One of the most valuable services an advisor can deliver is to make it easy for a client to view them as a trusted advisor.

The other day an advisor, who is in the process of implementing their New Client Advocate Process, commented that they were finding the 3rd appointment was running about 2 hours and was exhausting. I agreed and felt exhausted just hearing about it. If the advisor found the experience exhausting, how do you think the client felt?

Above all else an advisor is responsible for two things. First, build a trusting partnership with clients. Second, prepare each client for Critical Events and monitor that process. All other activities and actions serve these two outcomes. A client should be comfortable and trust their advisor instead of being in awe of their incredible knowledge and intelligence. After all, trust and implementation will get results before knowledge and intellectual prowess.

So the question is then: How can an advisor implement strategies to prepare their clients for Critical Events and at the same time not bore them to tears? The answer: Layers of Simplicity.

As I heard of the two hour planning marathon I immediately thought of the true intent of the Policy Statement. The Policy Statement is an outstanding vehicle to deliver layers of simplicity. It is an outline of what you have done for them in the past, what you are currently working on and what you could be doing for them in the future. No more manifestos that are edifications to an advisor’s intelligence and savvy. The Policy Statement has proven itself worthy in the most complex of situations to deliver for client and advisor. The ability to provide a client with a comprehensive plan of segmented implementation that is dynamic is a value added that makes it easy for a client to make their advisor truly indispensable.

Our original clients using a Policy Statement were financial advisors. We have now seen this have dramatic results with architects, contractors of all kinds, accountants and lawyers.

Over the last 10 years our other speakers, primarily Duncan, have had the opportunity to speak to about 100,000 people at various events across North America. So it isn’t uncommon to have someone tell us about their success they had after one of his talks. Often we hear about it years later.

One such circumstance arose the other day when I was speaking to a group of new investment advisors. At dinner the gentleman next to me explained that he had attended a talk of Duncan’s about 10 years previously. At that time he was an assistant to an advisor. He was surprised how as the talk progressed it went from the audience, as he said that knew far more than he did, went gradually from nodding their heads to eventually feverishly jotting down notes on what was being said. What he remembered when he left the meeting was that you need to focus on your best clients and give them the time and energy they deserve. After all if 20% of your clients generate 80% of your revenue then this group deserves 80% of your time. In too many businesses this just isn’t the case.

The other thing that he picked up on was provide your best clients with impeccable service and you will be successful in replicating them. Now this is pretty obvious stuff. But non-the-less, what he did with this was he took the information and convinced his boss to implement some of these strategies in a simple and straight forward manner. He set up a serious of events for the best clients and suggested they bring a guest. In a very short time her had increased the advisor’s business by 25%. Simple and easy but implemented. He didn’t over think it—he just did it. Not too many people would object to an increase in business of 25% in just a few short months. The only difference is execution of the task.

As I said, we hear these stories frequently. It doesn’t mean we ever get tired of hearing them. So next time you see us let us know or email your stories into this site.

Posted by David Miller in conversation with a new investment advisor

I love it when I have an excellent experience with a quality business. The rules for what makes a business a cut above are pretty simple: consistency, congruency, chemistry, integrity and accountability.

Recently I had an experience with a dentist that deserves mention. I have a strong aversion to the dentist! I suppose it comes from poor treatment in the past combined with the unpleasant thought of sitting helplessly in a chair while some masked stranger inflicts pain on me with stainless steel tools originally designed for torture. I would sooner brush and floss my teeth 6 times a day than go to the dentist.

It has been about 2.5 years since I was last at the dentist. My wife gave me a referral to the dentist that the rest of the family has been seeing. She raved about the fact that this dentist had a knack for making people feel comfortable and well looked after. Her parting comment had something to do with how I would not find anything wrong with the service I received.

So I made my appointment. Two days before the appointed day I received a pleasant confirmation call. When I showed up in the office I was given the standard questionnaire to fill in but this one was different. It asked me about my interests, who had referred me, and how many people were in my family (if I had one). I also had some nice comments about my children from the receptionist who even knew their names.

With a minimal wait I was ushered into ‘the chair’ where my torture session would begin. To my surprise there was a flat screen monitor right in my eye view. It had been changed to ESPN, a safe bet since I am male. At this point my dental aversion started to melt without even knowing it.

