This was after my client was explaining that they were not feeling well over the past week while they were working on three large cases at the same time.

I asked them when they were going to get some free time and my client remembered that they had the upcoming weekend free … except for a family reunion … that would be fun … until the subject came up around money and that their family would all want to talk about their investments that they have with my client.

I suggested that my client announce to their family in a jovial way early  on at the reunion that “this was a financial advice free zone” at the family reunion and that they all knew the office number and that they would be happy to talk about investments at the office.

 

This is an article that Neil Menzies of Arbutus Financial wrote for Manulife’s eDialogue monthly.

Flash forward to 2011 and Neil has a flourishing business at Arbutus Financial. “Over time, I gained momentum and my natural market of 25-year-olds matured into more senior roles in business – controllers, CEOs, CFOs – as we all grew older,” says Neil. “My little one-man operation has grown to a firm with two locations, in Vancouver and Nanaimo, and a talented ten-person team.”

Embracing technology, while challenging and expensive because it advances so quickly, is a key plank in Arbutus’s business growth. “Today, being progressive and light on our feet is essential,” says Neil, a self-described “gadget guy” who loves playing with new technology in his spare time.

Each advisor at the firm is equipped with a customized iPad for use in the planning process, which Neil says results in a consistent Arbutus Financial client experience and the iPads are simple to update.

Keeping things simple, standardized and easily repeated is essential. “Our goal is for clients to have a consistent white-glove experience, regardless of which team member they have contact with. Leveraging technology ensures we all have quick access to information, make detailed client-contact notes and truly know the people we serve.”

Arbutus’s standard tech platform also includes:

• Paperless office, with document scanning, efiling, paperless fax
• Interoffice messenger communication on each desktop
• Standardized desktop for each team member, simplifying training and improving best practices
• Secure remote access to office computer and filing system
• Proprietary client database (CRM), with key information at fingertips, for quick response to client queries, including soft facts regarding client profile (example: mother has Alzheimer’s, do not take instructions)
• Resource eLibrary – centralized with key resource materials to assist with communicating planning strategies
• Use of Dropbox for document management and mobility
• Robust telephone system with many options for customization, mobility etc.
• Cordless headsets for all team members
• Copytalk for dictation
• eProcedure Manual, to ensure consistency of delivery, and understanding of standard operating procedures

Neil credits a mentor who taught him the potential for productivity improvement through technology integration. He took that advice and grew with it. “We are fortunate to have an excellent support staff with a culture of cooperation and collaboration. A standardized technology platform is essential in supporting our growth. By sharing best practices through technology, we all learn to work smarter, not harder.”

Free One Page Business Plan Webinar June 23^rd – Register Now!

Announcing Leading Advisor’s One Page Business Plan(TM) Free Webinars and the One Page Business Plan(TM) Webinars! “If you don’t get the words right, you might build the wrong business and may never get the numbers right.” The date for the One Page Business Plan(TM) Free Webinar is: Thursday, June 23rd at 1:45pm EDT

Who should attend?

• Do you have too many scattered ideas?
• Do you need to focus on a few?
• Do you need to jumpstart your business right now?
• Do you have no time or interest in writing a 50 page business plan?
• Do you need to determine if you’re focusing on the right things?
• Do you need an effective blueprint to keep yourself and team focused?

Then consider a fresh, simple approach to business planning that will enable you to focus on what is important…the One Page Business Plan^(TM) – a powerful tool for building and managing a business. It’s short, it’s concise, and it delivers results quickly and effectively. There can be no question as to where your business is headed when it is in writing, especially when you have the key essentials about growing your business clearly specified on a single page.

Is this another ho-hum course on business planning like the ten others you have attended – no way! I know how to capture the essence of any business in just a few minutes using the innovative key word and short phrase techniques using the One Page Business Plan^(TM).

To Register for the One Page Business Plan^(TM) Free Webinars:

Call Laura at 250 248-6012 / 1 877 248-6012 or e-mail Laura at lreilly@leadingadvisor.com and you will receive your GoTo Meeting Webinar Link, Phone Number and Access Code.

• Thursday, June 23^rd at 1:45pm EDT

 

I had to write to say that I Loved the Power of 3 Article.

I believe you are onto something “good, great, gigantic” (couldn’t resist).

Thanks for your continued inspiration.

Tracy Valgardsson Enns, CFP, FDS, EPC
Athabasca Financial Ltd./Partners In Planning
Moose Jaw, SK

* * *

Advisor.ca Name That Visionary

What do Simon Reilly, Mark Carney, Jim Flaherty, Moshe Milevsky and Terry Zavitz have in common?

