Avoiding the trap of avoiding the work that you need to do.
Most financial advisors say they want to build a
business that generates a sizable income and lets them live the life
they want. Yet few advisors consistently do what it takes to create
that kind of business. They seem to be very busy, but they're actually
engaging in something I call work-avoidance behaviors. If you want to
build a successful business that lets you meet your financial and life
goals, you need to uncover and eliminate work-avoidance behaviors from
your daily routine.
Work-avoidance behavior includes just about anything
that doesn't really serve your clients. Here are six typical examples
that I see again and again.
Six Don'ts
1. Keeping Up with Financial News:
Some advisors think they need to know exactly what's happening in the
market, the economy or the world. Although what I'm about to say flies
in the face of conventional wisdom, pay close attention-reading
financial magazines and listening to financial radio and TV are
absolutely useless behaviors for a financial advisor. The time you
spend following the news is time when you're not building an
intelligent business or taking care of your clients. The only people
who need to know what's going on in the market, the economy and the
world are the people who actually manage money. Some advisors get
confused. They seem to forget that they're financial advisors, not
money managers, insurance experts, accountants or lawyers.
2. Getting Ready to Get Ready:
I've adopted a mantra at my firm: Bill should only do what only Bill
can do. If a task is delegable, it should be delegated. A corollary to
that rule is that certain things should be done during prime time, and
certain things should be done during nonprime time. For example, you
definitely need to spend time creating an image for your company. You
must be able to communicate and articulate who you are and what you do.
The question is, when should you do that? The answer, of course, is
during nonprime time. Unfortunately, many advisors would rather spend
time working on their company brochure, marketing materials or Web site
than actually asking for and following up on referrals. After all, they
can't possibly feel rejected when they're-rewriting their promotional
literature for the 17th time!
3. Becoming Overinformed or Overeducated:
Another form of work avoidance is to be informed and educated beyond
what your clients actually need. Some advisors do this by studying for
every possible designation in the financial services industry. Others
do it by reading books and magazines, listening to tapes or attending
training programs and conference sessions that are incompatible with
the systems they've chosen for acquiring clients and running their
business. Which leads to a very good question: Do you have a system for
acquiring clients and running your business? Since most advisors don't,
they frequently go to conventions and sit in on every session. They
don't discriminate between what they need and what they don't. Very few
advisors attend conferences with preplanned agendas and then come back
with something they can really use. Instead, they come back with pages
and pages of notes that they put on a shelf and instantly forget.
Before you sign up for your next course or seminar, ask yourself
honestly whether it's the best use of your time or whether you're
simply engaging in work-avoidance behavior.
4. Talking About Your Business Instead of Working On It:
Many advisors spend a tremendous amount of time talking about what
they're going to do, especially during prime time. When I was an
advisor, five to eight times an hour, one of the other advisors in my
office would walk in to ask me a question or talk about something that
was completely irrelevant for prime time. I tried hanging a sign on my
door, but that didn't work, so I'd literally barricade my door with my
chair in order to get some work done. If I didn't, I'd get interrupted
continuously. Prime time is for taking care of existing clients and
acquiring new ones. Period.
5. Putting Out Fires: "Fires" are usually situations that your staff should handle.
Many advisors don't empower their staff members to solve problems or
serve clients. They unconsciously sabotage their own success because
complaining about their staff and then doing the staff's work is
frequently more comfortable than doing what they're supposed do, which
is asking for and following up on referrals. Managing money, writing
financial plans, being a junior wanna-be economist, or doing anything
else that could be delegated or outsourced (such as taxes, insurance,
legal decisions) are serious work-avoidance behaviors.
6. "Checking In" to See How Clients Are Doing:
Except for emergencies, client interaction should occur on a regular
schedule. I've heard statistics that the most successful advisors are
in contact with their clients 28 times a year. That could happen
through 12 monthly statements, four (quarterly) face-to-face meetings,
and 12 additional scheduled contacts, such as monthly phone
appointments, nonfinancial newsletters or other written or verbal
contacts. Client contact should always be orchestrated; random contact
is just another work-avoidance behavior.
Six Do's
Now that we've identified the most common work-avoidance behaviors,
you're probably wondering how a successful advisor's work day does
look. Here are six areas on which they spend the vast majority of their
time.
1. Holding Their Clients Accountable:
Successful advisors report that their highest priority is to hold their
clients accountable for doing what they need to do to achieve their
goals. Most client-advisor relationships are backwards. When clients
and advisors get together, the conversation tends to revolve around
trying to rationalize things that aren't rational and can't be
rationalized, like, "Why did the market do what it did?" and "What do
you think the market's going to do in the future?" and "Based on what
you think the market's going to do, what do you think we ought to do?"
Most advisors waste time answering these questions, but successful
advisors tell the truth: "I have no idea, but I do know that if you
behave this way-if you invest your money this way over time and stick
with this plan-you will achieve your goals." Competent advisors hold
their clients accountable to do what needs to be done so goals can be
achieved in the face of the truth, which is that we don't know what's
going to happen. I often say that the success of what you're currently
doing is built on the foundation of what immediately preceded it. When
you create the impression that you have access to some magic
information about the future, sooner or later you're going to be wrong.
If that's the basis for a relationship, your clients will leave when
they realize you can't predict the future.
2. Helping New Clients Get Clarity:
The most successful advisors spend a considerable amount of time
helping potential clients get clarity about what's truly important to
them (their core values), helping them define their goals, and
benchmarking their current reality so they can make the smart decision
to hire the advisor to create and implement a written, comprehensive
financial plan. Don't overlook this important step. Remember, you can't
help your clients get what they want until you know what they want and
the reasons those things are important to them.
3. Harnessing Their Resources:
To create a plan that gives clients the highest probability of
achieving their goals, successful advisors spend time harnessing their
resources. This includes both the resources at their company and the
external relationships they've developed. Their resources might include
a plan writer, a money manager, an insurance expert and several tax and
legal experts. Remember, it's your job to build a team of experts who
facilitate the delivery of your promise to the clients, which is to
help them achieve their goals for the reasons that are important to
them.
4. Execute a Referral System:
Successful advisors want their appointment calendars to be full, with
as little time taken away from serving clients as possible. There are
many ways to fill your appointment calendar, and the least expensive,
least time-consuming and most effective way is through referrals. Make
sure you have an effective system for obtaining and following up on
referrals.
5. Hire a Competent Staff and Keep the "Machine" Running Smoothly:
Successful advisors hire competent staff people and hold them
accountable to develop and implement effective operational and
administrative systems to serve their clients. The size of your staff
will depend on how many clients you have and how little you want to
work.
6. Write Your Own Financial Plan: You'd be surprised to learn how many advisors neglect this step.
They recommend financial plans for their clients, yet they fail to
write a plan for themselves. Walk your talk! The most successful
advisors take time to write their own financial plans, then they build
their businesses so their financial goals are actualized.
© 2005 by Bill Bachrach, Bachrach
& Associates Inc. All rights reserved. Bill Bachrach is the author
of four industry-specific books, including his newest book, It's All
About Them; How Trusted Advisors Listen for Success. For more
information about his services or to order his books, call (800)
347-3707 or visit the Web site, www.bachrachvbs.com.