Between 85 and 90% of sales training has no lasting impact beyond 90 days. Sales Benchmark Index Recently, we were asked by a Private Banking Executive Leader, “What questions can you share that would help us ferret out training and development opportunities?” As confirmed by the statistic above, traditional training programs do not result in…

Prospect and Client Engagement Effectiveness “Planning is not a thing; it is the way we approach advising our clients.” “Planning is any meaningful conversation that helps a client connect their priorities to their likely outcomes.” “The first step to engage prospects and clients is to introduce it as a way for them to become more involved in the process.”…

Overcoming the Adoption Challenge Advisor adoption remains the single most significant challenge facing firms who are focused on the integration of planning into their offering model. Two previous blogs – The Adoption Challenge in Financial Planning and Changing the Planning Paradigm – The Key to Overcoming the Advisor (and Client) Adoption Challenge – discussed some key strategies…

The Strategic Imperative of Planning “In the midst of market turmoil, without a doubt, those clients with whom we have engaged in a goals-based planning approach are doing better in every way compared to those with whom we have not. There is absolutely no comparison.” This comment was made by a senior executive (and career Portfolio Manager) during a…

Like the clients we serve who are proactively and aggressively reaching out to their clients during this unprecedented time of disruption, we are doing the very same with our clients and others throughout the industry seeking to help them in any way we can come out of this stronger than ever. Over the last few…

Greene Consulting recently hosted a forum with some of the best market level leaders we know in the wealth management industry to discuss some of the key opportunities and challenges facing financial services firms.  These leaders who come from a variety of firms from small to large, have a unique perspective with true, “street-level knowledge”…

Whether you are an advisor, coach a team of advisors or lead a division, the purpose of this brief article is to encourage you to pause for a minute and honestly reflect on your approach and your firm’s approach to the Client Discovery Conversation and, more specifically, think about how you would answer the following…

Given the breadth of contacts we have in our work in the financial services industry, we are afforded the opportunity to encounter some of the best bankers, advisors, market leaders and executive leaders in the industry. Recently, we thought it worthwhile to connect some of the best in these roles with each other, believing that…

One of the things we do quite often in our quest to help our industry raise the bar on the value provided to its clients is participate in pre-call planning sessions. A majority of these sessions are focused on planning for an upcoming Relationship Review Meeting with a high-value client. All too often, we hear…

Planning software firms like eMoney and MoneyGuidePro are exponentially growing in terms of the number of firms and advisors utilizing their planning software (with currently well over 100,000 advisors in the U.S. equipped with eMoney or MoneyGuidePro, not to mention the numerous other planning platforms). Yet, the vast majority of firms incorporating these capabilities are…