Celestis

PA's tips - A special welcome to Support Staff

Celestis is very aware of the importance of the roles that support staff and others within the practice play in any successful practice. Their responsibilities and challenges may well differ from those of advisors and managers. 

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Library of PA Tips

There was one common factor amongst all the finalists of the Practice of the Year competition in both 2007 and 2008. At each practice, all members of staff are familiar with the business plan and the practice's objectives. Their own objectives and, in many cases, performance measurement criteria are linked to the business objectives. 

Have you been a participant in your practice's business plan or are you at least aware of the key objectives reflected in the plan for 2009? Chat to your management team about sharing the business objectives at your next team meeting and then align your activities and priorities in order to enhance your value to the practice.
We want passion for our business... workers who can interpret and execute our mission, who want to build a career, not just take a temporary job - Howard Schultz.

In order for a financial planning business to succeed not only in the market downturn, but generally, a clear and documented vision must be shared and understood by every person in the practice. Direction is vital to profitability and not only defines the processes and activities of each person, but instils a sense of worth through clear and defined requirements. "A clear vision will lead to an emotionally and intellectually engaged and focused practice and will result in an organisational culture where people face reality, hold open and honest dialogue, take ownership of key initiatives, support each other, and both hold each other accountable for results"*.

Are you aware of your practice's Vision?  Do you know how the key goals and objectives are influenced by your deliverables to the business and to the client?  With Business Planning being reviewed for the new year, ensure your participation in the Business Planning process and discuss how the Practice Vision is impacted by the business goals and in turn, by your activities as outlined in the 2010 plan.
It can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks required of you in your role as a New Business and Servicing assistant. So much so, that finding the time to implement good business practices that can enhance your time and process management can be difficult.

Business Coaches are a great support not only to your Financial Advisor, but to you and your efficiencies within the practice. Have you spent time with the practice's Business Coach? Do you know what is being discussed, planned and implemented between the Coach and the Advisor? Most important, do you know why these changes are happening and what your involvement in the changes is?

Schedule time in your diary to attend the Practice Management consultation and you will not only allow yourself to be part of the transformation of your practice, but you can ensure that your own concerns, experiences and achievements are factored in to action plans that result from agreed goals and objectives.
We are now just passed the halfway mark into what has been a challenging year for all and in many practices; these challenges have resulted in the near abandonment of the goals and objectives established in the Business Plan. 

To use an analogy which best fits our current circumstances: If you found yourself having lost your way on a trip and the area became unfamiliar and slightly threatening, is that not the moment that you would pull over, revisit the road map and plan your next few turns to get back onto the planned route? The Business Plan requires the same approach. 

In your next meeting with management, perhaps you should schedule an hour discussion around the previously agreed goals, re-routing activities and focuses to enable the practice to realign itself with the key objectives. In some cases, you may agree to slightly alter the original business route map (and business activities) to accommodate your current position but you certainly want to ensure that you are still on track to your targeted destination.
The value of each team member is directly tied to their contribution to meeting the practice's goals and objectives.  Why not ask to have the business plan shared with the team or better yet, request that the team take time out to participate in the Business Plan review and drafting.
An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage - Jack Welch

If your practice has been receiving the benefits of best practice coaching then your competitive potential in the industry will have been increased simply through the insight that this consulting affords you. As an key influence in the business, your ability to turn that potential into measurable success is directly proportional to the degree that you act upon the knowledge you have acquired.

Spend some time revisiting the best practice principles shared by your business coach - how much of this insight has truly translated into meaningful action on your part? Perhaps it is time to re-examine some of the concepts and their benefits with your business coach at your next meeting.    
Perceptual lag - If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  

Your practice has consistently implemented the best practice principals shared by your business coach and still there are clients who don't seem satisfied with your improved service delivery. Does this mean that what you have been doing is just not working and you should stop or change? 

No. 

It is a common challenge for businesses who strive to enhance their service levels, that client perceptions of improvement lag behind the reality of that improvement. The best way to deal with lagging perceptions is to make known the improvements or service enhancements to your clients in a formal way - include details of the benefits that they will derive from these changes and ask them to work with you to meet your service level goals by providing constructive feedback and in some cases, affording patience to the process of change.
Client reviews - Managing client relationships profitably.  

How would you feel if you could open your diary on the first working day of 2011 and see the scheduled financial planning review date for each and every client in your practice over the next 12 months?  Impossible you say? Not so!  Spotlight and select other financial planning software have the facility to schedule and then remind you of each client's Next Review date.  Furthermore, Spotlight will allow you to synchronise these appointments with your Outlook calendar! Simply follow one of the two suggestions below and take control of your diary from today:

1.  Bulk updating: Conduct a group search on your database using for example, the month that each client's portfolios was last updated or the month that they commenced their last insurance product with your practice or even their birthdates as the search criteria. Once the search is complete, you should have 12 lists of client names sorted into January, February etc. Based on the frequency of reviews that each client qualifies for, enter the month that their Next Review is due from the last date of contact. With 2.5 months left this year, a practice with a database of approximately 500 clients would complete this exercise by December 2010 if they merely captured 10 clients per day.

2.  As and when updating: From today, each time that your advisor completes an appointment, go straight to the client's file in Spotlight (or other software) and make a note of the next review date based on the frequency of reviews that each client qualifies for. Using this method, you will have the Next Review date of every client in the practice scheduled for the following 12 months no later than one year from the day that you begin making this activity a process requirement.
Ask employees of a financial planning practice what it is that their clients are buying from them and "insurance and investment policies" will be the most likely response. Ask the client the same question and their response may be quite different. People don't buy insurance, they buy peace of mind. They don't buy risk policies, they protect their families. They don't buy investment, they secure their futures.

