specific knowledge needed for you to succeed in your situation.
6. Partnership: We will work with you to help you achieve the best life possible.
A Brand-New Reality For You And Your Clients
A new focus: By focusing on transitions, rather than on transactions, ROL advisors will be better prepared to help clients address the accompanying financial challenges and opportunities from a fiscal perspective.
A new stability: A life-centered value proposition is the only stable anchoring point for the advisor in an environment of rapid commoditization. “If you help me navigate financially through life, make the most of my life, and are focused on what matters to me, then your value will most certainly eclipse the price paid for it.” When you are confident in the value you bring—and the company you deliver it with—there will be no cause left in you for reacting timidly to the idea of absolute transparency.
A new reality: Advisors practicing ROL planning will be able to make promises they can keep—to a manageable number of clients. The results are increased trust, a more balanced life and clients who are thrilled with the arrangement.
The financial earth is shaking under the industry’s feet at this very moment. Those who want to stand out and deliver in the future should pay heed to the changing central value proposition of their businesses.
Stay tuned for more on the ROL value revolution that is about to change this industry, making businesses more viable—and sustainable. As an advisor, you can be caught naked, or you can begin to implement return-on-life planning strategies into your client conversations pronto.
Mitch Anthony is the author of The New Retirementality (Wiley), now in its fourth edition.