FPA Practice Management Center Blog

After listening to other financial advisers’ success stories, you might find yourself asking, “How can I find a greater level of success? What would it take for my business to reach the next level?” or perhaps, “How do I take the information I have learned and best implement it?”

The first step in your journey toward success begins with admitting that you have challenges. Without understanding that all advisers face challenges, you are doomed to repeat your challenges time and again. Admitting you have a challenge and actually knowing what the challenge is can be two entirely different things. That is why it is very important for you to be completely honest with yourself and ask:

“What is your No. 1 challenge? What is holding you back from having a successful advisory practice? If you could get past your challenge(s), how would it affect your business?”

ID Your No. 1 Challenge
Here is an easy way to figure out what your No. 1 challenge may be: which one of the success stories you have heard or read about did you relate to most and why?

You may have your answer immediately or you may need to give it some thought. Once you have your answer, you more than likely have what challenge you are struggling most with.

Customize Tools and Techniques
Your journey toward finding success begins with knowing what to do to begin conquering your challenge(s). Action plays a vital role, so do some research to find appropriate tools and techniques you have heard others utilizing then customize them to fit your needs and apply them consistently. Evaluate your progress weekly and make tweaks to yours system for optimum results. This process will create the forward momentum necessary to reach your goals.

Keep Up the Pace
The third step in your journey will be to continue the pace. The only way to do this is to be accountable for your actions. To help you identify an “accountability partner” simply ask yourself, “Who would I most like to share my successes with and would that person also be someone I would not want to let down by admitting my failures?” Who came to mind? Was it your spouse, a parent, a colleague, friend or business coach?

You’ll encounter road blocks and speed bumps but also many milestones along the way. However, the driving motivation should be your and your business’s ultimate success. When you find that success, share your story. You never know, you may be the catalyst for someone else to decide to take steps in their journey to writing their own success story.

If you need additional help in finding tools, techniques or solutions in your journey, email me at dan@advisorsolutionsinc.com requesting the white paper “The Next Level: The 10 Most Effective Solutions for Your Business” or schedule a complimentary coaching session.

Daniel C. Finley
President
Advisor Solutions
St. Paul, Minn.

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I’m glad to continue my blog series on Stephen Covey’s idea of sharpening the saw by focusing on the physical dimension, specifically nutrition. Nutrition was my first career, and even though I gave up my registered dietitian credential long ago, what I learned getting that master’s degree in nutrition still lingers. But you really don’t need special credentials to see why nutrition is an important topic for everyone.

More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or, worse yet, obese (often defined as being 20 percent or more above normal weight); the statistic for children is even more frightening. Weight is a leading cause of serious public health issues such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, to name a few. And it should come as no surprise that the big culprits are fat and sugar.

So, what does someone need to do to lose weight? Despite new fad diets that seem to come out every month, there really is no magic to the formula: if you eat more than you burn, you store the excess intake as fat. Therefore, to lose, you have to burn more calories than you consume. Regardless of whether you have a weight issue, it’s still important to make healthy choices. But where to start? With the basics, of course.

Good-bye Food Pyramid
The USDA recently replaced its recommended food pyramid with MyPlate, which uses a picture to illustrate the relative proportions of the food groups we should be consuming. You’ll notice the picture does not include fat or sugar; compared with other food groups, those two tasty ingredients provide calories but few nutrients. Compare that with your own plate; see any adjustments you could make? It’s a change from the pyramid we all grew up with, but the message is simple—eat a wide variety of healthy foods, the less processed the better. And don’t forget to drink plenty of water.

Words of caution: The super athlete looking for a competitive edge from nutrition would do well to consult with a sports nutritionist. And anyone looking to make major changes through diet or weight loss should consult a physician.

What Does This Have to Do With Practice Management?
Have you ever run into someone who has recently lost weight? The effects of weight loss are more than just physical. People who have lost weight seem invigorated in all aspects of their lives, including their careers. Just talking with them is refreshing. Instead of being tired and not having time to get things done, they have more energy and they choose to make time for what’s important. Having worked with many patients who struggled with their weight, I always shared in their sense of pride when they shed the excess pounds.

Of course, nutrition is just one component of the physical dimension of sharpening the saw. In the next blog, we’ll add exercise. In the meantime, eat well!

Joni Youngwirth
Managing Principal of Practice Management
Commonwealth Financial Network
Waltham, Mass.

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Practice management expert Matt Oechsli of The Oechsli Institute kicked off FPA of Colorado’s 2012 Financial Planning Symposium in Denver last week to a full house. His opening keynote session on the best practices of elite advisers provided research-based characteristics of what Oechsli has defined as the best of the best—those advisers who are adjusting their services to be relevant to today’s affluent clients.

Oechsli partnered with Nationwide to conduct his most recent research, which revealed two major trends: 

1. Women now dominate the affluent client-adviser relationship (for example, several communication factors such as listening and providing timely information—not mechanical communication—are statistically more important to affluent women than affluent men).
2. Clients want to know you personally. So don’t just tell clients and prospects how smart you are and how much training you’ve had, share personal details and let them truly get to know you.  

But what struck me as most impactful were the four traits of elite advisers that Oechsli shared. They’re simple, yet profound. Do you possess these traits?

Ambition
A myth about today’s affluent clients, according to Oechsli, is that they’re different from us. “They’re not born on third base thinking they hit a triple,” he says. “They work hard. They trust and respect hard work and expect you to be a hard worker, too.”

Discipline
Elite advisers display discipline. Perhaps it’s in their dedication to executing their marketing plan, or perhaps it’s working long hours and weekends to tend to client needs and sales calls without distractions.

Self-awareness
According to Oechsli, having self-awareness is recognizing your strengths and weaknesses. Know where you excel and admit where you need help.

Deliberate Practice
A deliberate practice is one that is always in growth mode. Elite advisers are always working to improve.

 This quote from Oechsli sums it up nicely:

“Elite advisers do what average or good advisers will not or cannot do,” he says.

Carly Schulaka
Managing Editor 
Practice Management Solutions 
Financial Planning Association
Denver

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