Understanding the emotional triggers that cause people to seek out and retain the services of a financial planning practice will guide the manner in which you support the client-advisor relationship. If the culture of managing the client's lifestyle and risk goals is evident at every level within the practice, then you are truly delivering on that which the client has 'bought'.
Creating expectation - The very nature of our industry means that we are dealing with people either to prepare them for  various emotional stages of their lives or because a stage has been reached i.e. the purchase of a new home, the death of a loved one, retrenchment etc.  To us, these may translate into servicing activities, but to our clients, these are lifetime milestones that can cause immense stress and pressure.  Either way, we are in a very personal space when we deal with clients and must accept that our role comes with great responsibility.

When commencing a servicing activity, guide the process with compassion and structure. At the outset, give the client a realistic picture of the timelines, the activities involved, the requirements of both the practice and the client and the expected outcome.  This in itself will remove the further burden of the 'nknown' or a client but most important, will allow you to honour the service in a realistic timeframe whilst meeting the expectation of the client who may otherwise translate this turnaround-time into 'oor service'.

Remember, we are an extension of the Financial Planning process and can influence the practice's ability to retain clients and ensure business continuity.
Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business - Zig Ziglar

We all love receiving positive feedback from our clients; it reinforces our sense of contribution to the business and ensures we repeat the practices that earned us the accolade. It is conversely important to know what we need to develop and how better to do that than to ask our client's what they want to see improved in our delivery to them?

A formal and anonymous survey is highly effective and can reveal wonderful opportunities for your business to advance the service offering, but often times it is a phone call to the client directly after an advisory or servicing consultation that not only reveals the immediate client experience (both good and bad), but inspires the client perception of being a valued contributor to the practice's pursuit of excellence. Make it a routine practice to contact A-profile clients who have recently enjoyed service from your practice, ask them how they felt about the experience. Share the results in your management and team meetings and commit to taking action where needed.
Client segmentation and Service differentiation - Managing client relationships profitably.  

The value of time given to each client is often only partially measured in financial planning practices and in many cases, is not measured at all - particularly the time afforded clients by support staff for general servicing and queries. The result?  The necessity to double new business efforts per client in order to compensate for minimised profitability in the ongoing servicing areas of business. As a support staff member, you can make a valuable contribution to reducing the cost of managing client relationships by implementing more efficient and automated processes but first, you need to review the way you think about client services.  A great analogy (provided by a Celestis client) puts into perspective the generous nature of financial planning practices.  

If a motor dealership where to provide unlimited free vehicle servicing, premium valets and the refuelling of all cars to all clients who purchased vehicles from their showroom floor, the dealership would have to substantially  increase their new vehicle sales to remain profitable or face closure.
If your practice does not charge fees for time then the appropriate allocation of your time becomes a major determining factor for profitability.  Meet with your Business Coach and begin analysing efficient ways in which to provide effective and profitable client services that contribute to the overall profitability of the business.
So the first quarter is behind us and with the fast pace at which we are implementing change in our offices and in our value, a well deserved coffee break is on the cards. 

Why not make this break a refreshing yet productive 'time-out'. Contact one or two of your key-relationship resources (a claims administrator or branch secretary within your product provider office) and invite them to join you for a cappuccino and a chat. 

Don't talk 'shop'; just enjoy getting to know one another personally. This will certainly strengthen the working relationship and allow both parties to put a person behind the voice.  Who knows, you may very well find improved service from this resource  now that you have shared a little more of your personal selves with one another. 

Better yet, try to do this once a quarter - it provides for the break you need whilst achieving a more productive and enjoyable working environment going forward.
Take a fresh look at your practice's culture and processes and truly ask yourself, "How we do things around here"?  In a structured order, select an area of the financial planning and servicing process every week and investigate a little deeper. Allow yourself to be on the receiving end of the service and make notes of areas that require attention and development. 

A great way to do this is to submit your own financial planning needs to the practice and start by having a Financial Needs Analysis conducted for yourself and your family by a practice advisor. Commit to the process and pay special attention to areas that impressed you as well as experiences that left you concerned. 

Each week, provide feedback to management and your team and agree to prioritise corrective procedures immediately. Not only will your practice benefit from the true client perspective, but you will have peace of mind on your own lifestyle and financial plan.
You pride yourself on your processes and you have enjoyed successful results with your client servicing, so you don't need to change what you're doing right?  Wrong! Consumer education means that clients are becoming more sophisticated; they have higher expectations and are more involved in their financial planning partnerships with the practice. 

The result is that support staff need to be more focused, more accountable and continually progressive in their approach to the new business and servicing support role. Your Celestis Business Coach has insight into a vast array of businesses and can share a wealth of information based on successes and failures within those businesses. 

Next time your advisor is unable to attend the Business Coaching session, don't cancel - meet with the coach and discuss ideas and methods to further improve your effectiveness. Remember, whilst you may feel that improvement is not necessary... your competitor might. Worst still, your client might!
Changing the client perception, one word at a time - Do you still refer to the advisors in your office as 'brokers' when communicating with clients and business partners?

Broker: An agent who intermediates between buyers and sellers and charges a commission for his participation.

Financial Planner: A qualified professional who helps individuals set and achieve their long-term financial goals, through investments, tax planning, asset allocation, risk management, retirement planning, and estate planning. The role of a financial planner is to find ways to increase the client's net worth and help the client accomplish all of his/her financial objectives.

