David Leo

What is it worth to have a financial services coordinator who understands your clients’ needs and the language spoken by the specialized service providers they use? Today’s robo-advisors cannot provide the depth or breadth of coordination clients need. But you can, at least for your best clients. This should be a core of your value proposition.

The Financial Advisor Success Manual is designed for Advisors and Planners who want to grow their businesses and bring more organization and structure to their practices. We discuss the tools and techniques that can be used by advisors and planners to service and expand their businesses. These tools and techniques are those used in my coaching practice for many years. By providing on-going contact and holding advisors accountable for implementing changes we discuss, coaching brings the benefits… Show more

The Financial Advisor Success Manual is designed for Advisors and Planners who want to grow their businesses and bring more organization and structure to their practices. We discuss the tools and techniques that can be used by advisors and planners to service and expand their businesses. These tools and techniques are those used in my coaching practice for many years. By providing on-going contact and holding advisors accountable for implementing changes we discuss, coaching brings the benefits of a new way of doing business. Show less

As advisors, we love to talk. Unfortunately (or fortunately), most clients and prospects want us to do more listening than talking. This is a relationship business and this talking, about yourself, your company, your products and services, or even your family is no way to start or foster a relationship.

If you really want to grow your business, get introductions and have long term, profitable relationships, you need to follow the 80/20 rule. Clients and prospects talk 80% of the time;… Show more

As advisors, we love to talk. Unfortunately (or fortunately), most clients and prospects want us to do more listening than talking. This is a relationship business and this talking, about yourself, your company, your products and services, or even your family is no way to start or foster a relationship.

If you really want to grow your business, get introductions and have long term, profitable relationships, you need to follow the 80/20 rule. Clients and prospects talk 80% of the time; you talk 20% of the time. To get people talking about themselves, you need to ask questions and the right questions. Here are a number of critical questions to ask though feel free to change the sequence as it suits your conversations. Many of these questions can be used by financial advisors in initial and follow up discussions with prospects and clients. Some questions can be used anywhere as conversation starters such as the first question. Show less

One of the most challenging questions I get from advisors and teams I work with is, “How do I differentiate myself?” and “Why differentiation?”

The purpose of differentiation is to gain a sustainable edge over your competition. Differentiation does not have to be in absolute terms, but performance relative to competitors. For example, the winner of a hundred yard dash is usually only hundredths of a second faster than the second place finisher. Michael Phelps won one of his Olympic Gold… Show more

One of the most challenging questions I get from advisors and teams I work with is, “How do I differentiate myself?” and “Why differentiation?”

The purpose of differentiation is to gain a sustainable edge over your competition. Differentiation does not have to be in absolute terms, but performance relative to competitors. For example, the winner of a hundred yard dash is usually only hundredths of a second faster than the second place finisher. Michael Phelps won one of his Olympic Gold Medals by a hundredth of a second. The margin of victory in the Indy 500, in the 5 years not under caution, from 2001 to 2009 was less than 1.2 seconds.

Most financial advisors will state they are focused on the client and have the expertise, experience, education, integrity, and performance standards to help their clients succeed. These characteristics, however, are barely the entry price for a quality financial advisor and are not differentiating characteristics. Products, pricing, investment strategy and planning including asset allocation, risk assessment, performance monitoring and reporting are, for the most part, commodities and one can rarely gain more than a short lived competitive advantage from a solution or process in these areas.

So back to the key question, “How do you differentiate yourself?” This article discusses a dozen components to which you can commit and if they are delivered holistically and consistently can help define your differentiation. Show less

While millennials in general may not be hot prospects, the young adult children of your clients are
another matter. If you want to keep managing that money once it is passed to the next generation,
then you need to start making millennial marketing part of your strategy.

Service offerings that were seen as premium yesterday may be considered ho-hum today. To keep
your clients loyal and attract new business, you need to continually create “delight” with strategic
updates.

Serving your existing client base well is perhaps the best way to grow your business. Evaluate your client service model and see if there are some areas that require attention.

There are no silver bullets in the retail financial services industry. But the disciplined execution of these six initiatives, from business assessment to operational efficiency, can grow your business and put you ahead of your competitors.

Horsesmouth, used by tens of thousands of individual advisors, representing every major firm and advisor business model, provides articles of interest on practice management, marketing and prospecting, client management, the markets and investing, financial planning, etc.

With life expectancies at an all-time high, financial advisors have an opportunity—and maybe a duty—to help clients plan for a fulfilling life in retirement. Here's how to move beyond the money issues into the quality-of-life concepts encompassed in life planning.