Blog

2018 will soon be in the books and for the most part it seemed to be a very good year for a lot of you, so congrats! To continue to build upon these successes and avert the challenges facing our profession, it is increasingly necessary that you continue to fully utilize every asset at your disposal. And by far the biggest lever you can pull to increase the value of your assets is to improve your firm’s human capital. From this perspective, you need each member of your team to be at the top of ...

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‘People care about their problems. Not your solutions. They don’t care what you know until they know how much you care.’  - Carl Richards Empathy, or the ability to sense other people’s emotions, is a must must-have trait to become an effective financial planner.  Since financial planning is primarily a relationship business that involves dealing with people, the better you can understand why people feel, act, and do what they do, the more successful you will be. For the most part, ...

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Last month, we reviewed some of the issues that firms should consider when deciding whether to relocate a new hire to join the organization. This month, we continue the discussion by exploring some guidelines on how to handle the process of at-a-distance candidates doing an on-site firm visit and interview, as well as an overview of what we are seeing firms provide in terms of relocation benefits. Since financial planning positions, at least the client facing ones, are about building trust ...

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January 2017 Clients, Friends, and Colleagues, I hope you had a great holiday and are off to a terrific start for 2017! This month we are going to examine issues involved when new hires relocate to come work with you. Below is question I often receive from firm owners seeking to hire new team members: Challenge – “…I think this candidate can be a great fit, but they are not from this area, nor do they have any family ties here. I am concerned that if they are only moving here for ...

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Last month, we discussed how placing too much emphasis on technical knowledge can lead to a poor hiring decision. In this month’s article, we identify/explore several other areas that we have seen be better indicators of Success than purely technical ability. Look for these “SPECIAL” markers of success, in conjunction with technical skills, to find your next special person. Sense of Urgency - Most candidates think they have this, but few do. Unfortunately, the mindset of having a burning ...

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Technical skills undoubtedly play an important role in a financial planner’s career. Even though the practice of financial planning is heavily an Art, there is still quite a bit of Science knowledge that needs to be acquired for successfully helping clients achieve their goals. There might be a few out there that come close, but no one I know of has mastered all the technical topics in the financial planning profession lexicon, because the issues a client could face over their lifetimes are ...

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We have seen a substantial amount of merger and acquisition activity recently. What we are not seeing, though, is the massive layoffs that are often associated with these types of transactions in other industries. Instead, there is a flurry of hiring… albeit often to help replace staff who departed (of their own volition) due to not desiring to be a part of the new acquiring firm. From what we have seen, this is due to a heavy emphasis on the quantitative metrics, while the qualitative items, ...

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At some point in your organization’s lifecycle, you will have a team member(s) who underperforms. Underperformance comes in various sizes and shapes, but is most likely a deficiency surrounding getting things done quickly and/or accurately.  If not addressed properly, underperforming team members can wreak havoc on an organization’s work flow, service standards, and ultimately profitability. Here are some do’s and don’ts to help guide you in getting an underperforming team member back on a ...

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“You’ve got to find ways to demonstrate value… [Bosses] don’t care what the salary surveys say. If you feel like you deserve more money, you need to write up a plan.” Listen to the entire episode here ...

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When firms set out to hire a non-experienced financial planner, they can choose to hire a new college graduate who will have a degree in financial planning, or a career changer who will have a certificate in financial planning. The differences between a certificate and a degree program can be substantial, and should be an important factor in deciding what candidate type to pursue. In this month’s article, we will look at some of the other advantages and potential challenges in deciding ...

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In last month’s article, we reviewed several places online you can go to find potential new financial planners for your firm. In the end, though, getting candidates to want to work for your firm still requires a marketing effort. And just like any other marketing effort, it is essential that you have a strong ground game as well, to support your online presence. Here are several additional areas we suggest firms focus, when trying to attract good young financial planning talent: ...

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Until the financial planning profession begins to become more of a profession of choice for the younger crop of new talent, finding candidates to interview for roles within your firms will continue to be challenging. As a recruiting firm for financial advisors, the question we are asked frequently is “how do you find your candidates?” The short answer is that a lot of them find us, thanks to our strong reputation as a firm that matches the best candidates to the best financial planning ...

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