While I was being hypnotized by ESPN the dentist showed up and built some rapport, outlined her process for dealing with a patient, gave me a once over and turned me over to the hygienist. The dentist promised me a patient treatment outline which was an excellent accountability document.. She said it would be sent to me by mail within 10 business days. It showed up in 6. On the FORM front the hygienist and dentist both knew the names of my children and made some favorable comments about them. The dentist even remembered that my daughter loves to play soccer.

The kicker came 10 days after my appointment. My wife received a hand addressed, handwritten note from the dentist thanking her for referring me to her. I was blown away. This dentist had taken a page right out of my play book.

This experience is an example for any business. The end result, I have referred this dentist to 5 people in the last 6 weeks. Good news travels fast. This dentist lived up to her billing as a service expert. Her office ran like a top and my dentist aversion has been turned into a full commitment to the value of a good dentist. I LOVE IT WHEN IT HAPPENS TO ME!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Tom Frisby, Business Coach, BC

One of the secrets of life is that it is short. Unfortunately we usually find this out later than sooner. A life lived without intent is a life lived in a cloud and haze; nothing ever seeming clear or ‘right’.

I am constantly amazed at entrepreneurs who have been in the business for years, sometimes decades, and are not enjoying the fruits of their labors because their business consumes them. They are frustrated and have lost hope in the dreams they had when they started. They were told from day one work hard and the world will be your oyster. Ummm……

It is a commonly held belief that you have to work hard to get ahead. I disagree. If you are an employee that is true but you are supposed to be in business for yourselves. Yet, too many end up working as employees for their business. The business has totally taken over and will suck the life force out of the them. That is why they end up 15, 20 or 30 years down the road, lifting up their heads and wondering what happened!

The business owner has a responsibility to themselves, their family, their team, their client and their business. They need to set boundaries and expectations for what is acceptable and what is not. How one chooses to use their time is one of those boundaries. The business owner is in a privileged position to make their own definition of work. What is your intent? Are you getting what you want out of the deal? If the answer to either of these questions is NO changes must be made.

Recently I was dealing with a client who after a long tenure in the business had finally admitted to himself that things had to change and he needed help to do it. The initial challenge he was given was to set aside every Friday afternoon in the golf season to go and play with his buddies. Golf was something he loved to do but had not made time for it. The first Friday was hard but he did it and felt great about it; feeling giddy inside about giving himself that opportunity. One week turned into the next and before long he had put together 6 weeks running. He even took a Monday off to play in a charity golf tournament. At this tournament he met a wealthy prospective client in need of his services and is in the process of setting up a client relationship.

After making some subtle shifts and starting to redefine his work habits this business professional has not suffered. In fact, he is flourishing and at this point in time is enjoying his life more and is in the middle of his best month in years.

Truly there is irony in work habits.

Here is a not so simple exercise for choosing a CRM for your business. Answer these questions:

What is your philosophy and approach? Write it out in detail.

Next, what activities will ensure that this philosophy and approach are experienced by your clients? Make a comprehensive list.

Will the CRM you are evaluating make it easy to do these activities with reminders, sufficient customizations and enough space to store the required data in an easy and effective manner? Detail how each of the desired activities will be fulfilled by the CRM you are evaluating and give it a rating for each category with a four star rating. For this step you may want to contact the company of the CRM you are evaluating and work through your check list with them.

Once you have completed these steps it will be much easier to quantitatively evaluate what is the best solution for you.

Last week I was speaking to a group of new investment advisors. They had been using Proven Strategies from Pareto Platform over the previous 90 days. There was an extraordinary level of belief and conviction to implementing our ideas. Of course I wish them all the best in their new career. At the same time, there are always those that will implement and those that will let their limiting beliefs inhibit their performance. With most people, starting a new business, their belief system will most probably determine not just their success or failure in the venture but also their degree of success. Consequently, I leave events wishing the participants all the best and eager to see what the future holds for each of the individuals involved. On my flight home there were some of the attendees on the same flight. I had a stop over in Calgary and while waiting for my plane one of the them approached me to tell me about what had happened on his flight.

“The anti-elevator speech does work” he said.

