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…

The single biggest obstacle to consistently achieving goal in our industry is sales leadership, or more specifically, the lack of consistent, value-add coaching. Probably not a profound revelation for most of you. But if you’re not convinced, do a quick Google search on the impact of coaching. I did one moments ago and immediately found…

Recent research about the financial services industry suggests we have some work to do as to how our industry is perceived by the general public. In 2016, the financial services industry (for the fourth consecutive year) ranked dead last out of 15 industry categories.[1] Only 1 out of 3 customers are strongly committed to continuing…

The industry is now at an inflection point. There are two strategic priorities: achieving excellence in client experience and managing transformational change. PWC Global Banking and Wealth Management Survey 2013 The conclusion in this PWC survey served to reinforce what Greene Consulting anticipated back in 2010 – that the next major focus for financial services…

“75% of solution selling efforts were considered failures after only three years.” McKinsey & Company 2015 I thought it timely to write about this topic as we have recently run into so many financial services firms who are implementing a new sales process. Obviously, the goal in doing so for most firms is to enhance…

By: Lisa Earle McLeod Lisa Earle McLeod is a leading authority on sales leadership and the author of four provocative books including the bestseller, Selling with Noble Purpose. Companies like Apple, Kimberly-Clark and Pfizer hire her to help them create passionate, purpose-driven sales organization. Her NSP is to help leaders drive revenue and do work…

We are excited to announce the Certified Personal Retirement Specialist™ designation. The Certified Personal Retirement Specialist™ (CPRS™) designation covers topics beyond the CFP Board exam.  In-depth education of retirement planning techniques and actionable examples for how to effectively communicate retirement complexities with clients is a key part of the designation. This comprehensive professional designation is…

In this our third in a series of articles about helping clients in the Accumulation Phase of Retirement Planning, we address the inefficient use of retirement savings vehicles. Selecting the appropriate use of accumulation vehicles for their unique situation can be an overwhelmingly daunting task to the client. There are a wide range of options…