Are Your Clients Underwater?

Devastating storms have ripped through much of the country in the last few weeks and at least one entire town in Alabama appears to have been virtually wiped off the map by a terrible tornado. Many areas are suffering incredible flood damage and Texas is facing firestorms. Do any of your clients have relatives or investments in those areas? Are they covered by enough of the right kinds of insurance to protect their properties and estates?

This is a great time to call and update your information on all of your best clients. Even if they haven't been personally affected by the storms, floods, the economic crisis, or the cost of oil, etc., this can be a great time to reach out. Find out if they're worried about anything that you can help with, then keep them up to date on your part of what's going on in their lives. Little touches at times like this can build client loyalty that will mean stronger ties and more referrals down the line.thanks and good luck. kfg

How Are Your Branding Yourself in This Market?

When advising job seekers, personal branding expert Scott Ginsberg defines branding as "...identity. It's what you're known for knowing. Branding is the best, highest version of yourself - and how other people experience themselves in relation to you." As a financial advisor, you are constantly seeking employment as the advisor of choice for both existing and prospective clients. Your success will be determined largely by how they experience your brand.

Let me offer three suggestions for improving your brand in bad economies:

1. Build what Scott calls a Success Vocabulary by removing any negative language. As a financial advisor it can be very difficult to remain entirely positive when portfolio performance has been hurt by sudden or unexpected downturns in the market. Successful top producers like UBS' Allen Garner suggest 4 ways to stay positive in these situations: first, be proactive. Reach out to your top clients immediately. Don't wait for them to call you. Second, maintain a positive attitude about the future [remember, America has experienced economic problems in the past but has always roared back in time]; third, have a good explanation for the market and the economy [your firm's economists will usually provide that]. And, fourth, have an action they can take RIGHT NOW to improve their situation. Anxious people need direction and, even if they don't take your suggestion, they will remember you as a leader who at least offered a course of action.

2. Delete unprofitable language. Your words to others AND yourself will determine both how you and they feel [motivation]. If you don't sound confident, neither will they. In uncertain times, people will not follow an uncertain leader very far.

3. Become known as THE trusted source for key information about the market, the economy and the future. Hold regular seminars for your best clients and invite your firm's experts to speak. Topics can include anything from the market/economy to changes in the tax codes, estate planning, financial planning, etc. The areas you choose should be based upon informal surveys YOU take of your top clients interests and concerns. To increase your client base, encourage clients who attend to bring guests. Note: you can also provide these kinds of seminars to groups like the Kiwanas, the Rotary, Lions Club, etc. and get a free writeup in the local paper with you and your firm listed as the sponsors.

We'll discuss improving your brand further in future blogs. In the meantime, feel free to add your own thoughts. Thanks and good luck. kfg

Crazy Politics

With all the theater in Washington these days, many people are very concerned about the national debt, the price of oil / gasoline, government spending and congress's likely impact upon their investments and retirement. Do you have a ready answer for clients who call with concerns? The odds are that your firm has already provided an official statement and I would encourage you to become familiar with it and the regular updates that will follow as new bills affecting small business taxes, healthcare and retirement payments move forward into the headlines.

After the recent financial meltdown, many clients (especially older clients) need to be reassured that everything will be all right. Financial advisors who failed to provide this kind of support in 2008 found many of their clients selling out their investment positions at the bottom of the market, losing a significant portion of their nest eggs. On the other hand, advisors who kept their clients updated on a regular basis, especially those who created or updated clients' financial plans were able to maintain stability during an unstable period. Sometimes, that's our most important job. Make it a practice to keep in touch with your clients. Thanks and good luck. kfg

Marty Maddin

I am pleased to announce the addition of Marty Maddin, Esq. to the Gretz Consulting Group. An experienced consultant, coach and mentor, Marty will head up our team in Detroit, Michigan. He is a leadership and business consultant and coach with experience as an attorney and a successful business owner. He brings a wealth of practical experience to the coaching world, having successfully started, managed and grown a small business to the point of profitability and ultimately sale. In addition to running a business, Marty also spent numerous years practicing law as a commercial real estate and corporate business attorney.
Marty has worked across numerous levels of leadership, industry and stages of business development. Whether working with the CEO of a start-up company, management at a Global 500 Company or attorneys at a law firm, Marty has successfully impacted individuals and organizations through the delivery of personalized coaching and training.
Marty is a dynamic leader with a remarkable capacity to foster environments where others feel safe around accountability and free thinking. He delivers results by combining authentic communication with a significant understanding of human emotions and behaviors. Marty brings energy and an entrepreneurial spirit to everything he does and he works with professionals who are willing to conceive and then achieve extraordinary results.
Marty currently serves on the Board of Directors for numerous Detroit based non-profits. He is a member of the International Coach Federation and the Professional Coaches Association of Michigan. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and his Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Is It Time for a Coach?

