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is one of the most difficult periods our industry has experienced
in the last thirty years. While many investment advisors
are starving, some are thriving. What is the difference?
How could Tom put $14 million under management in the last
six months of 2001?
Before
he read my book, Effort-Less Marketing, and got into my
coaching program, Tom had built his business primarily
through cold-calling. “We’d call lists of people
who we thought had $1 million to invest. We would send
them information. Then we’d continue to beat on them
until we either got them or they went away. We were spending
way too much time chasing money and we attracted the wrong
types of clients. The marketing and client service required
a lot of effort.
“As
the market began to turn down a bit in the spring of 2000,
they all left.” Tom’s business fell off dramatically.
“I opened a lot of accounts and I lost a lot of accounts.
That’s not supposed to happen with managed money.”
Tom was attracting “hot money” from “C”
and “D” clients. He wanted to work with highly
appreciative “A” clients. Tom decided he needed
to transform his business.
That’s
when he read Effort-Less Marketing for Financial Advisors.
It started a chain of events that has transformed his
business and his life. “I read six or seven books
and Effort-Less Marketing was far and away the best. I
was really impressed with Steve’s book. But after
I read it I thought, ‘this sounds really good, but
I don’t think I can do it.’ Then I decided to
get into Steve’s coaching program. I think my success
gathering assets with great clients came as a direct result
of the renewed excitement and focus I have for my business.”
“The
processes that I learned just seemed to allow things to
fall into place naturally. Once you have a clear vision
of your ideal life and what you want your business to
look like, you then filter out all the information that’s
not important. You start to meet people and find resources
that help you to make your vision real. It seems like
I turned into a magnet and started attracting the right
types of people.”
The
process of Clarifying Your Ideal Vision of Success has
four steps. You start by defining your values and beliefs.
They are the undocumented operating system that determines
your behavior. Then you must identify your unique talents,
interests and passions. Next combine your values and beliefs
with your talents and passions to define your personal
mission and business purpose.
Finally,
you put it all together by describing your ideal life,
your ideal business and your ideal clients. This is a
point in time in the future when you are fulfilling your
purpose in a way that is inspiring to you. You vision
becomes your emotional lighthouse that guides you towards
it. If you do this correctly, you will be able to apply
your talents in areas that you are passionate about to
help your ideal clients achieve their goals and dreams.
That works for you and your clients. You become passionate
about helping your clients. They become your raving fans.
Tom
says, “Doing the Ideal Prospect Profile is a really
big thing because it gets you focused on who you want
to help. One great client came directly from the research
interview process. It was somebody I already knew. We
talked on the golf course one day. I asked him if I could
do a research interview. I didn’t know him that well,
but he said, ‘sure, he’d be happy to help me
out.’ At the end of the research interview he asked
me a bit about what I did. Then I showed him our money
management processes and value added services. After two
meetings he said, ‘I want I to move my account.’
We got $1.2 million from a great client.”
“Then
I met another guy at the club who fit my profile. He used
to be a money manager for a trust department at a bank.
We connected and he gave me about $900,000.” This
client quickly turned into a raving fan. “He introduced
me to a $5 million account and another $500,000 account.
That just seems to be the way things are working now.
It really is effort-less.”
So
the secret to Tom’s success is focus. When you get
clear on what you really want, when your head and heart
and your values and beliefs are in harmony, you release
your inner brakes. The universe conspires to help you
when you are out to help others. I have learned that the
most powerful thing I do for my clients is help them get
focused on what they want and how they are going to contribute.
“When
I think back to my business before I read Steve’s
book and got into his coaching program, it seems like
it was extremely dysfunctional. We’d constantly be
opening and then losing accounts, and not really gaining
much momentum.” Tom realized when he was positioned
only as a portfolio manager, clients had a tendency to
hire and fire him. Now that he has become client-centered
and modified his business to provide additional services
that his “A” clients value, he is attracting
and retaining great clients—even in a difficult market.
“Many
of the million-dollar producers that are in my branch
are now only producing $400,000 to $500,000. They are
trained to open accounts that are worthless. I’ve
come to realize that the traditional way that many of
us are taught to do this business is dysfunctional.”
“Steve’s
Effort-Less Advisor Coaching Program helped me implement
a whole new approach my business. It far exceeded my expectations.
It not only helped me business-wise, it’s helped
me personally. I’ve probably learned more in the
last year, than I did in the previous 10 years. I know
that if other advisors used Steve’s client-centered
processes their business would also grow much faster and
would be much more rewarding.”
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