Clients likely to perceive greater value if they view the role of the advisor as one of an accredited professional who is a specialist in his field of service.  We can make the world of difference in taking this industry to the next level just by paying attention to seemingly insignificant issues such as the reference we make to our professionals.

Definitions sourced from 'InvestorWords.com'.
It is great to see so many practices harnessing the value of regular client communication.  Keeping your practice 'Front of Mind' for your clients maximises client retention and ensures that clients are always abreast of lifestyle planning or practice news. 

If you are using e-mail as a medium to send bulk communication to clients (preferably utilising functions that personalise each e-mail), you may want to remember that most of your clients have experienced the frustration that comes with spam mail.  For this reason, they do not want their contact details being exposed and violated by opportunists. 

Put their minds at ease. Use a mail merge that allows you to send the identical message, personalised, to as many recipients as you wish - one message at a time. Alternatively, ensure that all bulk e-mail communication issued by your practice hides any contact details or recipient names. When inserting e-mail addresses into your e-mails, utilise the 'Bcc' line in the address section of your e-mail (Just below the 'To' and 'Cc' icons).
Many clients have recently finalised their income tax returns (certainly those taking advantage of the online e-filing facility) and a large number of these clients would have spend money consulting with tax specialists to assist in minimising their tax burden.  Others have been hard hit by monies owing to SARS, at a time when finances are tight and the most expensive month of the year is fast approaching. These clients are now especially, fully aware of the need to structure their tax matters and are probably willing to take immediate advice and effect means to avoid a repeat of their current tax liabilities.

Meet with your advisor, discuss the profile of clients who would most likely have required (and paid for) independent tax consultation and discuss the ways in which the practice may have provided advice and products aimed at maximising their tax efficiency. Then begin drafting personalised communication to these clients that would inform them of these vital financial services  and suggest that a comprehensive financial planning review be conducted as soon as possible to prepare them for (among other things) their next Income Tax Return season. You may be surprised at the response from clients who may have previously been unaware that this particular area of advice forms part of the practice advisory offering.
It is important to understand that the client appointment does not begin when the advisor meets with the client, nor does it end when the meeting concludes. Instead, it begins days earlier when you or the advisor initially schedules the appointment.  The preparation that goes into making the meeting productive and beneficial to the client includes your vital participation in the pre and post process. 

Gathering or creating the client files, confirming and  updating personal and portfolio details with the client ahead of the meeting and sending a courtesy diary reminder to the client all contribute to maximising the advisory time and value derived from the appointment itself, for both the client and the advisor.

You can further enhance the client experience through your post appointment communication, documentation and courtesy follow up contact by determining that all requirements have been met to the client's full expectation.  Use this opportunity to establish what the client thought of the experience and whether they have any suggestions for improving your practice's advisory and service delivery in future. You would be surprised at the gems offered when clients are given a platform to share their opinions.
In many cases you will be the first contact that anyone has with your office and generally you are the ongoing service relationship bridge between the client and the Advisor. Make sure that your appearance, professional conduct and work ethic are in synch with your practice's professional image
If you browse through the marketing materials of many businesses, you will usually find an extract that boasts. "We treat all of our clients exactly the same - because each deserves excellent service". The statement seems professionally fair, so why is Service Differentiation considered Best Practice?  

Let's begin with the latter part of the statement: "...because each deserves excellent service."  Each client in your practice does deserve service excellence. This should be a minimum standard in any business hoping to create sustainable and profitable client relationships. However, to guarantee this to every client, you must first realise that by trying to be everything to everybody, you are essentially diluting your ability to provide service excellence to anyone.
If the Practice Principal asked you to contact his/her A-clients to set up review appointments for the balance of the first quarter, would you know who to call?

Make Segmentation the agenda for your next staff meeting and establish if the following has been formalised within the practice:

1. The criteria for each segment of client on the database. 
2. The service offerings associated with each segment.
3. The recording of this information on your CRM system.

If not, schedule an appointment between your Practice Consultant and management team and ensure the results are communicated to all staff.
Many practices together with their business coaches will have developed a segmentation model and segmented their client base over the last 48 months. 

It is important to remember that the selection criteria will need to be revisited and adapted to accommodate changing dynamics of both the business and its clients. 

Make a point of re-examine the criteria and parameters of your segmentation model at your next business meeting, then adjust the rating of clients to ensure appropriate and cost effective service levels for the current year.
Having recently discussed Client Segmentation and Service Differentiation, businesses who have begun implementing these practices will have seen the immediate benefits of segment-appropriate services. 

In fact, many will have experienced a further dimension of this approach; the realisation of the negative financial impact of 'the undesired client'.  There's a rule-of-thumb in the business environment that the bottom 20% of clients account for 80% of all resource spend and in a recession, this can spell the end for a Financial Planning Practice.  Although most practices are reluctant to begin 'firing' clients, the fact remains; the best way to increase profitability, especially in times like these, is to fire clients fitting this profile.  

So where do you fit in? As a support staff member to the Advisory Practice, your regular contact with clients is most valuable in identifying clients that may need to be reviewed for suitability. 

The best way to start is to list clients that you are exceedingly committed to and make a note of the following:

Are you servicing these clients beyond the scope of their Service Level Agreements?
Are these clients demanding unnecessary and costly time and service on a consistent basis?
Is the overall financial gain greater than the loss in the instance of termination?

If the results indicate that the client's demands exceed the partnership benefits, perhaps it's  time to meet with your Management Team and Business Coach to determine the best way in which to identify undesirable clients, terminate advisory contracts or divert relationship management to resources such as Old Mutual Activate.
By now, through consultation with your Business Coach and Management Team, you are well aware that Client Segmentation is one way in which advisors can focus on improving the profitability of client relationships. It is important to know though, that this is just the first step in guaranteeing a direct link between the practice's investment in client relationships (both of time and money) and the value of those relationships. 