As a professional coach and consultant I am frequently asked, "When is the right time to consider seeking a coach?" A good question that was recently answered by Paul McCord in a blog from the Wall Street Journal [http://www.allbusiness.com/medicine-health/diet-nutrition-fitness-exercise/15480576-1.html] He rightly points out that you shouldn't even consider a coach if you can't afford one. Let's expand that a little. If you have to go into debt to pay for a coach, your business probably isn't doing well enough to justify the expense; that is, even if you dramatically increase your revenues, you might still have difficulty paying the cost of coaching. However, 1)if your business is already successful and providing a good revenue stream, 2)you want to improve / streamline some aspect of it, and / or 3) you want to completely re-examine your business to take it to the next level, then coaching may be just the answer you're looking for.

Paul McCord states that coaching costs between $300.00 per month to over $1,000.00 per month. That's true. However, in a survey of hundreds of coaches throughout the U.S., the Harvard Business Review found that coaching costs range from $300.00 to $3,000.00 per session [typically one hour], with the most common fee being $500.00 per session and most coaches meeting with their clients bi-weekly. Again, what this means is that if you / your team are creating a revenue stream in excess of $1 million per year, you don't need to increase it much to more than pay the $10,000.00 to $13,000.00 fees for a year's coaching. However, if your income stream is only a fourth of that, coaching can seem very expensive. In such cases, you may benefit from taking a group coaching program or an actual class focused on your area of greatest concern.

McCord points out that the quality of coaches, like the quality of psychotherapists, varies across a wide range and can not be predicted by either price or "certification." On the positive side, if you show up for all the sessions and do all the "homework" assigned between sessions, even an average coach will help you to improve your business sufficiently to more than compensate for his or her fees, and a good coach will help you move to the next level of success. In my experience, there are three keys to selecting a coach:

1) Is he / she competent? Ask for contact information of satisfied clients and then call them.
2) Does his expertise include the area of your concern? For example, my partners and I have extensive experience using systems theory [think Peter Senge, "The Fifth Discipline"] to help teams. If you're looking for help to improve your team, speak with teams with whom he / she has worked. And,
3) Are you comfortable with the coach and his or her approach?

If you can answer yes to each of these questions, have identified a specific goal you want to achieve through coaching, can afford the cost AND are committed, come heck or high water, to see the process through to the end, then this may well be the time to begin working with a coach. Thanks and good luck. kfg

Market Anxieties

In light of the turmoil in North Africa and the Persian Gulf, as well as the earth quake and tsunami in Japan, a lot of people are very concerned about the stability of the economic recovery. Many need to be reassured that you and your firm understand what's going on and have a solid plan of action that you can suggest. Like the crisis of 2008-9 this is NOT the time to hide under your desk and avoid client calls. It IS the time to proactively reach out to them and, if necessary, "hold their hands." Note: this makes this a great prospecting opportunity as well.

It is times like this when financial planning becomes a real asset to you, the financial advisor. By providing a context within which to understand their investments and the current markets, you can use their financial plan to explain how they will be affected and what steps you / your firm recommend. If you haven't already offered your top clients a financial plan, this is an excellent time to do so. It will not only help to calm them, but will almost invariably result in referrals and greater asset penetration.

On a positive note, I have just returned from a week in Kuwait where I provided consultative sales training to executives and sales staff from financial firms around the region. I can cheerfully report that Kuwait is experiencing complete calm and there is no rebellion waiting to break out. This is one area of oil production and financial institutions that is and will remain sound. Have a great day. Thanks. kfg

Start the New Year Right

I realize that discussing New Year's resolutions is so passe that it seems a waste of time. Everyone does it and no one follows through. However, this can be the year you decide to take your business to the next level. Whether you are a financial advisor, team leader or manager you can make some decisions now that can guarantee significantly better growth in the coming year.

1. If you haven't already done so, begin by reviewing your account activity for 2010. Who were your best accounts? Who gave the best and most referrals? Who took a lot of your time but gave nothing in return? In short, analyze your business.

2. Determine what you want to achieve in 2011 and create a plan to achieve it. Remember to set no more than three goals and make them realistic [no one knows you better than you do]. Then establish milestones to measure your progress along the way.

3. Determine what obstacles you will face and the resources you will need to overcome those obstacles and achieve your goals [e.g., your best clients from last year can often be your most important resource to help achieve this year's goals].

4. Discuss your goals with your manager, team members or a friendly rival in the office who will hold you accountable for following your plan.

Now, follow your plan to a more successful you. If you need help, consider hiring a business development coach. If you decide to work with a coach, get their help in setting your goals and get your manager to sign off on them. In addition, if you do a fair amount of business with any given money manager, get them to sign off on the goals as well. More and more money managers are willing to reimburse you for up to half of the cost of your coach if you achieve or exceed goals to which they and your manager have agreed [Note: many firms will reimburse the other half]. Good luck and have a great year. Thanks. kfg