Blog

Many financial planning firm owners we talk to are all wondering the same thing, “How do I ensure all of my employees become vaccinated?” Amid another huge wave of COVID-19 cases and the spread of different virus variants, vaccination efforts are becoming more urgent. Many questions are arising for employers regarding if or how to support vaccination efforts and what risks they take with mandating vaccination for their employees. It is important to employ a solid vaccination program that carries ...

Read more +

Last month we shared with you the reasons to hire a new planner and transition clients and in this month’s post we conclude our two part series with tips on when to transition clients, how to transition clients, and how to overcome pushback you may receive.   When to Transition Clients  Timing will differ - Every firm is different and not everyone will be ready to take on client relationships at the same time. It will largely depend on your service model, client type, ...

Read more +

Recruiting new talent for your firm right now is very difficult. Those seeking to attract talent in this highly competitive environment must have a detailed plan for showing their new planner how the firm will help them get to where they want to go professionally.  One of the best ways to do this is for firms to involve new planners in client meetings from the very beginning, so they can start learning the craft! Then once they have developed the confidence, maturity, and skills that you ...

Read more +

The firms we work with are busier than ever right now, and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. This is a critical time for financial planning firms to continue the momentum, so you want to ensure you are getting the most out of your team to capitalize on the opportunities that are ahead of you.  You have probably had some team members step up over the last year to tackle the new challenges your firm faced, but what about the others in your organization who might not have stepped up ...

Read more +

Virtually every firm owner has at some point experienced the challenging financial and non-financial impacts of staff turnover.  The estimated financial cost, depending on the source, can range anywhere from 1-3 times a departing team member’s compensation. This is not the most detrimental cost though – even worse is the psychological impact of frequent turnover in firms, and how it causes the existing team members to lose confidence in their leader(s), increases the difficulty to ...

Read more +

Historically, resumes have been a very large part of the hiring process. After all, what could be better to understand a candidate’s experience and capabilities than a chronological account of a job applicant’s work history right there on one (hopefully) or more pages, for hiring firms to review and use as a guide for developing their interviewing questions to delve even deeper.  Yet as much as firms rely on these pieces of paper when hiring a new team member, a resume review is not the ...

Read more +

2020 is almost in the books and what a challenging year it has been! What we have heard and seen from the firms we talk to across the country is that it was a different year, but still a good year for most.  If you want to continue on the momentum you have built up, it is imperative that your team know exactly what they should be doing next year.  Goal setting can be a delicate process because you don’t want to set your goals too low and limit yourself, but also don’t want to set them ...

Read more +

As we approach the holiday season and reflect back on what a tough year it has been, I want to encourage you to thank your team members who are the core of your business. It is important to publicly acknowledge their hard work for you and the firm’s clients and reward them accordingly. This month, I wanted to give you some suggestions on a few year end gifts/bonus ideas that will go a long way for people who have shown dedication and commitment during turbulent times.  Christmas Bonus - ...

Read more +

Welcome to the 4th quarter of 2020. Congratulations, you made it! It didn't seem like we would ever get here in March when everything imploded. It has been a tough year. Your revenues might still not have fully recovered, and there is a lot of uncertainty with the presidential election, overall economy and stock market. However, as the leader of your firm, you have to continue making informed decisions to move your business forward.  Understandably, revenue may still be slightly off and in ...

Read more +

Undoubtedly, these last few months have forced you to expand your capabilities and challenged you to become a better planner and business owner. While virtual client meetings existed pre Covid-19, they were not employed exclusively for most financial advisory firms, and were generally only with clients themselves (not to manage internal team members as well).  But now that in person meetings have shifted virtually, for both clients and prospects, and advisory teams themselves,  it can be easy ...

Read more +