Once you have invested the time and effort to rate and segment all of the practice's clients and are providing time and services appropriate to the segment needs, the process can be easily maintained.

You will need to establish two processes: one to update the ratings of existing clients and the second to rate new clients.

In order to keep your ratings up to date, simply build a segmentation review into the annual client review meeting and have the advisor address changes with the client at the same time that he is data-gathering for the client FNA.

Whilst updating the client portfolio on your CRM system, you can then review the client's ratings to determine if there have been any material changes. A change in one driver may or may not change the client's segment rating.
Your practice has built its business on a foundation of quality financial planning for its clients. The quality of the service support that you deliver to the advisor and clients can give your business a large competitive advantage. Your reputation for quality New Business and Service support can attract. 

In our current financial climate, the industry demands a radical change in the way service is provided to clients. Your service must be shaped by your A and B profile clients; it must be driven from outside the business to inside and finally, it should be designed to make the client see the value of the entire team and not just the Advisor. Give renewed thought to what your role means within the financial planning practice.
On average, how many A-ype clients do you service claims and queries for per month?

On average, how many clients in total do you attend to per month?

Divide the answer from Step 2 by the answer from Step 1. Note the percentage of your time allocated to profitable A-ype clients and the remaining time allocated to the balance of your clients.

Can you automate some or more of your servicing processes for your C and D-type clients in order to give more of your personal attention and time to A-ype clients?
Clients will often judge a business by its responsiveness to their queries and how they are treated by its staff. It is therefore important to demonstrate a strong commitment to professional client service. 

After your clients, you are the most valuable asset to the practice and for this reason, it is imperative that you continue to develop your interpersonal skills. Discuss enrolling in a Client Services program with management, present on what you have learnt with the balance of your team and discuss how best to apply it in the practice.
There are two sets of people with whom we engage on a daily basis in business - those who are a resource for the business and those who are an income source for the business. 

Think of those companies/people who are a resource to your practice, do you derive maximum value from them? Do you hold them accountable for providing the highest service levels and meeting their commitments to your business? If not, what are you doing to address these deficiencies and encourage improved delivery?

Conversely, think of those companies/people who are an income source for your practice, do they derive maximum value from you? Do you demonstrate accountability by providing the highest service levels and meeting your commitments to them? If not, what are you doing to address your deficiencies and improve delivery?

Service excellence and accountability goes both ways, you need to expect this from your resources and guarantee this to your income sources.
Keeping the door open between the front-office and back-office staff is key to the overall service delivery. Client service commitments, whether documented in a Service Level Agreement or given verbally, are essentially a 'social pact' between the practice and its clientele. One of the common frustrations in the field is the unrealistic commitment made by the Advisor to the client regarding support staff turnaround times. 

How many times has an advisor rushed in from an appointment, thrown a pack of documents on your desk and declared that the client will expect the results by close of business?

Perhaps it is time to formalise an internal services process encompassing:

Servicing activity (i.e. Surrender / New Business Policy Commencement / Switch)

Process to be followed

Requirements from client, practice and Product Provider

Expected turnaround time

Using this document, meet with your advisors, share with them an understanding of realistic delivery results and agree to have them share these with the client upon initiation of a request. It is not so much the time taken to complete a client servicing matter, rather the time taken over and above the created expectation that impacts the client perception of the standard of service.
Cross-selling and up-selling are words that admin and support staff prefer to avoid and see as a sales or advisor matter. The reality is, these aspects of the customer relationship and practice profitability are directly related to the ongoing servicing and relationship management of your valued clients and you can play an important role in this area. Cross and up-selling is the practice of identifying immediate and existing needs or gaps in your clients' financial portfolio and ear-marking those clients for a full Financial Needs Analysis with an advisor in order to close those gaps.

Your relationship with the clients in the practice affords you the best opportunity to be aware of changes in the client's circumstances that may trigger an FNA or portfolio review.

The next time a client announces a pregnancy, a career change or an address change, notify your advisor or management that a financial plan review should be conducted. Go one step further and contact your Business Coach to conduct a Cross-Sell consultation with your team. Your Coach will demonstrate ways in which to analyse your client database on an ongoing basis to ensure that regular 'cross-sell' opportunities can be identified at your desk and the practice's client relationship management and sustainable profitability are enhanced through your valuable intervention.
Working smart includes the ability to recognise the opportunities presented by present industry threats. 

One example would be to recognise that the FAIS Act requires clients to view practice documents and disclosures at every contact. Why not encourage the management team to use this legislative documentation to market the practice, its advisors, its support staff and its financial planning offering to the client. Not many industries are afforded the benefit of mandatory client disclosures requiring the client to read and sign. 

Turn these disclosures into marketing materials and make the documentation more interesting for the client and more beneficial to the practice's marketing initiatives.
The value of the practice lies in the standard of the financial planner's advice and his/her availability to give that advice to clients. The more time spent on non-advisory activities, the more he dilutes his value to the client. Conversely, the value of your Business Consultant within your practice lies in the standard of product marketing and technical product support; as well as his/her availability to deliver that information and support.

The more time spent participating in servicing administration activities, the more the BC dilutes his/her value to the advisor. Make efficient use of your business partner resources by directing your requirements through the correct channels within the product provider offices. This ensures a speedier resolution on servicing queries and the availability of the BC to the advisor, who in turn passes that value on to his clients. 
With all the excitement building around the count-down to the 2010 World Cup Soccer, let's use a soccer analogy:  Imagine your business as a soccer team - All players must play their positions in order for the team to be successful. If the strikers run back to play defence, then nobody is focused on scoring goals.

