In This Issue -

• Inspire Yourself & Your Team
• Day #1 - "Being" An Advisor 12 Day Free E-Course
• Major Opportunities and Challenges In Today's Financial Advisor Industry
• Coming To A City Near You
• Tell A Friend
   

  Personal Reflections

I can some up my Personal Reflections Section by pointing you to some of the best Blog articles that I have published over the past 30 days.

March 29, 2006 - The Money Pain Body

March 21, 2006 - Clock Work Pro-Seminars

March 17, 2006 - Yesterday’s Mistake

March 14, 2006 - A Shameless Plug

March 10, 2006 - A Right Of Passage

March 08, 2006 - “It Took Two Years To Create The Problems”

March 02, 2006 - As A Result Of Working With Leading Advisor

Enjoy the read.

My inspiration behind Inspire Yourself & Your Team relates to being approached by a number of business owners that are requesting me to come in and work with their teams.

The business owners want to inspire their teams to be more interdependent causing them to seek the answers that they require from their own experience and be more associated to meeting all the needs of their client’s by asking exploratory questions about the client’s associates, business, career, family, current and future needs so that they can pass the information onto other departments for further action.

My message to the business owners is you have to create emotional reasons for each of the team members to meet their needs and wants which will give them the internal inspiration and conviction so they will want to serve both themselves and the company because it is important for them.  This will happen because they have developed compelling emotional reasons why.

This follows along with the 80% is about WHY and 20% is about HOW.  In fact, if you give your team a strong enough why, they will figure out the how on their own.

The first step is to help your team members figure out what their true values are.  We facilitate this through a number of assessments and assignments. Again, values are why we do what we do.  Values are the DNA to fulfillment, inspiration and positive feelings.  Without a clear understanding of  their values, people will almost always feel unhappy and unfulfilled. They won’t enjoy coming to work, they will not be resourceful, and they will pass on their attitude and negative experience onto customers.  They will be less likely to have the concern of others at the top of their mind because they are not fulfilled from the inside out.

Values are also the basis for all positive beliefs and it is important that your team members take the time to develop a set of empowering beliefs. These beliefs, which are driven by values, will filter into their behaviors and how they show up for work each day.

The next step is to help the team create a compelling future by facilitating a goal setting session that is associated to their values, beliefs and feelings.  This answers the question; why do you want to succeed?  A compelling future is what makes you go the extra mile to want to get up early and stay up late to do what ever it takes to succeed.

We really help the team members to take a close look at their destiny and the impact of how much or little they are associated to it.

As an owner, you must make it about them.

It’s just like a relationship with a client. An uninspired prospect will not buy and neither will an uninspired team member.

Values, positive beliefs, positive feelings, goals, a definition of success, a compelling future will all add to your team members and increase their energy to inspire themselves and all the people that they come into contact with. We complete a number of exercises with them on energy management. 

The next step is to help communicate the company vision and company values to the team members to help to associate them to a compelling future in the organization.

We work with the team to create ways to see the similarities in their own values and the values of the company. We then help the team members to identify specific actions where the team can experience the combined values and feel the resulting experience of making it a true win-win.

Happy team members make for happy clients, make for a happy company.  Said another way, when the client wins the team member wins, and the company wins.

During this process we examine the team member job descriptions with them, and help them to determine where and how their values are being expressed.

At the same time, we introduce the concept of unmet needs to the team members.  We provide them with an overview of the most common needs and show them how to get their needs met though a systematic approach.  Also, we look at the areas of the job description where they are experiencing conflict and help them to clarify their understanding of the situation by clearing their limiting beliefs and emotions about portions of the job description. 

The most common unmet needs are; approval, control, power, recognition, safety and worthiness.  Unmet needs are the foundation to all negative beliefs and emotions.  An unmet need cannot be met by anything outside of ourselves and that includes; a job, the boss, customers, other team members, etc.  Continuing to try to meet unmet needs from outside of oneself will create a very frustrated team member.

Your team member’s lives and your business will experience significant positive changes when all of these things come into play.