He explained how through casual conversation the gentleman next to him asked what he did for a living. With reserved enthusiasm he explained who he was now working for, how he was excited about the opportunity and then of course dropped it. We tell people–Don’t chase, don’t pester and annoy, and eventually make yourself very unattractive. Rather, be enthused, state your position, and then if the individual has interest they will have more questions. This is exactly what happened. The new advisor answered the questions and even qualified what he was looking for in a client–very effectively pushing away, creating some scarcity and being patient, polite and sincere. The result was the prospective client insisted that the advisor call him at his earliest convenience, arrange a meeting and establish a relationship.

If the advisor had been aggressive and persistent from the outset, and asked for contact information, at best he would have got a name and number from a reluctant participant who would have avoided him when any further attempts were made for contact. Well, we don’t know what will happen from this encounter. We do know that the advisor has had a taste of success with implementation and should be able to go forth with confidence and security in knowing the tools he has been given work and work well. We also know that if someone in any type of business is open and professional about what they do without being pushy and irritating, they allow people to come to them and request their services.

After telling me his story he turned to me and said, “It is a little embarrassing. I haven’t even got my license yet. I hope it’s in the mail when I get back to the office.” And then with a grin: “I think I am going to like this business.”

Unfortunately most small business people use their CRM as nothing more than a modern rolodex. You can flip through it and easily look up names, addresses and phone numbers. But think about it. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Some large companies understand this and have the time and money to invest in putting systems in place to ensure that their customer service people follow a process to deliver impeccable service. With technology today it is possible for a small business to emulate what some of the larger companies have accomplished.

What does it take? With a small business it takes discipline from the individuals. They need to be fully committed to the concepts and ideas, and then plan exactly how they will use their CRM for better record keeping and ongoing communication. It is our experience that the determination and discipline to implement from the small business owner has to also be agreed to by his/her staff. They then need to have regular meetings to make sure they are on the same page regarding exactly how it is to be used. Once the basics are in place it is usually surprising to see the staff taking a leading role in extending the capabilities of the system that was chosen. As mentioned it requires an extraordinary amount of discipline to initiate this process and successfully follow through for the first 60 days. Ironically, once it is in place you will wonder how you ever lived without it.

Socrates is regarded as one of the early and incredibly influential gurus of early Greece. While far from being a flawless man, people of all kinds would approach him for advice because of his wisdom. Yet one little known fact about his style of giving advice is that often he wouldn’t provide actual answers to the questions that were posed of him. Instead he new that questions were the answer. When someone approached the “man on the mountain” (Including Plato, an early follower), Socrates would simply ask questions that were designed to help people come to their own conclusions. While some felt initially frustrated or angered by this approach, most of his students eventually felt empowered and self motivated.

As coaches we strive to use a similar approach for a very simple reason. We realize that our clients don’t seek out our advice just to hear us give them ideas that they agree will help address their issues. They want action and results. The trouble is when our consultation is over, the client still needs to go back and apply what we’ve told them to do. And the rubber will never hit the road unless the client is inspired to act.

Most coaching involves essentially a lecture by the coach to the client which often creates external motivation. The coach motivates the client and the client feels better because of it, for a while at least. But, like a wind up toy, it fades. Couple that with the law of diminishing intent and you end up with the statues quo.

When a client isn’t simply told what to do but instead comes to his or her own conclusions that were triggered by some well formulated questions, then he or she becomes self motivated. Self motivation – motivation from within is far more enduring and resilient and far more likely to create meaningful change and results.

As the saying goes, circumstances don’t make the man, they reveal him. It’s not just circumstances that are revealing, questions are revealing too. They reveal needs that aren’t evident on the surface or to the degree originally thought. Some needs are two or three questions deep. Good questions prompt solutions and often a desire to implement those solutions. The role of the coach changes from motivator to navigator. Equip the client with an actionable solution to a need that exists, stimulate self motivation and then light the path to execution. That simple recipe leads to breakthroughs.

The following are a few of our many questions that we present to help a client gain clarity on an issue that needs attention.

When a client tells us they aren’t happy with the quality or quantity of referrals they are getting, we often ask this:

Do you position referrals as a service you are providing to your clients or as a favor you are asking them to do for you?

We want to uncover whether the client has a mindset of salesmanship or stewardship. Sales people ask for referrals and in the process look needy. Professionals position the concept of making themselves available to speak to a friend as service they are providing and communicate as much in a very attractive way.