If your advisor is busy with anything other than conducting an FNA or a hosting a financial advisory appointment, chances are he is doing work that should not be on his desk. Meet with each advisor and make a note of non-income generating activities that hinder his ability to be available to his clients in an advisory role. Discuss how these activities can be delegated to servicing support staff within the practice and together with the advisor, draft the procedural manner in which each of these matters must be handled by support staff to ensure they meet the standards expected by the advisor and client.

The sustainability of the practice is dependent on the efficient and comprehensive support given to the core function of the business and the ability of each employee (advisory and support) to understand the role that they must play in delivering or enabling the delivery of comprehensive, effective and attentive financial planning to the client.
If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend 6 hours sharpening my axe -Famous quote

The administration processes to be followed in order to ensure compliance in today's practice is laborious, time consuming and often quite complicated - but it has to be done. They say "if you can't beat them, join them" so why not meet with your Compliance Officer, Practice Manager and management team to draft efficient and effective processes tied to each client activity? Take your time, focus on the detail, build and document solid processes and then begin making a habit of following each step. Eventually you will find that in consistently adhering to quality procedures, you will spend less time achieving the desired outcome and you will be fielding fewer client queries and complaints. 

Spend 80% of your time sharpening your skills and you will need only 20% to produce the desired results.
A recent survey shows that, on average, an advisor spends 55% of his time on income generating activities and conducts 10 client appointments each week. To increase client appointments to 12 per week would require the advisor to spend about 65% of his time on income generating activities. You can make a significant difference to his ability to increase this percentage by sharing his workload.

To enhance his efficiency, remove administration activities from his desk and share them among the support staff.  This will also contribute to the development of the staff over time.
If you were asked right now to provide a list of ongoing new business and servicing tasks including the progress and status of each case, could you? Effective task and time management is largely influenced by an efficient, automated processes and regular, concise record-keeping.Tracking all servicing cases on your CRM system allows you to manage your time, your activities and your efficiency. Using three basic guidelines, create the habit of process automation and task management in your office: 

Create - Log every servicing activity against the name of the client on your CRM system with a title indicating the nature of the activity. i.e. In Spotlight, create an activity by highlighting the client name and selecting Client Activity.

Capture - Update every contact or action performed on the case including discussions between yourself and the client, i.e. In Spotlight, use the Notes icon to update the case status. The system will automatically capture the date and time.

Close - Finalise the case by updating confirmation of conclusion.  i.e. in Spotlight, select File and the system will store the history for record keeping and reference.

The advantages of automating processes includes the ability to print off a report reflecting all open activities within the practice at any given time (including the status of each) with the press of a button. Chat to your Management team about enrolling for a training course on the practice CRM system.
Few things are as frustrating when management and support staff realise, either well into a new business or servicing process or when it is finished, that they didn't have the same result in mind. Either management didn't communicate the details of the requirements clearly or the staff member didn't understand what was expected.

Clarifying expectations at the outset is an effective productivity tool and should be applied to the support staff - client relationship too. Take the time to discuss and agree on expectations with your management team or client; though this may take some time initially, it is truly a time-saving practice in the end and something that all support staff should do. Plus, it saves a lot of frustration, thus creating a more positive working environment.
Managing yourself and your time effectively is often hampered by the volume of tasks requiring execution on a daily basis. There may be tasks and processes conducted in your office purely because "we have always done it this way". Ask yourself the question: "What would happen if the business no longer performed this task or process?" Quite often old habits are no longer applicable in the changing world of business and can be absorbed into other processes or done away with completely.
Your practice understands and appreciates the importance of having prospective clients referred to the practice. Make it a priority to ensure that the referring client has been contacted and thanked for the referral. They may also appreciate being informed if the referral has become a valued client of the practice. If you are not sure which of the clients have made referrals and which of the new clients were originally referrals, make a point of checking with management at every staff meeting.
We have previously discussed the valuable role you can play in identifying income opportunities in the practice's database. To jog your memory, you would analyse the database and extract a list of clients with insufficient financial planning in an area of their personal financial plan i.e.Clients with little or no planning in retirement/death/disability/medical etc. 

This would include clients with outdated products that may no longer meet their current financial planning objectives. At the time, you would have issued these lists to your advisors who would have contacted the clients in turn. Three major responses would have occurred:

Clients who immediately agreed to review their financial plans. (HOT LEADS)

Clients who were not yet ready to review their plans but would want to be contacted at a later stage. (WARM LEADS)

Clients who were not interested. (COLD LEADS)

With the turbulent economic situation, it is reasonable to assume that the advisors would have met with and formalised a review for the Hot Leads category of clients immediately, but did you implement a system to remind you of the warm leads at a later date?  Perhaps at a date suggested by the client in question?

Financial Planning software has the beneficial functionality of a field requesting 'Next Contact'. Insert the date suggested by 'Warm Lead' clients (including the area of planning required and any specific details raised by the client) and have the system remind you to notify your advisor that a call is now due to schedule the requested Financial Planning Review.
"My Boss frequently gets lost in thought. That's because it's unfamiliar territory." - Anonymous

So, by now you know that a Manager or Financial Advisor is only as effective as the person who manages him/her - and this seemingly impossible task falls squarely on your desk.  How are you supposed to manage yourself, your time, your development, your advisors, your clients, your processes, your Product Providers and your management team and still maintain a calm and balanced office? The good news is that there are tools that exist all around you to ensure that you not only remain on top of these responsibilities, but that you create continuity at your desk when you finally need some time off for a well deserved recharge. 

