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…

Though the DOL Fiduciary Rule is off the regulatory table at this point, its impact on investment advisory and wealth management practices is undeniable and likely lasting.  As a result, financial planning has become a strategic priority for many firms and advisors.  Yet from what we at Greene Consulting have seen, the implementation of such…

Coaching is hard.  Why?  Well there are many reasons, but there are 3 primary challenges we see financial services sales leaders struggle with the most. Limited Time to Coach:  Coaching, in its purest sense, is only a fraction of the role most leaders play.  In numerous surveys we have done with financial services sales leaders,…

Sales reps reporting to great managers report high levels of job satisfaction and deliver four times more revenue than those working for poor managers. The manager activity most closely associated with sales rep success is coaching. However, of the skills that managers possess, an ability to coach individual sales reps is relatively the weakest. (Source:…

Consider the following conclusions from a 2012 Corporate Executive Board report titled Building Loyalty Through a High-Quality Client Experience: “Clients’ low confidence in financial providers has prompted them to question the value of their financial relationships. As a result, nearly one-half of clients fall in a ‘loyalty zone of exposure’ characterized by inert behavior that…

Don’t let this title deceive you. We are not suggesting you eliminate the word “sales” from your organizational vocabulary. It’s a valid term and a critical performance metric. But, we ARE suggesting that transforming your approach from one focused on sales to a focus on serving will open the door to significantly enhanced success with…