Welcome to "More Profit & More Time"

In this issue:

Part 1 – Coaching Case Studies

13 Steps to Build and Lead a Championship Support Team

Free Teleclasses -
“7 Steps To Get Your September & Your Year Off To A Strong Start”

Part 2 – Resources & Classifieds Section

A Few Reminders + New Password to Leading Advisor Resources

Tell Your Friends

Part 3 – Reilly's Reflections & Rants

Blog Highlight Articles:

• Does It Take You & Your Team Until Oct. 15th To ...

• 20 Something’s

• “Values & Behaviors Based Selling” Workshop, Friday, October 21st 2005

• Has The Time Come For a “Fulfillment Planner™”?

• Is August a 3, 4 or 5 Week Month?

I would love to hear your feedback, let me know what you think.

Simon Reilly
sreilly@leadingadvisor.com

Part 1 – Coaching Case Studies

13 Steps to Build and Lead a Championship Support Team

1. Appreciate – it’s not just at 5pm on a Friday

2. Communicate – take the time on a human basis

3. Eliminate – do not tolerate

4. Fabricate – an organizational structure

5. Orchestrate – a system for everything

6. Motivate – recruit, train, and facilitate

7. Indoctrinate – share your vision

8. Delegate – but do not abdicate

9. Congregate – to communicate by listening

10. Compensate – performance related

11. Educate – role play and courses

12. Create – a fabulous environment

13. Recommended Reading List

Laura & I attended Chris Barrow’s Coaching Study Group in Toronto June 1 – 3, 2005.  Chris runs The Coaching Business School.  The following document was developed from Chris’s 9 Steps to Build and Lead a Championship Support Team. I though you would gain some value by receiving some of the points covered in the presentation.

Step 1.  Appreciate - It's not just at 5pm on a Friday

The 4 Universal Truths Of Why Your Team Members Come To Work:

1. Money

2. Appreciation

3. Fun

4. Environment

1.  Money
The number one reason why your team members come to work is for the money. In the long run, the money doesn’t make your team members happy and the money will help them to enjoy their misery.

2.  Appreciation
We are talking genuine appreciation.  It’s not just 5pm on a Friday as the team member is rushing out the door to be with their friends and loved ones – “Oh Jane, thanks for taking care of ______________, I really appreciated that!” 

There is a better way.  In fact there are at least two. 

One of them can be during your quarterly review process.  Prepare a list well in advance of all the things that you are noticing that the team member is doing right. 

An even better way is to catch your team member doing things right it the moment.

3.  Fun
We all like to have fun at work.  Your team doesn’t need to have permission to crack a joke.  Make sure that you take your team out as a group and have some fun.  A group who stays together, goes out and plays together.  At the end of the week, it’s not the business or the practice management that holds the team together, it is the memories the team creates together.

4.  Environment
Make sure that your office is nicely decorated and looks like the 21^st Century, not the remnants of  1950’s.  No magazines that are five years old, dirty washrooms, dead plants and please, don’t drag in the used recreation room furniture once your teenagers are done with it.  Make sure that the staff room is clean and nicely appointed and that it does not look like the black whole from Calcutta.

Step 2.  Communication - take the time on a human basis

The employees in a professional practice are often under a great deal of pressure and communication can often turn into routine communication about operations and after a period of time, employees no matter how well they are motivated by performance incentives can begin to resent each other.  This can be especially true about employees and commission sales people that are working together.  This kind of resentment can start to leak out into communications with the client in a “he said” / “she said”. 

Remember to take the time for the human side of communication and take the time for coffee, lunch and non-work related communication.

Step 3.  Eliminate - do not tolerate

Sam Walton the founder of Walmart had all of his employees bagging groceries the first day on the job where he applied his one bagger, two bagger and three bagger assessment theory.

The new employees were assessed based upon the number of grocery bags they filled at a time while working at the check-out.