Microsoft Outlook is most often exclusively used as an e-mail communication tool in many offices and the benefits of much of its functionality is overlooked, ignored or unknown. From managing synchronised diaries, scheduling and facilitating meetings, project managing small medium or large activities, record-keeping and general communication, Microsoft Outlook has been designed to be a secretary to the office executive.  

Speak to your management team about a short course or set aside time to explore the many facets of this 'office organiser'. After all, why should you have to do all the thinking and remembering on your own?
The service and administration environment is often a thankless one because what we 'sell' is intangible - it cannot be touched, felt, tried on and measured. Our value lies at the mercy of the client perception and given that finances are such an emotional issue, often we are forced to deal with unsettling client feedback which can be unrelated to the quality of our service.

The secret to remaining motivated in a challenging and often negatively charged environment is to redirect your energy from being reactive to being responsive. When you react to negative feedback, you give power to the problem at hand and immediately deny yourself the ability to overcome - the client attaches you to the predicament. When you respond to negative feedback, you empower yourself to calmly assess the obstacle and determine alternative solutions - the client associates you with the solution.

The difference between the two requires a matter of moments to reflect.
Employee performance assessments - Engage the process and guarantee the desired results

Many support staff dread their annual performance review/assessment - in part, for fear of not meeting the business expectations and often because they are uncertain of the measurement criteria that will affect their results.

Solving this dilemma requires support staff to become active participants in the process by meeting with management and assisting in the formulation of the performance plan using the following guidelines:

Document, clarify and prioritise management expectations of your role

Gain a mutual understanding of key expectations of each responsibility 

Identify (ask if necessary) how your role fits in with the business plan and the achievement of the business goals

Measure the gap between current and desired performance for each expectation

Jointly develop a Performance Action Plan to reduce/close gaps, beginning with the highest priority items
Commit to monitoring progress and re-calibrate current performance levels on a frequent basis (e.g. Quarterly)
The only thing even in this world is the number of hours in a day; the difference in winning or losing is what you do with those hours - Woody Hayes

In order to effectively manage your time and to be productive each day, you must create an structured office environment. By eliminating clutter, setting up effective filing systems and workflow processes, utilising essential tools and drawing on appropriate resources, you will be well on your way to creating an effective workspace in which to both develop and thrive.
Professional development - Know your personal development style and then harness your resources in the pursuit of professional advancement.

If your practice has been receiving the consulting services of a Business Coach, you will no doubt have participated to some extent in the coaching meetings. What you take from these sessions not only benefits the practice and its clients, it also enhances your sense of personal development and job satisfaction.  Furthermore, your contribution to the practice and the profession in general is maximised.

One on one consulting offers the unique advantage of tailored and personalised development and to get the most out of your sessions, it is important that you determine your preferred  style of learning - for example, do you prefer to be told what to do?  Would the sessions be more effective if the consultant shows you what to do? Or do you respond better to being guided as you demonstrate your understanding of the content being discussed? 

Understanding your development style will not only assist you in the consulting sessions, but will create a more focussed environment for the trainer/coach/consultant to ensure you derive maximum benefit out of the shared best practice principles.
A big corporation hired several cannibals but instructed them not to eat any of the other employees. A few weeks later, one of the secretaries disappeared and the boss wanted to know who ate her but nobody would own up.  After the boss left, the leader of the cannibals immediately demanded to know who ate the secretary and when a hand rose hesitantly in admission, he exploded. "You fool!" he said, "For weeks we've been eating managers and no one noticed anything, but nooo, you had to go and eat someone important!..."

We are just beyond the halfway mark of what has been a busy year and with the excitement of the world cup dying down, many support staff may be feeling slightly tired and unfocussed. You are an asset to the business and a time-out may be just the thing for you. Why not join your BC, Compliance Officer, Practice Manager or other business partners for a cup of coffee, a therapeutic laugh and a good old chat. You deserve the break and may well find personal commonalities between you that may reinforce the professional support and commitment from your business partner.
Service differentiation does not mean that your practice gives one client a lower standard of service than another. It means that you give special clients, i.e. your Category A clients, servicing that exceeds the basic standards of the practice.  In order to deliver this standard, ensure that all support staff are well aware of who these clients are and what the service standards of each segment are. Talk to your Business Coach and Management Team to ensure you are all delivering a consistent service standard to all segments.
Differential service offerings addresses the very different needs of each segmented group of clients so that you are able to offer varying service levels (both in frequency and depth) tailor made to suit the needs of each segment profile whilst addressing the return on investment of that time and service. The concept essentially respects that clients are not 'exactly the same' and that to view them and treat them as such is in fact a disservice to their unique requirements and certainly costly to the business. 

What you must do is ensure that each client gets appropriate service.Chat to your Management and Business Coach, perhaps it is time to offer service excellence to your clients by addressing your Service Differentiation offering?
If you feel that you really need PowerPoint presentation just to explain what you do for a living, it's time to start calling in your strategic business partners.

The support staff role can be a complicated one when continual client, management and industry demands are placed upon you - and with the financial planning industry in a constant state of change, this is increasingly the case.

