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November 04, 2024
It's all about change for financial advisors
It’s All About Change:
By Jeff Thorsteinson
“It is not the strongest of species that survives nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin’s quotation suggests that business survival and growth are based on an advisor’s ability to effectively and efficiently change their practices to maintain a competitive edge. As our industry undergoes constant evolution, this quotation strikes home.
Let’s explore what advisors can do to think about “change” and implement capabilities essential to running a modern and compliant advisory practice.
This week, it’s one of those call-outs to work on your practice for about 60 minutes. Clear the decks and turn off the cell phone for 1 hour. I guarantee it will be worth your time. Why? Because this week, let’s make it all about change. Well, it’s more than that. It’s about dealing with change and implementing what you need to ensure you respond to change best.
I would suggest it’s likely worth an hour to think about the following four areas of your practice:
- Business process engineering
- Process improvement
- Continuous improvement
- Total quality management
Theoretically, all of the above are similar principles and comparable in terms of aims and objectives. Most importantly, these principles look at their practices from the outside in. In other words, outside forces impact advisory practices to change. Primarily, I’m referring to regulatory and client expectations.
What do we need to do?
In preparation for creating the appropriate business processes to meet and hopefully exceed client expectations and regulatory requirements, we need to take action to:
- Understand the looming changes that are coming and the regulators’ expectations
- Proactively educate our clients, gather their feedback, and ensure that we can meet and exceed their expectations
I know from speaking to advisors that some process management people are in the fold. Change may be easier for these folks to manage. However, most career advisors haven’t been exposed to process or change management. Sure, they have been exposed to much change over the years, but it’s been reactionary in most cases. I’m one of those casualties. Let’s change that!
Let’s get Practical – 3 Steps to Success
Download the Excel attachment, save it, and open it. It’s a worksheet designed to help you contemplate potential opportunities, threats, and impacts and describe how you will take action!
https://us-ms.gr-cdn.com/getresponse-BwKsu/documents/ad8939b8-6757-42cc-b0a6-7610996b5f57.xlsx
STEP 1: Define Opportunities, Threats, Impacts, Action.
Select Tab 1: OTIA on the spreadsheet.
You'll see ten areas to consider on the left-hand side of the page. Then, beside each area, you’ll note three other columns: Opportunities, Threats, and Potential Impact. The last two columns – Action and Priority - are the most important. This space is designed for you to fill in how you plan to adapt to the change and then prioritize the actions for implementation. It would be best if you resourced the execution of each area. It’s rarely possible to do everything at the same time.
STEP 2 – Define 3 Highly Achievable Goals.
Select Tab 2: 3 3HAG on the spreadsheet.
This exercise will help you contemplate goals for the next three years and imagine your practice in 36 months.
This worksheet contemplates several practice objectives: assets, team, clients, products, competitive advantages, and capabilities.
STEP 3 – Make It Happen Sprint
The final step, in Tab 3, is to contemplate how you’ll get from 2024 to your practice expectations for 2027, given all of the work you listed in Step 1.
Bottom Line
I could read all the theoretical stuff about change management. The bottom line is that change is constant, and those who navigate these changes are prepared and flexible. One must be committed to change and a new business direction.
Also, as a leader, it’s essential to have your whole team in the same boat, rowing in the same direction. To embark on change without the support of the entire team will make for a difficult journey.
Let Us Help!
At Advisor Practice Management, we make change happen every day. It’s never easy, and every advisory practice is unique. At the same time, we’ve seen much change over three decades. Please take advantage of our experience. You are invited to call us at 778-628-3165 or 1-800-223-9332 to give you a hand and work on this together. We would be pleased to step you through this week’s exercise.
Our Practice Management resources - Comprehensive Practice Management checklist
https://practicemanagement.getresponsepages.com/
Updated Technology Checklist for Financial Advisors
This checklist is five years' worth of research on the best processes elite financial advisors and their teams implement to acquire and service ideal clients while running an efficient practice.
https://technology-checklist.getresponsepages.com/
We are here to serve your practice, let’s talk
Jeff Thorsteinson
www.advisorpracticemanagement.com
For elite practice management resources to manage and grow your business
Tel 778-628-3165
Email jeffthorsteinson@hotmail.com
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Contact us to help get clarity around your goals on paper, and have the goals conversation by contacting Jeff at jeffthorsteinson@hotmail.com regardless if we work together, let’s have a chat and listen to your biggest practice management concerns to help you get clarity around your future business.
Jeff Thorsteinson and Advisor Practice Management's combined financial advisor clients manage over 8 billion AUM, and earn over $80 million dollars combined!
Enthusiastically yours,
Jeff Thorsteinson
Advisor Practice Management
www.advisorpracticemanagement.com
PS Where do you want your financial practice to be at the end of 2025? AUM, Revenue, and time off?
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