Voting for Advisor.ca ‘s  Name That Visionary will commence on September 7th 2010 (just after Labour Day).

If you previously voted you’ll receive an email voting reminder on September 7th.

Round One is over. Your votes have been cast and tabulated. Advisor.ca’s expansive list of candidates is now down to just 20 entries displayed below. It is your turn to pick the Top Ten for the next phase of Advisor.ca’s poll to determine Canada’s greatest financial visionary. In the Second Round, you can only cast one vote so read the bios carefully, familiarize yourself with the candidates and make your pick.

Your votes will be tabulated and Advisor.ca’s first round of judging will determine the top ten finalists. A second round of judging will determine the order of the Top 10 nominees and an overall winner.

 

Laura and I were treated extremely well by the executive and the attendees of The Great American Advisors Conference in Lake Tahoe.

My Thursday speaking presentation was well received and the reason that I say that is an attendee told me that they were telling people that mine was the best presentation that they had attended all day and that they would recommend me as a financial advisors speaker for their National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisor ( NAIFA ) Chapter … Laura and I met up with this person in the line up for the buffet and they invited us to sit with them and this is where we met up with the MDRT committee member.

The Beach Party was really well organized and the fun started with three teams who were given ingredients to make salsa, and we were invited to vote on the best tasting salsa and the most original name. While this was going on, there was beach volley ball and one hour catamaran rides around Lake Tahoe. This was topped off by a buffet of salad, corn bread & chutney, trout, ribs and chicken.

We are off to a breakfast reception that will be followed by an address by Ed Forst, President and CEO of Lincoln Investment Planning and then I speak again at 10:20am.

Laura and I are looking forward to spending some time poking around Incline Village and Lake Tahoe on Friday afternoon and evening. We head to the airport on Saturday morning where Laura will be heading home and I am flying to Toronto to speak at Sun Life’s Toronto Sales Congress in front of 800 Sun Life financial advisors.

 

The Valley that I am referring to is this news out of the UK;

Financial advisers struggle to survive - Advisers who take a commission for financial advice face extinction after the Financial Services Authority confirmed in June that the practice will be banned from 2013

There are those that will thrive and there will be those that try to survive. What is it about the human condition that is always posturing itself to survive the next cataclysmic event?

Some say that Canada is just a few years behind on Fee For Service and I believe that five percent of financial advisors have already set the stage for an easy transition.

The reinvention of the financial advisor’s offering would go something like the following.

We specialize in working with clients that have an asset base of $___________ – $___________ that want to grow and protect their assets by working with a team of professionals that provide the following service offering;

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Our fee for this service is $_______ per annum payable in advance.

Would you like to know more?

 

It’s 2:25pm PT and the plane has just left Comox for Edmonton where I’ll be speaking tomorrow at 8am on behalf of Pro-Seminars.

I am using this time to get re-associated to my goals as I have invested somewhere between 50 and 100 hours in updating my financial advisor speaking power point presentations so that I could deliver fresh material to the Financial Management Professional Development Days in Vancouver on March 10^th and Calgary on March 12^th. The work on the powerpoints isn’t over yet because I have a new financial advisor speaking presentation to deliver entitled The Compassionate Advisor^TM to The Independent Financial Brokers Summit in Calgary on April 22^nd.

In this economy, financial advisor speakers and financial advisors cannot afford to gather moss as the commoditization of many advisory professions is happening. When one can buy legal advice, real estate, travel, travel insurance and do DIY trading on line, what are you doing right now to create a unique sales proposition to differentiate yourself from the rest of the herd? For more on this, click Seth Godin’s blog entitled Where Have All The Agents Gone?

 

Thank you for today’s coaching call.

Please find attached assignment on Values.

Values are the DNA to fulfillment.

Please find attached links to articles called Eliminating Procrastination that are enclosed in these E-Newsletter Links; Note You Will Have To Scroll Down

Eliminating Procrastination – Part 1

Eliminating Procrastination – Part 2

Please find the following info on Highly Sensitive People.

Best regards,

Simon

 

I was reminded of The Highly Sensitive Person Book title during one of Tuesday’s client conversations.

One in every five people is born with a heightened sensitivity; they are often gifted with great intelligence, intuition and imagination, but there are also drawbacks. Frequently they come across as aloof, shy or moody and suffer from low self-esteem because they find it hard to express themselves in a society dominated by excess and stress. This offers effective solutions to those feeling overwhelmed and focuses on the strengths of the trait, that their sensitivity is not a flaw but an asset.