• Three baggers are natural enthusiasts and they always end up as Regional Managers

• Two baggers are competent and they do the job exactly and start and end on time 9 - 5pm

• One baggers are professionally miserable people. They are BMW’s (Bitchers, Moaners and Whiners). They whine about the customers, the prices, their colleagues, the weather, they whine about everything.

One baggers are one baggers.  One baggers will drag you down, they will drag your team down and they will sabotage your business.

One baggers often do the job competently, so you will have to smoke them out.  One baggers have got to go.  Smoke them out of your organization, and it will take you 1 ˝ years.

How do you do this?

Send your employees on customer service courses, professional development courses, and hold regular staff meetings.

If you have a ‘temporary’ one bagger, an employee who is going thru a difficult period in their life, give them the time and space to recover.  You need to distinguish between the temporary and the permanent.

Over time, with the focus on customer service, professional development and team meetings, the one bagger will simply leave on their own. The positive team environment will simply be too uncomfortable for them, and they will leave to find another organization to invade.

Step 4.  Fabricate - an organizational structure

Read or reread, Michael Gerber’s E-Myth Revisited.

Get out of Management!

Instead, create a team of people who can create a business for you.  You cannot grow your business yourself.  Select your people based on their skill set and the appropriate Values & Behaviors for the position.

Stop being a control freak within your own business.  Control freaks will make a living, but they will not make any money.

Step 5.  Orchestrate - a system for everything

• Finance

• Marketing

• Personnel

• Resources

• Sales

Build your business like it is a franchise. Why?
Because franchises don’t fail; most of them succeed.

Why build your business like a franchise? So you can have a life.

Step 6.  Motivate - recruit, train and facilitate

Management is about systems.

Leadership is about people.

How do you motivate your people?

You can threaten them or you can lead by example.  

• If you are miserable, then everyone in the office has permission to be miserable.

• If you are late, then everyone in the office has permission to be late.

• If your finances are a mess  …  and so on.

Leadership is about getting out of the trench first and saying  …  “follow me!”

Step 7.  Indoctrinate - share your vision

• Vision

• Mission

• Roles

• Goals

What if your team was asked where the boss is going with …

• 5 year plan?

• 3 year plan?

• 12 month plan?

• 30 day plan?

• 90 day plan?

What would their answer be?

Step 8.  Delegate - but do not abdicate

Abdicate – Dump vs. Delegate

When delegating answer the 5 W’s & the How!

• Who?

• What?

• Where?

• When?

• Why?

• How?

You must acknowledge to yourself that you can’t do it all.  You have hired a support team to do exactly that, to support you and the business.  So let them. Learn to delegate.

Give clear instructions on what you want done, and give a clear deadline on when you need the task complete by. Then walk away.

If they persistently fail, replace them. The weakest link – is between your ears.  Your employees will rise to the challenge.

Step 9.  Congregate - to communicate by listening

Here is a meeting schedule that we recommend:

• Daily 15 minute meetings – a daily huddle

• Weekly meetings – that last an hour

• Monthly meetings – that are ˝ a day

• Quarterly meetings – that are a full day

• Annually – 2 day meetings, a retreat, an overnight. To review your 3 year plan, your one year plan and your 90 day goals.

You think that the lost revenue from all of these ‘meetings’ is going to make your business less profitable.

WRONG.

Secondly, there is nothing that builds a team more, than the time away together from the office.

Step 10.  Compensate - performance related

• Provide a good basic wage

• Increase the good basic wage in line with the cost of living

+

• Offer a performance related bonus / pay it once a year in December every year ( = 2 months wages / an extra month’s wage for all payroll staff)

• Cost out the performance related bonus a year in advance along with the costs, income and the profit to be shared

• Measure the key performance indicators how you like

• Performance can relate to:

• Clients
• Memberships
• Profits
• Sales

Step 11.  Educate – role play and courses

• In house training
• External training
• Professional and personal development
• Role play
• Feedback

Start thinking like a retailer and provide ‘wow” customer service

Successful Practice is 98% people and 2% financial planning

Step 12.  Create - a fabulous environment

Chris Barrow developed The Environmental 100 Assessment Tool for your business.

