Are Your Client Teams on the Same Page?
If not, you’re missing a HUGE growth opportunity
A wealth management executive leader recently asked us a fundamentally important question that not enough leaders ask … but should. This insightful question came at the end of an hour-long discussion in which their leadership team was seeking ways to drive organic growth. The question she asked was …
“How do we get our teams on the same page and working together in the same way?”
The reason for this question was likely this leader’s recognition that their advisor teams are falling short of their growth potential due to the differing tactics, approaches and styles among individual team members. And if that was her reason, we believe it was right on target as we see it all too frequently when working with wealth management firms and teams.
Why Being on the Same Page Matters
This may seem to you a minor issue that every team will naturally work through, thinking all that’s needed is to have great talent and everything eventually works itself out. But from all that we see, that assumption is dead wrong.
When members of a team or even a market are not consciously and intentionally aligned to certain key tactics, skills, and processes, their prospects and clients are receiving a clumsy and sometimes even confusing experience, thereby missing the opportunity to more meaningfully impact their clients and reap the rewards from doing so.
BUT when teams ARE aligned to those key tactics and skills, the following results occur:
Clients and Prospects receiving a more consistent and compelling experience.
Accelerated team and advisor revenue growth via:
- Increased efficiency
- Improved close ratios
- increased revenue generated per new client
Strengthened client loyalty resulting in an increased share of wallet and client referrals.
Market recognition of the unique value and experience the team/market delivers.
A “flywheel” of success and growth due to an enlivened team culture and sense of purpose in what they do every day for their clients.
The Keys to Getting on the Same Page
So what are those key tactics and skills that team members must align to, but so often don’t?
In our work with teams throughout the industry, we’ve developed several core questions that if collectively answered with all team members, will lead to the achievement of your productivity potential. Here are just a few:
What are your team/market goals, and what are the specific activities to which you need to commit to meet those goals?
What is your definition of a truly qualified prospect, and how many of those does your team need in your pipeline to meet your goals?
How many calls do we commit to before we close an opportunity with a new prospect (moving forward as a client, prospect not yet willing to commit, or concluding the prospect is not a fit for us)?
Based on that number of calls we commit to, what outcomes do we need to achieve in each step of the sales process to achieve that number?
What are the skills and practices we need to master to best achieve those outcomes?
When and how do we incorporate the financial planning process with prospects and existing clients to ensure that process delivers the most value to the client, in the most efficient way, while resulting in revenue to our team?
What are the key tactics in the relationship management experience that we commit to deliver to maximize client loyalty, share of wallet, and client referrals?
What is our framework for pre-call planning that helps ensure we deliver maximum value in every prospect or client engagement?
The teams and markets we’ve worked with on this opportunity tell us that the result of the process we take them through to answer questions like these has been a game-changer for them as a team and individually. The keys to achieving such success include:
Defining exactly WHICH key skills and practices you need to align to that will lead to the delivery of your intended experience.
Developing your approach to exactly HOW you will execute on those skills and practices.
Ensuring the process requires your team members to think through how you AS A TEAM define them, leveraging insights and Best Practices that you can draw from (versus some trainer or consultant providing all the answers).
And practicing those skills and practices together to ensure mastery throughout the team (or mastery of those that apply to each team member based on their role).
For those teams that fully engage in this process and put in the effort to arrive at team-based conclusions, the impact is significant. As an example …
The team members were ALL on the same page, knowing exactly what they wanted to do and how to do it, resulting in a new $5 million client (with more assets to come) and an immediate referral of another prospect behind it.
Call to Action
Due to our recognition of this being a common issue in the wealth management arena, we’ve developed the advisor2.0© Market Forum, designed to help teams enhance the results they achieve by establishing greater consistency and distinguishable value in the Sales and Relationship Management Experience they deliver. For more information on the advisor2.0© Market Forum, CLICK HERE.
