Recently, I had a coaching session with Tom Y., a financial adviser client of mine who has only been working in the industry for five years. We have been working together just under a year. He had hired me as part of his plan to shift gears (and his focus) to increase his success rate. By doing so, he has gathered over $17 million in new assets since the beginning of the year. It had not always been this way. In fact, in his first four years in the business he only averaged around $2 million annually.
When I asked him to sum up the major difference in his first four years versus this past year, he replied, “I consciously decided to focus on how to make my everyday work more fun!” Tony Robbins sums up that positive train of thought well, “Where focus goes, energy flows.”
Daily activities can become rote and routine but only if you let them. Tom had been trying too hard to get ahead and find success and, in the process, lost what had initially interested him about being an adviser.
As my coaching sessions with Tom continued each week, I asked him to think back and paint a picture of what his business had been like when he wasn’t focused on how to make his professional tasks more fun. He described that he was in a constant state of anxiety, and full of worry and doubt; after four years of struggling he had come to a place where he wasn’t sure if he was cut out for financial services and had considered giving up.
I then asked him to share how he made the decision to change up his focus. I wanted him to hear out loud in his own words what his catalyst had been to change his focus versus simply getting out of the biz. After listening to him, we chatted about how what he had done had fostered his growth and ultimate success rather than doing what many unsuccessful advisers end up doing by finding another career path.
The following is a brief outline of talking points from our discussion.
Daily Structure
Some of the things that majority of advisers have in common is they struggle with time management tasks. They haven’t outlined a scheduled structure to their day, nor do they have a method to manage interruptions.
Tom had admitted that once he started time blocking his day and prioritizing his to-dos he got way more accomplished in less time. Previously, he had been “putting out fires” all day long. He is now more in control of his time, which has diminished his level of stress and that is always a win.
Prospecting and Sales Systems
Another commonality for advisers chasing success is that they haven’t created productive prospecting and sales systems. Instead most days they are winging it.
Tom had said that previously his approach was centered around the philosophy that prospecting and sales was a “numbers game,” so the harder he worked, the more clients he would subsequently close. That hadn’t been the reality. Once we worked together to break down each aspect of his prospecting pipeline and Tom practiced what to say during each phase, he realized that working smarter was a far stronger way forward.
Know Your Value
I have seen advisers grapple with self-worth because they let a lack of business drive their perception of them lacking value.
Tom said that once he understood that most prospects have holes in their financial plans and gaps in their coverage, but that his clients didn’t, he just needed to change his narrative so that his value was clear as day. This upped his confidence factor and his conversations with clients and potential clients were far easier.
Manage the Milestones
Unfortunately, when an adviser is attempting to reconcile why their outcomes have not been what they desired, it is difficult to be reminded of failures and to learn from them.
Tom mentioned doing exactly that: listing out his weaknesses so that he could set up being accountable for those areas instead. In his case, he did that for daily time blocked prospecting activities, and it motivated him to achieve his monthly goals because he knew that if he stuck to the process and had a reward/punishment system, it would inspire him to fill his pipeline!
An Attitude of Gratitude
Oftentimes, it is challenging to be grateful during adversity or a plateau period where goals seem to be slipping away. You are always able to adjust your attitude and make a choice to re-focus as Tom was able to. It isn’t always easy to change your mindset but setting an intention and putting in effort to see it come to fruition is always possible.
Tom had fun this past year and though from the outside looking in, some might say it was because he had a banner monetary year. I view it from this perspective: Tom was having such a great year because his focus became less about the outcome and more about how he viewed how and what he did each day. Focusing on what motivated him rather than on what wasn’t working made all the difference.
If you would like a complimentary coaching session with me, please email Melissa Denham, director of client servicing.
Daniel C. Finley is the president and co-founder of Advisor Solutions, a business consulting and coaching service dedicated to helping advisers build a better business.
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