To receive your copy e-mail; lreilly@leadingadvisor.com and type in the subject line; The Environmental 100 Assessment Tool

The Environmental 100 is a tool to assess the environmental health of your business. Use it to identify areas for focus. The intention is to help you become well organized and to create a more pleasant working environment. (You may also learn yours is already among the best!).  It focuses on five areas:

• Sight

• Sound

• Touch

• Smell/Taste

• Relationships/Culture

Step 13.  Recommended Reading List

• The 8th Habit : From Effectiveness to Greatness
  Stephen R. Covey

• Building Happiness Centered Business
  Dr Paddi Lund

• Leadership from the Inside Out
  Kevin Cashman

• Shackleton’s Way
  Margot Morrell & Alexandra Shackleton

Free Teleclasses - “7 Steps To Get Your September & Your Year Off To A Strong Start”

Sign Up Now by Clicking The Date That Works Best For You - space is limited! 

Tuesday, August 30^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Tuesday, September 6^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Here is the format for the Teleclasses;

7 Steps To Get Your September And Your Year Off To A Strong Start

You know what it is like just before or right after Labor Day.  That sinking feeling?  That the Fall & Winter are soon to be upon us.  If you live in Vancouver, B.C. that sinking feeling could even be worse because summer didn’t really start until July 15^th.  That sinking feeling gets even worse as you start to consider that the clocks will change soon and before you know it is starting to get dark by 6pm.  And then it hits you!  It’s October the 15^th and that the end of the year is upon you and you better get back to work!

Well, we will have none of that!  Attend all 7 Teleclasses, or choose the Teleclass most relevant to you at this time. Here is what we are going to cover;

    Tuesday, August 30^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Reflection – The absolute number one thing that you must to do add passion, focus and a belief & feeling of “Yes I can do this” when you look at meeting and exceeding your goals for 2005 * 2006.
 

    Tuesday, September 6^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Vision - Where do you want to be on the 31st of December 2005?
 

    Tuesday, September 27^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Why - The most important "W" is Why do you want the Vision?
 

    Tuesday, October 4^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Goals - Defining your 90 day goals and turning your vision into a set of practical and measurable goals.
 

    Tuesday, October 25^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Measures - Developing a set of measurement systems that will keep you on track.
 

    Tuesday, November 1^st, 2005 at 5pm PST

Time Management - 3 simple Steps that will make sure every day is lived to the fullest.
 

    Tuesday, November 29^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Planning- create a calendar that allows adequate time to rest, development and income.
 

Case Studies

Teleclass Participants are invited to E-mail questions in advance of the call and the answers will be reviewed during the Teleclass. Send your questions to lreilly@leadingadvisor.com

Dear Ask The Advisor,

"I have no problems meeting people and introducing myself and what I do. Where I have the greatest difficulty is actually getting that person to sit with me and listen to what I can offer them. I believe what I do is of great benefit and value, it’s just getting everything in front of them! Hope that helps!”

Looking for the answer to the above question?  You’ll have to join us on the Teleclass to find out!

Ask The Advisor – Open Forum

We open up the last part of the call for your questions about how to grow your business to the next level.  I will share the secrets and proven business models of successful Professionals and Business Owners to help you get what you want out of your business to create 'More Profit & More Time'.

I will cover the components that are required to build a step-by-step plan that will get you there quickly, clearly define success for yourself, and get you where you want to be once and for all so that you can create;

• More energy from working fewer hours

• A balanced home life

• A new revitalized vision and passion for your business and personal life

Sign up today for your Free Teleclasses - “7 Steps To Get Your September & Your Year Off To A Strong Start”, they are free! Sign up for all 7 Teleclasses, or the ones that are most relevant to your business today.

Tuesday, August 30^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Tuesday, September 6^th, 2005 at 5pm PST

Sign Up Now by Clicking The Date That Works Best For You  - space is limited!