The stage is now set for;

• The Values & Behaviors Communication, Customer Service & Sales Workshop that includes Values & Behaviors Assessments for each participant.  The Values & Behaviors Communication, Customer Service & Sales Workshop is facilitated in a live one-day workshop complete with assignments and tele-class follow up.

• The Power To Inspire Sales Workshop and Customer Survey System to enable your team to best serve your clients.  This is facilitated in a live one-day workshop complete with assignments and tele-class follow up.
   

We are offering a Free 12 Day E-Course to the attendees of our Public Speaking Presentations.  If you would like to receive the free course, please e-mail Laura at;  lreilly@leadingadvisor.com

 

With the advent of the first baby boomer turning 60 on January 1^st, 2006 there are going to be billions of dollars flowing through inheritance, the sale of businesses and early buy outs.  These will require the products and services of inspired and qualified financial advisors.

A recent report states that there are 55,000 privately owned businesses in British Columbia have owners that are between 55 and 65 and less than 10% of them have a succession plan.

Another report states that 1/3 of financial advisors are over 63 years of age.

The opportunities for inspired and qualified financial advisors abounds.

A Shortage of Inspired & Qualified Financial Advisors

In the very near future, like most professional services firms, there is going be an ever growing shortage of inspired and qualified financial advisors.  As an example, it is already getting difficult to find a qualified accountant or physician in some geographical areas.

The Reinvention Movement

Some new financial advisors will come from The Reinvention Movement that is being generated by the baby boomers. 

The Reinvention Movement applies to baby boomers that have spent years in a career or job that they didn’t really like; they did it to make ends meet.  They are now turning 55 – 60, still sick of the business or job that they created and are looking for something that is more appealing and inspiring. 

They are not ready to retire because they, like many boomers have developed a taste for consumerism.  At the same time they have all of this experience and creativity that they would like to pour into a business or career that they love.  None the less, they will be receiving substantial funds from the sale of their last business or the early buy out.

If I was looking for a successor or to recruit new advisors, this is the niche that I would be marketing too.  They will make great clients at the same time as they have amassed some wealth over the years.

Generation X & Y May Not Be The Answer

Some of the new financial advisors may come from Generation X & Y.  The challenge with Generation X & Y is many of them cannot endure the long term commitment that it takes to build a business through developing relationships and at the end of the day, they are too young and inexperienced in the eyes of wealthy baby boomers.  Said another way, it is said that Generation X and Generation Y in particular can dish it out but they can’t take the rejection that it will undoubtedly take to build a long term business.

Advisor’s Succession Plans May Become Orphaned Clients

If you are a financial advisor over 63 years of age it is time to wake up to the fact that your book of business may not be the retirement nest egg that you thought it was.  If you wait too long, there may not be enough inspired and qualified advisors to sell your book of business too.

What is worse is that of the 1/3 of financial advisors over 63 years of age, 23% of them do not have a succession plan.  I’m willing to bet that of the 67% of financial advisors that think they have a succession plan that are over 63 years of age, many of their succession plans are written on a restaurant napkin.

The reason that I say this is that 1/3 of all financial advisors are operating without a business plan.  So why would there be any difference between sitting down and writing a succession plan?  It reminds me of an Irish expression that my mother use to mock my father with;  "Come day, go day, God send Sunday”. 

“My book of business is my retirement” is a delusional comment made by financial advisors that have not identified and started working with a living breathing advisor to become their successor.  There will be blood in the streets for many of the financial advisors over 63 years of age for the book that they thought was their retirement will turn out to be, for the most part, a lot of unqualified clients that have bought a lot of unprofitable products.  

Today’s successful advisor who is building a wealth management practice offering a series of profitable products through a network of advisors is not interested in the book of business which may turn out to look like the same list that some companies call orphaned clients.

A Whopping 50% of Financial Advisors Are Not Very Satisfied

All of the billions of dollars flowing through inheritance, the sale of businesses and early buy outs should cause an excitement to reverberate through the industry yet another survey suggested that only about 10% of financial advisors are very satisfied and a whopping 50% are not very satisfied.  This would then assume that 40% of financial advisors are not satisfied at all.

