Acting as a sounding board helps clients and their CPAs better understand the advantages of working with an advisor—and that you’re looking out for their best interests.
Are you one of the many financial advisors who have referred clients to accountants over the years but have gotten
virtually nothing in return? Based on the law of reciprocity, [...]

Client Relationship Management (CRM) systems offer a number of benefits to entrepreneurs. The primary benefit is that a CRM allows you to focus on activities that directly affect your productivity. Most entrepreneurs already know that the Pareto Principle - also known as the 80/20 rule - applies to their businesses, and an effective CRM allows [...]

In my travels to various conferences throughout North America, invariably I come across speakers who present on why every entrepreneur should have an elevator speech.
The concept of having a brief, compact statement to make when someone inquires about what it is you do makes sense. However, the inherent flaw with virtually every elevator speech I’ve [...]

As we enter into uncertain market conditions, there is a tendency for many business professionals to deviate on their set pricing and fees out of fear of losing out on new clients.
Ultimately it’s your business and you live by the rules you set. However, allow me to outline my case for maintaining consistency.
First of all, [...]

Naturally, the revenue of your business should grow year after year, but that does not mean that the number of relationships you manage must increase too. In fact, when it comes to relationships, the goal is not to see how large your client-base can reach, but rather how small it can remain. Many entrepreneurs tend [...]

 Adapt or Die video

In this unprecedented period of uncertainty and volatility, the most common question my team and I at Pareto Systems are hearing from Financial Advisors is:
“What is working right now?”
Our answer is simple:
“The same thing that works every time we find ourselves in this situation. A good defense is a good offence.”
You have to pick up the phone and [...]

Right now, more than ever, the manner in which we deliver service matters.
 
We were on a call with a new Financial Advisor recently. She told us this story: She had contacted a very attractive prospective client, a high net-worth individual with a portfolio of several million dollars.
 
The prospective client explained that he already had an [...]

If you do an internet search on “Success Circle” or “Personal Advisory Boards”, as they are also called, you will get an idea of how popular this practice has become. The concept is this: an entrepreneur creates a network of peers and / or mentors that will benefit his business through advice.
Everything has a way [...]

I had a conversation with a fellow entrepreneur recently about documenting private information about clients. She was against the practice, and said she could remember crucial information about her most important clients.  I asked her if she had ever considered what her most valuable intellectual property was.  What might surprise you, as it did her, [...]