Yet outside your practice lies a vast knowledge base: Product Provider Consultants, Compliance Officers, Business Coaches and fellow support staff. In a varied role, undoubtedly you will find that these valuable resources will have ideas and advice that may simplify your processes, make your office more productive and give you a fresh perspective on meeting your objectives - so reach out to one another and share ideas over coffee or at industry events.
It is dangerous to assume that providing good service equates to giving 'five star' treatment. Good service means providing efficient service appropriate to the reasonable needs and requirements of clients. 'Five star' treatment should be reserved for clients who require significantly higher levels of service and are prepared to pay 'five star prices'.
Often support staff believe that Performance Appraisals are the only way to receive feedback about their performance. Although this function is important for professional development, there are many sources from whom we can draw qualified guidance. Ask for feedback about your performance from your clients, your BC's and your business partners. If it is not forthcoming, let those parties know what you plan to do with their input. If people see you using their feedback as a stimulus to try doing things differently, they are likely to give you more and you are better equipped to enhance your value within your working environment.
The skills required to service your clients and support the business are constantly changing and expanding. Ongoing education and development is fast becoming a must for all staff who want to remain efficient in their contribution to the business' overall success.  Attending development courses will not only help improve staff morale, but will create a sense of belonging and importance to the business.

Discuss and select the most appropriate course with your management team and document the expected outcomes (e.g. timing, funding, study leave, etc.) as part of your performance objectives. Your Business Coach will be able to provide valuable suggestions and options available to your practice.
Strategic partners - Their contribution is designed to benefit everyone in the practice, including you.

You have many consultants and external practice partners who consult to your practice on a regular basis to discuss areas of development or opportunity within the business. In many cases, these consultants will work very closely with the advisory or management team and your role is limited to managing their welcome and refreshments.

Chat to management and these partners and arrange for a meeting to discuss how your participation in these consults can have a positive impact on the business objectives. Clarify the roles and responsibilities of all attendees (yours, your management and the consultant), the frequency of meetings, the general and specific content to be covered over the next 6 months and the required input and action from your side - pre and post meetings.

This will not only further structure business consulting partnerships , but will also create productive collaborations that include every contributing member of the team and allow for the continual measurement of team progress and effectiveness.
Henri Bergson said: To exist is to change; to change is to mature; to mature is to create oneself endlessly. Client demographics, the world economy and technology are ever-changing and practices who recognise this and want to be leaders through change will truly appreciate the importance of consistent and continual adaptation of best practice principles and business culture. Setting aside one or two hours a month for a chat with your coach is not going to be sufficient if your practice and your clients are to truly thrive. 

You would best benefit by doing the following:

Accept and embrace change. Practice Management is about facing, embracing and benefiting from change. 

Take responsibility.  The consultation with your coach is only as valuable as the responsibility you are willing to take for the agreed developmental areas of the practice.

Engage actively.  Apply what you learn from the consultation to your every approach, activity and function in the transformation process.

Measure results. Set implementation goals and measure them. 

If you have committed to segmenting your client base within one month, document your commitment with your coach and management team and then revisit your progress at agreed intervals. 

A good place for you to commit and measure is via the Celestis HealthCheck.
Many practices have recently had their Compliance Audits conducted and a common area requiring attention is the Business Succession Plan. Although this may seem like a matter affecting the management team exclusively, it is important to note that a significant part of the Succession Plan involves your future role in the business in the event of a planned or unplanned exit by the principle.

In the event of death, disability or retirement of the principle, is the business to be transferred to the successor as a going concern (including your continued employment with the practice)?  If so, is this a permanent situation or are you to be retained for a limited transitional period only? Will your role remain the same or will you be required to extend or reduce your responsibilities?  Who is the successor and are you both a good cultural and personality fit for one another?

Perhaps you will want to schedule a meeting with the management team, your Business Coach and affected staff to begin discussing the practical and transitional aspects of the intended Succession Plan and encourage the formalisation of this important business document. Your practice will be meeting compliance requirements, creating peace of mind for all stakeholders and ensuring the continued best interests of the valued clients.
Is your team preparing or reviewing the practice's Succession Plan soon?  If so, here are three questions you might want to consider:

Do you know what the succession plan is for the practice in the event that the principal for any reason exits the practice (death, disability, retirement)?   

Do you know what your responsibility is in communicating with clients at the point of the principal's exit? 

Do you know if and how your role may be affected in the event of this exit? Schedule this as an item for discussion during the practice's Succession Planning meeting.
You need feedback on a New Business case urgently and the client is expecting an answer from you within the day. You e-mail the person handling the underwriting results and within a minute an auto-reply arrives stating she is away on leave for 2 weeks. You feel helpless, frustrated and immediately think of all the instances where this particular company has disappointed you and delivered less than satisfactory service levels. You don?t want your clients to experience this with your practice do you? 

With December approaching faster than expected, take care of your clients before you go on annual leave and send them a message letting them know that you will be away. When you finally do go on leave, construct an e-mail 'Out-of-office' reply that includes not only your leave period, but the name and contact information of colleagues who will be assisting in your absence. Go one step further and set up a rule in your e-mail software so that every e-mail addressed to you is redirected to someone who can respond or delegate the communication immediately.

Upon your return, amend your 'Out-of-office' reply to alert clients that you are back in the office sorting through your in-tray and will respond to all queries as soon as possible.
A crises is usually just a problem throwing a tantrum because it's been ignored  - Anonymous 

Support staff will often agree that at least 20% of their day is dedicated to 'crisis managing' the demands of those around them - whether it be an over commitment made by an advisors to a client on your behalf or an unforeseen underwriting delay on a new business case. The first step is to acknowledge that a crisis is only a problem that has been ignored or overlooked and that one should deal with it decisively and promptly by following the steps below:

1.       Assess the problem clearly.

2.       Isolate the cause and identify possible solutions.

3.       Implement the most sensible and relevant solution.

4.       Learn from the experience.

5.       Be alert and recognise the possibility of recurrence and then tackle the problem before it becomes a crisis again.
We need to understand the difference between activity and productivity. Being very busy does not necessarily mean that you are productive or that your time is being spent efficiently. The best measure of your time and effort is the result it has on the time and effort of the advisor. 