What is causing the lack of satisfaction?

We have only seen the tip of the lack of satisfaction or rather the inability to create satisfaction in what would appear to be the number one industry to enable one to create satisfaction.  I’m sure you have heard the statement “money doesn’t buy you happiness”.

What is causing the lack of satisfaction that is part of the cause for no succession, business or marketing plan?

Part of the cause is the needy instant gratification of most Baby Boomers which they have unknowingly passed onto Generation X & Y.  I want this, that and all of that and want it right &^%# now!  No one has the patience any more.

1/3 of Financial Advisors Are Making Between $50K and $100K

I want this, that and all of that and want it right &^%# now conflicts when you consider the following from another report;

• 1/3 of financial advisors are making between $50K and $100K

• 1/2 financial advisors are making between $100K - $200K

• 1/5 of financial advisors are making over $250K

1/3 of Financial Advisors Don’t Want Success And They Don’t Want Wealthy Clients

1/3 of financial advisors don’t want success and they don’t want wealthy clients are a pretty significant statement.

Here is why I am saying this.

In a recent survey suggested that 77% of financial advisors don’t believe that there is enough wealth in Canada.  Another survey came out states that there are 200,000 people in Canada that are worth more than 1,000,000.

The 1/5 of financial advisors that are making over $250K are using referrals to find wealthy clients.

The 1/2 of financial advisors are making between $100K - $200K are using seminars to find wealthy clients.

The 1/3 of financial advisors that are making between $50K and $100K are using advertising, brochures and direct mail and they are not effectively finding wealthy clients.

All of this would suggest that 1/3 of financial advisors don’t want to find wealthy clients.

Wealth Management Is The Way To Go

The learned experts in the financial advisor industry are all speaking and writing about Wealth Management being the way to go versus selling a broad range of investment products that do not have an orientation to financial planning.   

Wealth Management requires financial advisors to first create deep relationships with themselves and their teams to enable them to create deep relationships with affluent clients that require Wealth Management.

Wealth Management follows a consultative relationship building approach where the financial advisor, through a team of financial advisors offering individualized systematized financial solutions for the needs of affluent investors that can include; Investment management, financial planning, retirement planning, estate planning, tax planning, asset protection and cash flow and debt management.

Wealth Management will also include the transition to asset-based fee compensation structures versus commission.

Financial Advisors Are Addicted

The baby boomer financial advisor’s addition to selling products which is fueled by their own consumption of products to fill unconscious insatiable unmet needs is preventing them from switching to Wealth Management.

Jim Rogers, of The Rogers Group, said “Most financial advisors are addicted to selling”.  In essence, Advise versus Sell.

All of this creates an enormous opportunity for inspired and qualified financial advisors for who is going to do the job?

It Is Not Easy

It will not be easy even for the inspired and qualified financial advisors for the following reasons;

• Client Needs Are Becoming More Complex

• Increased Regulation

• Increased Completion

• Investment Products Are Becoming More Sophisticated

• Market Volatility

• New Technology

• Rising Client Expectations

Who Is Going To Do The Job?

The financial advisors that base their goals, business and marketing plan … literally everything that they do on their values, a vision that is free of their psychological unmet needs, limiting beliefs and emotions.

This is who is going to do the job, and do it well.

Here is a list and links to our speaking engagements for 2006 where we will be presenting:

Please and thank you for passing on this information to your associates and friends. And if you know of an Association or if your company is looking for a speaker for an upcoming event, contact Laura at lreilly@leadingadvisor.com and she will contact you for more information.

April 3, 2006             4pm       Ramada Inn                             Pro-Seminars
                                             London, ON
April 5, 2006             8am       Victoria Inn                              Pro-Seminars
                                             Winnipeg, MN
April 7, 2006            10:30am  Tigh Na Mara Resort                Advocis - Central Vancouver Isld
                                             Nanaimo, BC
April 24, 2006          10am       Quality Suites                         Pro-Seminars                                              Toronto, ON
April 28, 2006          10am       TBA                                       Advocis - North Okanagan
                                             Kelowna, BC