Hortz: Let’s step back a little. How did you go about actually developing your turn-key programs? What have you learned that you can share with advisors on how to best go about “designing” their own client offerings?
Gregory: I personally start, when I'm building a new program, by looking in the mirror and asking, "If I were an advisor sitting in front of a client, what would I need to motivate that client to do something?" How do we clarify? How do we crystallize things? How do we simplify the complex down to a point where the client goes, "Oh. I see how that works. Tell me more." We always start with the client.
We develop client compliant marketing materials that an advisor can private label and sit down with a client to attempt to get that family to look at things in a bigger picture way. And help motivate that family to identify with what their real needs, concerns and objectives are; whether it involves asset protection, private banking, risk management, tax engineering, planned giving, and so on. It's becomes an interesting design task to get the client, in conjunction with the advisor, to start identifying with what opportunities and pitfalls may exist within their wealth ecosystem.
We “teach and educate” advisors the use of metaphors, analogies, pictures, diagrams and real stories to help with client understanding, retention, along with the motivation of intelligent action. Clients are intimidated, confused and frustrated by “crazy financial jargon.”
We then look to design the proposed solution with the resources, systems, and the expert sourcing firms needed in an easy-to-understand solution package and intuitive process that can be coordinated and managed by their central, go-to HNW financial advisor “wealth engineering “expert.
Hortz: What is your best advice for financial professionals in innovating their value propositions and designing their own financial solutions for HNW family and business wealth?
Gregory: Advisors need to give strong consideration to innovating their way into a true wealth management dimension and maintaining a gatekeeper position across their clients’ other financial professionals. They can provide comprehensive “wealth engineering” with highly competent advice and efficient implementation. The result is custom designed success blueprints for families and businesses, deeper intergenerational relationships and substantially enhanced revenues.
We are living proof that through purposeful design, you're able to transform a traditional firm into a major league, comprehensive family office structure with multiple points of revenue. We've designed and built, over time, a family of companies that surround advisors that want to be true wealth management firms; to position advisors to become "wealth engineers" that are competitively able and motivated to deal with the entire wealth ecosystem of their HNW families and businesses. We carefully selected and organized an expert sourcing team of HNW specialty firms, private label turnkey programs, our time-tested wealth engineering process, a harmonized online HNW dashboard, regional chapters and advanced case design support that all work together to position advisors with an unrivaled value proposition for their HNW clients.
So, in summary, remembering that exponential innovation breeds obsolescence, we all must embrace innovation within the financial advisory business or face extension. In this financial services “sea of sameness,” a firm can certainly brand, position and differentiate itself through true innovation to step-up to “Top Tier Wealth Advisory” status.
The Institute for Innovation Development is an educational and business development catalyst for growth-oriented financial advisors and financial services firms determined to lead their businesses in an operating environment of accelerating business and cultural change. We position our members with the necessary ongoing innovation resources and best practices to drive and facilitate their next-generation growth, differentiation and unique community engagement strategies. The institute was launched with the support and foresight of our founding sponsors - Pershing, Voya Financial, Ultimus Fund Solutions, Fidelity, and Charter Financial Publishing (publisher of Financial Advisor and Private Wealth magazines). For more information click here.