 
Part 2 – Resources & Classifieds

A Few Reminders

Here are a few reminders to go to;

• the main page of our website click or go to;
  www.leadingadvisor.com
   
• my blog is here;
  www.leadingadvisor.com/blog/
   
• the products section of our website;
  www.leadingadvisor.com/products/
   
• past e-newsletters and worksheets click or go to;
  www.leadingadvisor.com/resources/

Please be advised that the following user name & password are required to access our newly updated resources section on the Leading Advisor Web Site;

User name:             leading
Password:              resources

Please retain the User Name and Password for your records. 

• unsubscribe click or go to;
  www.leadingadvisor.com/newsletter.html

Tell Your Friends

Thank you for taking the time to subscribe.  Many of you have passed on our Web Site and E-Newsletter offer to your friends and we offer you our thanks.

To make it easy for all of you to pass on the Leading Advisor Web Site and the More Profit & More Time E-Newsletter to your friends, we have added a Tell Your Friends Link to our Web Site.

Click here if you want to Tell Your Friends, about Leading Advisor and "More Profit & More Time".
 

  Part 3 – Reilly's Reflections & Rants

Blog Highlight Articles:

• Does It Take You & Your Team Until Oct. 15th To ...

• 20 Something’s

• “Values & Behaviors Based Selling” Workshop, Friday, October 21st 2005

• Has The Time Come For a “Fulfillment Planner™”?

• Is August a 3, 4 or 5 Week Month?
   

Does It Take You & Your Team Until Oct. 15th To ...

Here’s a copy of the content of Flyer that we are sending out to 200 Financial Advisor & Real Estate Sales Managers in our area.

Does It Take You & Your Team Until Oct. 15th To Get Back Into Gear After Labor Day?

Free Public Speaker Available For Your Next Association Meeting, Conference, Sales Meeting or Study Group.

• Does your team begin September 1st full of hope for the quarter ahead - and then either settle back into the hamster wheel or become overwhelmed with the never ending "to do" list?

• Will some of them be bouncing against a barrier that they cannot break through or will they be struggling to get off the ground?

• Would you like a proven system to hit the Final Quarter "running" and to set you and your team up for the best start to a quarter that you have ever had?

“Get Your Team In Gear”

Here’s An Outline of Our Free Presentation:

• Vision - Where do you want to be on the 31st of December 2006?

• Why - The most important “W” is Why do you want your Vision?

• Goals - Defining your 120 day goals and turning your vision into a set of practical and measurable goals

• Measures - Developing a set of measurement systems that will keep you on track

• Time Management - 3 simple steps that will make sure every day is lived to the fullest

Simon's years of experience in professional and business development really comes across, his professional speaking style is very inspirational and one really comes away with ideas and tools that they can implement into their business right away.

Frank C. Allen – CFP, CLU, C.H.F.C
frank @ mr-rrif.com
The Frank Allen Financial Group Inc.
Past President Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce
Past President of The Rotary of North Nanaimo

Simon Reilly is one of Vancouver's top business coaches with more than 15 years experience as a business coach for professionals and business owners. For more information on Simon’s Professional Speaking and how he can help your team meet and exceed their goals go to; http://www.leadingadvisor.com/speaking/

Call or E-Mail Laura Reilly at 604 688-1982 / lreilly@leadingadvisor.com to Schedule Your Presentation
 

20 Something’s

I was reminded again by an e-mail and a conversation (separate) with one of my clients of the number of young adults that I have helped over the years as my clients sometimes ask me to work with their young adult family members. Yet another client has asked me if I would be interested in working with their son.

In the last 5 cases, yes if you can believe it, in recent memory I have successfully worked with 5 young adults that have completed technical school or university that were unable to identify and find the work that they wanted.

I am finding incredible value in what we are doing, hopefully you are learning a thing or two as well or at least getting the perspective on a twenty something. – L.O.

“Values & Behaviors Based Selling” Workshop, Friday, October 21st 2005

I was reminded of the value that is offered in a workshop that I facilitate called “Values & Behaviors Based Selling” during a coaching call yesterday.