When a client reveals that they are either working to hard or feel frustrated by the lack of productivity in staff members, we ask them this:

What would happen to your business if you took a month off from work starting tomorrow?

We meet a lot of business owners who are either working too hard or they aren’t building a franchise ready business that can stand on its own. This questions reveals the importance of constructing an organizational and structural chart as well as a procedures manual loaded with a service matrix and advocate processes. This is the bedrock to consistency and predictability.

When a client tells that they are concerned by their inability to steadily attract high net-worth clients, we ask them this:

Who views it as an accomplishment when you bring on new clients, you for closing them or them for qualifying to work with you?

We have to help to the client evolve from using a “sales” process to a “fit” process. Top caliber clients don’t want to buy something, they want to buy into something. When you stop chasing using sales tactics and start attracting using a consultative approach, your ability to attract high value clients becomes automatic.

One of the most fascinating things to come from our approach is that sometimes a client doesn’t “get it” right away. When we help a client uncover a core issue that is undermining his or her success is certain area, it can, on occasion take some time before everything sinks in. Sure enough, a week later we get an enthusiastic phone call from the client explaining to us how he or she has “figured it out.”

As Confucius, another incredibly wise and much sought after guru said a long time ago, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. And sometimes the two are one and the same, with a little guidance.

I am a firm believer in staying connected while working. The cell phone was the first innovation in this are, then the Palm Pilot and the Blackberry. If you were working with a team the Palm had one fatal flaw—you were only connected to YOUR information and until you went back to the office and synchronized with everyone else’s information you were out of touch with what their schedules and activities were. The Blackberry wasn’t much better initially but has developed connectivity with various CRM solutions and consequently made it extremely practical particularly for those that live and die by their email. A true CRM solution is integrated with your email and has access to calendaring by you and your entire team. I personally have abandoned all hand held solutions for the basic laptop—3.6 lbs. Easy to carry, rechargeable in my car or where ever else I might be, and I have access to all my client information. I can enter proper notes and communicate effectively with the office using instant messaging. The wireless service providers keep me connected regardless of my location. And the best part of all is I can enter substantial notes on a keyboard that allows me to type not peck. Of course time will only tell, but I think the new direction of portability is smaller and lighter fully functional computers.

There are individuals in all types of businesses doing an exceptional job of building consistency, congruency and chemistry with their clients and potential clients. In my day-to-day interactions, whether it is with an accountant, lawyer, contractor, or sports store; I am always watching how their business is conducted and whether or not they are building trust with me and trying to establish a long term relationship, or just selling me a product.

A couple of days ago I was in Toronto for a speaking engagement. In the evening I went to a favorite restaurant of mine. While waiting to be served I happened to strike up a conversation with a gentleman that was obviously enjoying his dessert. We had a good laugh, he asked me what I was doing in town and I asked him what he did for a living. He explained that he had a limousine service and he gave me a card but did not push this agenda. Shortly after the conversation, I remembered I needed a drive to the airport early the next morning. I went back to his table and asked him if he could arrange a car for me for 6 AM. Immediately he called the service and booked me in.

I soon realized I was engaged in his process for creating consistency, congruency and chemistry. Fifteen minutes later I received a call on my cell phone confirming the pick up for the next morning. The gentleman was courteous and professional. He confirmed the time, the location and my flight information. His manner gave me immediate confidence that I would be looked after in the morning and there would be no anxiety about being at the airport on time.

In the morning the car arrived promptly. I was offered water and the morning paper. The driver engaged in light conversation to the degree that I prompted and was not overbearing. He was also an extremely friendly gentleman and I enjoyed his company. When we got to the airport the driver asked me to sign a slip of paper and explained that this trip was complimentary. I was taken aback and through all my insisting he would not allow me to pay for the service. I walked a way a bit dumb founded but extremely appreciative and impressed.

Then I analyzed the experience. Chemistry–be attractive don’t chase, Consistency and congruency through process, long term relationship—no need for immediate return. Will I use this service again? I will never use any other service when visiting Toronto. I will also recommend them to any one who has a need. Next time your in Toronto why not try them out and see if your experience is the same and then send us an email letting us know what happened to you. Look them up at www.kings-court.ca .