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Sometimes firm owners contact me to express frustration over a younger member on their staff who is not professional enough, is unable to think critically, and does not respect authority. While it’s important not to over-generalize a Millennial generation totaling 80 million people, we do recognize that there is some validity to the concern that younger planners lack certain soft skills to succeed in the profession and develop into a solid succession plan for existing advisory firm ...
As many of you prepare to hire summer interns, you may find yourself considering hiring from iGen – the next generation after the Millennials. These new kids on the block, born around the turn of the millennium, are teenagers now and are poised to make a major impact in the workplace. Here are some takeaways from a recent research study on things to consider when adding an iGen to your firm. Sourcing – Campus visits and social media continue to be useful ways to locate and connect with ...
When most advisory firms are founded from scratch, the common business development approach is to take every prospect you possibly can. As the saying goes, “If they can fog a mirror, they’re a prospect.” This is a logical approach when starting out, and you’re just trying to get enough revenue to keep the lights on! As firms grow and develop a recurring revenue stream, this pressure to constantly bring in new clients dissipates somewhat. Eventually, the firm becomes established enough, the ...
2015 will soon be in the books and for the most part it seemed to be a pretty 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 ...
Firms who contact us are sometimes struggling with the dilemma of whether to hire a planner who will stay in an Associate role permanently, or the more traditional planner hire who will progress along a career path to an eventual Lead Planner role. Below are a few of the opportunities and challenges for the permanent Associate hire to consider when contemplating how and where your next hire might fit within your organization. Opportunities for Long Term Associate Hire: Management – ...
In last month’s article, we reviewed how to successfully integrate a successor into your organization. This month, we will discuss how to groom them into becoming the leader you and your firm need them to be. At this juncture, you presumably have already identified, screened, and selected a successor candidate, and have made progress towards integrating them into the organization. Once they are fully integrated, the majority of your remaining time at the helm should be directed to grooming ...
In last month’s article, we reviewed some key attributes to consider when selecting a potential successor for your firm. This month, we will discuss how to successfully integrate them into your organization. Integration into the following three key areas of the business, position the future successor for the most likely chance for a successful outcome. • Client Service – Because financial planning is primarily a relationship based business it is a delicate process concluding the relationship ...
It seems as though succession planning is covered in the major news outlets every day now. It is true that we are a graying/grayed profession, and there is a lot of debate on the best way to go about alleviating the problem of the next generation continuing on with what the founding generation started. This month’s article is the first post in a three part series addressing the succession planning issue that many of the founding members of firms are facing and often unprepared for. We find ...
Over the last few years, candidates have had an increased focus on what technology the firms they are considering employ. So much so, that we have witnessed firms actually lose a few candidates that could have been excellent planners to fin tech start-up types. With that in mind, this month's post is to challenge you to take a look at your current technology infrastructure to see if your firm is meeting the mark. 1. Utilize Software: Believe it or not, we have firms contact us that do not ...
It is no secret that I am an advocate of the next generation of financial planners, and consistently rebuff efforts of those who try to stereotype all of the ~ 80 million members that make up Generation Y (Millennials) as lazy, arrogant, entitled, and overall, just bad, etc. I am realistic, though, and in speaking to dozens of candidates from these generations each week and seeing some struggle in firms (even though lots more succeed), I will acknowledge that there are certainly a few out ...
When I am out traveling the country speaking with new planners seeking to enter the financial planning profession and firm owners seeking to hire them, I often see many of the same mistakes being made. Recently, Carly Schulaka, Editor of the Journal of Financial Planning asked me 10 questions which I have included below that will hopefully assist all parties to experience a much smoother interaction. However, you must click here if you are interested in my answers. Enjoy! 1. One of your areas ...
Procrastination; It runs rampant in our instant gratification, I-need-it-yesterday society. In fact, I have to admit I am writing this article in the eleventh hour. You may even be reading this as a way to distract yourself from preparing for the big client meeting that is set for Monday (Hint: Go ahead and close this now if that's the case. I will not mind your delay in reading this article as much as your client will mind!). In this month's article, I wanted to provide you with a few resources ...
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