The pandemic is forcing advisors to take a hard look at their practice. Rapid change and the stress of client demands brought on by the Coronavirus crisis shined a spotlight on weaknesses in the practice and left many leaders with more questions than answers.
Often it takes a major catalyst to move an organization toward positive change. The pandemic is turning out to be that catalyst for many financial advisor practices.
Over the course of the crisis, we heard from many advisors who shared how the pandemic impacted their practice. Soon we began to notice trends in what they were saying.
“One thing this has shown me is that I don’t know very much about what my staff even does.”
“I thought our team was pretty organized, but…”
“The already challenged communications in our team have become even more difficult in working from home.”
Staff members also mentioned that the communication issues that existed among leadership became even more pronounced as the team struggled to shift operations to remote work. Often these problems are symptoms of deeper issues. Those issues can stem from a number of areas including a lack of process, a need to develop leadership skills, roles and responsibilities that aren’t well defined, and other key operational and cultural components. In order to resolve both the core issues and the problems they create and map out a path for positive change, practice leaders first need to take a hard look and do an in-depth assessment of the practice to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
Some leaders are attempting to complete these assessments on their own. To truly be effective, an in-depth practice assessment is best done by an outside party. An independent third party is not bound my organizational politics or bias and can objectively assess the practice and give clear, balanced guidance on what needs to be done to improve.
Share This Post
Subscribe to Keys to Success
Receive timely articles and news on upcoming webinars and events by subscribing Keys to Success.
For articles and white papers on acquisitions and successions, please go to our sister site Advisor Legacy.
Related Posts
Your financial advisor practice is growing, and to keep growing you know you need help. Many advisors who reach this point believe the next move is to hire an AFA. Unfortunately, this is one area where many advisors make their biggest– and most costly–mistakes. Before pulling the AFA trigger, ask yourself these questions.
Are You […]
Many advisors venture out on their own in order to grow a vibrant book of business. As the client roster grows, the need to bring on more help to manage clients also grows. But the skills that make you a great financial advisor do not make you a great practice leader. To effectively transition from […]
Your practice will go through many stages of development as you start, grow, and eventually leave the business. In order to successfully develop your practice along the way, it’s important to know where to focus your efforts and what your practice should look like in each stage.
Typically, a financial practice will go through four stages […]
There are many elements that define the success of a practice–the quality of clients, delivery of service, recurring revenue, and more.
Ultimately, the value of a practice comes down to profitability. A number of factors affect profitability, but one of the most significant is the amount of resources spent supporting low value clients.
Generally speaking, any investment […]
As your practice grows, you may find yourself considering bringing on a Junior Advisor to help you manage your book of business so you can keep your focus on growing and building the practice.
Ideally, this arrangement should help you not only grow in volume, but also improve the profitability and strength of your firm. Unfortunately, […]
