As part of their creed, Dennis and Katie created a vision statement and some key descriptor words.
“Our vision is to be a community of clients and professionals leading purposeful lives through the stewardship of wealth,” Katie says.
They decided on confidence as another important value for the firm, because they want clients to have clarity about the decisions they’re making and whom they should contact for help.
Another value is authenticity. “We wanted everything from the way we're running the business to the experience that our clients have to be an authentic representation of our highest aspirations. And if we do that, this is going to be rewarding for the families we serve, and it'll also be fun to experience along the way,” says Dennis.
2. ‘Declare A Major.’
After a decade of working together in financial services, Dennis and Katie knew what they did best, and what kind of clients they could bring the most value to.
“It was really important from the start for us to recognize what we are and what we aren't,” Dennis says, “and to really ‘declare a major’ and say, ‘We want to do this thing very well.’ We don't do 401(k) plans or institutional money. It really is a focus on the dynamics of family wealth.”
More and more advisors are fine-tuning their discovery process so that the “getting to know you” phase is more revealing, and they’re really zeroing in on clients that fit with their missions and their unique skill set. Dennis and Katie even give prospects a list of questions (and Morton Brown’s answers) they should ask OTHER financial advisors they’re meeting with to determine who’s the best fit for their needs.
3. Write Your ‘Playbook.’
Once Dennis and Katie had settled on their ideal clients, they started thinking about how they could serve more families and scale the business.