I was discussing how my client might adjust their Behavioral Style to suite that of a client that they were going to be meeting to “list” their home.

My client’s Behavioral Style is “Influencer”.

Characteristics Include:

Social

People-oriented lack of attention to details
May over-promise
May be “too talkative”
May close too slowly, or not at all
Enthusiastic
Wordy, non logical presentation

Their client’s Behavioral Style is “Analytical”.

Keep your distance
Do not touch
Give them the facts, figures and proof
Do not waste time
Do not be personal
Be friendly and direct
Answer all questions, then close
Be concerned with details

By comparison, do you see how there will be conflict between these two styles if my client does not adjust their Behavioral Style?

I plan to offer a One-Day Live “Values & Behaviors Based Selling” Workshop, Friday, October 21st 2005 in Vancouver, B.C. – details to follow.

Has The Time Come For a “Fulfillment Planner™”?

The following article (summary) from July’s Issue of Advisor’s Edge Magazine reminded me of an article that I wrote back in 1997.

Advisor’s Edge Magazine – July 2005 - Escape From Debt Mounting - By: Heidi Staseson

The first baby boomer turns 60 on Jan. 1, 2006. Following him is a wave of eight million ready-to-retirees gearing up for their next life adventure. But there seem to be a lot more questions than answers blowin’ in the wind. Statistics indicate savings rates have dropped to 0% and personal debt is 113% of one's personal disposable income. Coupled with longer-than-ever lifespans, and upwards of two decades in retirement, will boomers' be able to afford the lifestyles adopted during their working lives?

Has The Time Come For a “Fulfillment Planner™”? - 1997 - By: Simon Reilly

Why now? Why do people want to do something more meaningful at this time? Is it the end of the Millennium or the beginning of the next Millennium? Is it the Baby Boom / Baby Doom and Gloom Syndrome™? Many Boomers were promised a land of milk and honey by their parents who had either gone through the Depression, World War or both. “You will never have it as tough as we had it” the Boomers were told by their parents. The promise, the dream of milk and honey and the economy that was created by the sheer number of Boomers eclipsed the required teaching on how to create fulfillment and happiness in their lives. Boomers actually SPENT their way to fulfillment and happiness through the 70’s to early 90’s. Now, many Boomers are turning 40 & 50 and turning away from a generation of spenders to a generation of savers, and are hiring Financial Advisors by the score. Most Boomers have the house, have done the car thing a few times over and many are on their 2nd if not 3rd marriage or relationship. And all the while saying or thinking “Is this all there is”? They are looking for more fulfillment in their lives. Has the time has come for a “Fulfillment Planner™”?
 

Is August a 3, 4 or 5 Week Month?

Consider the following;

Week 1 – August 1 – 5
Week 2 – August 8 – 12
Week 3 – August 15 – 19
Week 4 – August 22 – 26
Week 5 – August 29 – September 2

I’m suggesting that you approach August as either a 3 or a 4 week month at the Get-Go and here’s why. Labor Day is September 5th and you will agree that very little business transpires the week or the two weeks before Labor Day for two reasons;

• Reason one is people that have children will be busy getting them ready for the school year during Week 4 – August 22 – 26 & Week 5 – August 29 – September 2

• Reason two is it will dawn on some of you that you have worked all summer without taking a break so you will take your last gasp of summer Week 4 – August 22 – 26 & Week 5 – August 29 – September 2

So if you are inclined to want to set and achieve goals in the month of August and given the above …

I’m suggesting that you focus your attention on setting and achieving your goals during the first 3 Weeks in August and rather than pushing rope during Weeks 4 & 5 of August you can either;

Enjoy Weeks 4 & 5 of August
Or
Do your business development and planning for the best final quarter that you have ever had.

This reminds me of something that Thomas O’Neill said to me at Nelson Deslippe’s Holiday Party last December.

“Do you want to know how to get busy in January & February? Get started in September!”