Given the current economic environment, every advisor should be asking themselves: “Is My Business Pandemic proof”?
At TPFG, we’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of financial advisors throughout the years. Over the many years, we’ve found that top advisors have similar unique characteristics that help drive their success. The most prevalent characteristic being the view that they have of themselves.
Top advisors view themselves as small business owners, responsible for providing goal-driven financial solutions and services to their clients and prospective clients.
To grow and keep a healthy business practice, even in the most tumultuous times, it is important to have these three key elements:
- Resilience
- Adaptability
- Deliberate/Focused Activity
Let's take a look at the three key elements:
Resilience
Oh, and by the way, it’s not your resilience we are referring to here. It’s the resilience of your business, your actual practice. What is your practice built on and consist of? Just as you have probably said to your clients many times, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket”, take that same good advice and look inward at your business.
Ask yourself these questions:
Do you have diversification within the products and services that you offer?
Does your client-base contain investors from a broad range of ages, genders, and economic geography?
Do you and your staff understand the distinct differences, habits, and needs of clients from different generations (Baby Boomer vs. Gen X, Millennial or Gen Z)?
Diversifying your offerings to allow you to create unique solutions for various types of demographics is important for the relevance and continuity of your practice.
Knowing the macro numbers of the coming wealth transfers among generations is not enough. Resilience means learning about what is important to each of these generations. What are the events that have shaped their views, their banking habits, technology preferences, etc. Educating yourself and staff on these characteristics will help you to understand what it takes to communicate effectively with these different groups.
Adaptability
The adaptability of you and your staff converting from in-person meetings and events to a digital format that serves existing clients while attracting new ones was/is crucial. If your current technology and expertise is not working well, find how you can adapt with the tools that fit you and the demographic of your practice. Also, make sure you are connecting with your staff and clients in a way that they understand and feel comfortable with. A simple survey is a good way to get the feedback you need to make the adjustments when and where they are necessary. Also, remember, the current pandemic may not look like a future pandemic, so be willing to “roll with the punches” and adapt whenever needed.
Focus
We know that deliberate and focused activities for your existing clients makes up a huge part of a successful business practice. Now, let’s consider what top advisors do beyond this activity. We found that these advisors are not just aligned with the needs of their current clients, but top advisors nationwide understand that deliberate and focused activity drives new business and new relationships. This means making a conscious effort to continually learn about new products and services that you can use to ensure the future success of your business given any environment.
For more information on how we can help you make your practice pandemic proof, please visit us at TPFG.com or call us directly at (866) 583-8734 today.
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Disclosure: The information provided herein is the opinion of The Pacific Financial Group (“TPFG”), a registered investment adviser, and may change without notice at the discretion of TPFG. TPFG makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the information or any representations made or implied at any time given. The information should not be construed or interpreted as an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell a financial instrument or service. The information is for informational purposes only and should not be relied on or deemed the provision of tax, legal, accounting, or investment advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All investments contain risks to include the total loss of invested principal. Diversification does not protect against the risk of loss.