The Fast Track

For the past six years, my mentor has been quite forthright with me about the way I dress in professional settings. The problem he had was how I shopped and, essentially, the labels on my purse, watch, shoes, and suit. He wanted me to look older and more mature by being slightly overdressed to show people that I was not only “smart but prosperous.”
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School has started again, bringing frowns to summer-loving children and grins to college football lovers everywhere, including myself. Yes, I’m excited about this fall season, new players, new coaches, new plays, but in the end the only thing that really matters is whether or not they can act together as a team. Even in business, teamwork is one of the most important keys to success. All businesses talk about it, many even have posters framed, matted, and prominently displayed with awe-inspiring quotes about it. You might find yourself endlessly preaching about it through e-mails and meetings, hoping against hope that your requests, demands, and pleadings will somehow turn your office into a well-oiled machine of efficiency.

I have heard some advisors say that some people will never understand or be able to be a team player. Maybe you do feel like teamwork exists in your company culture, but it hasn’t been achieved to its maximum capacity or is present in only a few miniscule situations, most likely not the situations where it is most needed. In all actuality, a business’s growth and success is directly tied to its member’s ability to work together as a team. Instead of finding excuses outside of yourself for why it isn’t working, look inside yourself for the solution.
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I am currently suffering through a heat wave at my home in Manhattan, Kansas. But we come to expect and plan for this, as August is nearly always a very hot month in the sticks. However, what is not hot in the month of August is finding good recruits. Believe it or not, recruitment does have very hot and cold seasons, too. If you are looking to recruit talent for your planning firm, it would be helpful for you to know when your chances of finding that talent are higher and plan for it.
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Time. No one has enough of it and most all of us want more of it. We all know that time slips away from us, especially in our businesses. You know that list of goals you want to accomplish but keeps gathering dust? Or those systems, services, and operations you have been meaning to implement for the past year? Or, in my case, writing my blog! Let’s face it, we all lose track of time.

If I could completely solve the time conundrum and dish out a block of time for each person who wished they had more, I would. But that’s impossible, so let’s take ourselves back to the basics of business management. The basic key to finding more time is discovering the power of leverage—that is, developing support systems for the most valuable members of your team so they can add even more value.

Support systems in your firm could be technology hardware or software, outsourcing, consultants, administrative workers, or professional talent. By far, the maximum amount of leverage provided to an owner of an advisory firm is his professional talent. But before you jump and go out a hire professional help, there are some things that you need to think about.
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A few (what seems to be) ages ago, I started my consulting business by giving career advice to young professionals and career changers entering the planning profession. It was, and still is, one of the most enjoyable things I do.

The questions asked by you have changed over the years. In the past, they were like the following: How do I find a job in the profession? What type of business should I work for—fee-only, brokerage, independent? What should I expect for a starting salary? How do I add value to the firm I am working for? How do I ask for a pay raise?

Today, economics have helped answer those questions. For example, with the current shortage in supply, it’s not as hard to find a job, and most people want to work for independent advisors. We now have lots of research on what constitutes acceptable salary ranges and how to determine your value to the firm. However, there is still little information about being a partner in a firm.
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On my last blog, we discussed what to do when employees ask for a raise. There are a lot of reasons why employees will approach you about increases in compensation. So, the question is: How do you retain an employee asking for a raise when you don’t have the resources to do so?

The answer is simple: Tell them the truth about your firm growth.
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I get a number of employees who e-mail me seeking advice on the best ways to request a salary increase. I always find this request interesting, because written between the lines is really a bigger issue that all employers should know.

The hidden message? If an employee makes it a point to ask for a salary increase, what they are really saying to you is that they don’t feel valued.
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Last week, a financial planner named Bill posted this question on the blog:

As a late starter in the independent business, I find myself needing… …the right person to assist and grow the business, and succession. I am willing to train a newly graduated student but am afraid that I would not be able to challenge him (her) sufficiently so as to retain the new hire. Growth of the business is highly dependent on the right person and I would not want to retain solely on compensation. Any thoughts?

Bill hits on an issue that is the key to the success of any growing advisory practice: retaining professional employees to whom he can hand off firm ownership when he retires.

Bill’s instinct is exactly right: It’s not about the compensation. Rather, it’s about business growth.

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Hi, and welcome to The Fast Track, a weekly posting of my thoughts and rantings on issues related to how established advisors can grow their practices, and how the next generation of financial planners can help them do it. We’ll talk about everything from how to position your practice for maximum—yet controlled—growth, to attracting and retaining the right professionals to implement your strategy, to understanding where firm owners are coming from, and how to givr them what they need, even when they don’t ask for it. And anything else that happens to pique my interest—or yours—at the time.

My goal is for the Fast Track to become a place where advisors of all generations can come together, to share their dreams of building the financial planning practices of the future; and the roadblocks and frustrations they meet along the way. I won’t be shy about throwing my two cents in, but I suspect the most valuable postings will come from you—from advisors young and those not so young—who have found workable solutions to the challenges faced by independent practices today: How to build an enduring firm; how to find the right people; how to create an environment where talented young professionals can reach their potential and beyond; how to bridge the communication gap between the planner generations; the right and wrong ways to grow your practice; how to know if you need more staff. That’s just a small start to where we can go.
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