If what you are doing does not in lend itself to maximising the advisor's value to the client, you need to ask yourself:

Is this urgent enough to be prioritised?

Is this important enough to be attended to immediately?

Is there a regular/weekly 'down-time' in which activities of this nature can be finalised such as Friday afternoons?

Being productive is a matter of performing effectively and efficiently - doing the right things at the right time.Your productivity (even if indirectly) inevitability leads to profitability.
A common frustration among support staff is the unpredictability of the advisor movement and daily schedule. Meet with management and advisors, determine the office hours during which they can reasonably expect to routinely be available for ad hoc meetings for such things as general client emergency meetings, mentoring, client relationship and activity feedback, and employee relation issues. Block out those times on their outlook calendars (perhaps colour code them for fast referencing) and make appointments in real time. Then block out times that they will routinely be in consultation with clients for reviews (again, apply colour coding to review appointments). 

As clients call in to meet with advisors for unscheduled discussions (i.e. investment returns, portfolio updated), explain that your advisors schedule meetings by appointment. Update the advisor's Outlook calendar, update the client's Outlook calendar and copy all parties on any e-mail messages pertinent to the appointment or meeting.  
Do you have a clear idea of what constitutes productive activities in relation to your support role to the practice? Start by looking at the Financial Planning process. How many of your daily activities enhance the advisor's value to the client throughout the steps in this process?  How many of these activities have no bearing on the process?  Now compile a list of the latter and ask yourself how many of these activities are absolutely necessary and what impact are they having on your ability to provide effective support to your advisor.
There are a number of scheduling tools available on the market that include electronic diaries, calendars, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant), MS Outlook (Microsoft software that incorporates integrated calendar, e-mail, contacts etc.). By scheduling your own time and that of your employer, you will:

Avoid over-committing yourself and your employer

Build in time to handle any unforeseen events

Build in time to perform the day-to-day business functions as required Get a better understanding of what you are able to achieve in the time available to you

Make optimal use of your time

MS Outlook allows for you to schedule client appointments simultaneously in yours, your advisors' and your clients? diaries with one action. Your clients will appreciate the reminder and any documentation requirements (on the part of the advisor and client) can be listed, attached and updated in the electronic schedule. This is a great way to enhance your record-keeping and cross reference your 'last review' reports!
It is time to reclaim our time and energy by properly managing the volumes of correspondence pouring into our already stressed lives. Using the four D's of decision-making, start working through your inbox and immediately categorise every e-mail waiting for your attention:

Delete: At least 50% of all the emails you receive require no action.  These can be read and deleted immediately. If you need to hang onto the information, create a sub folder titled: File.

Do: If the email is urgent or can be completed quickly, act immediately.  Delaying a response only compounds the 'to-do' list floating around in your head.

Delegate: If the email can be better dealt with by someone else, forward it on immediately. Copy the sender so that they are aware of the delegated task.  If you believe it may be necessary to keep an eye on progress, create a sub folder titled: Follow up.      

Defer: Set aside time at a later date to spend on emails that require longer action.  Perhaps create a sub folder titled: Action

Time management begins with small steps that produce great results.
With more practices realising the positive financial results of hosting client appointments in-office you can add further value to management by protecting your advisors from unwelcome or untimely interruptions during client appointments. How best can you determine when you should interrupt your boss? Perhaps try using the following suggestion from Microsoft Office:

Level 1 issues are those that require your boss's specific and immediate input. The world will stop until the boss is available to discuss the issue. These are legitimate; interrupt the boss when necessary.

Level 2 issues need only a quick yes-or-no answer and are not time sensitive. Save up these issues and take them to the boss once or twice a day. Interrupt once for five questions, rather than five times with one question each time.

Level 3 issues are those that could be answered by someone else; the boss is not the only person in the world who can help.Try to answer the question as best you can, and educate the calling client on the appropriate resource person to contact in the future.

Level 4 issues are already answered in print somewhere - such as in a procedure manual, product guide, or CRM system.

Meet with management and agree to matters that fit the various Level Issues, document them and ensure that they are distributed to employees within the business who may be responsible for fielding client queries.
We've all been there - the moment we realise that we are fielding an unrealistic number of business tasks that have now become emergencies and we're not sure where to begin. Each task is important and because we have not managed to get to them sooner, all have now become urgent. Why not apply the Business Triage approach?

Triage originated in World War I by French doctors treating the battlefield wounded by dividing victims into three categories:

1.       Those who are likely to live, regardless of what care they receive.

2.       Those who are likely to die, regardless of what care they receive.

3.       Those for whom immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome.

The Business Triage approach treats all urgent and important tasks in much the same way:

1.       Tasks that are likely to have a neutral outcome regardless of the attention they receive.

2.       Tasks that are likely to have a disastrous outcome regardless of the attention they receive.

3.       Tasks that are likely to have a positive outcome if they receive immediate attention.

Remember, this approach (much the same as on a battlefield) is only appropriate when dealing with a number of emergencies that require priority and discretion.
"A customer is the most important visitor on our premises; he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so." - Mahatma Gandhi

Companies that thrive in tough economical times like these will be those capable of identifying, quantifying, and communicating a clear Value Proposition. So what does this mean? A value proposition is a clear statement of the tangible results a client gets from using your products or services. How, though can you deliver on those tangible commitments if you are not sure what they are?

Ask your management team if the practice's Value Proposition has been drafted and formalised. If so, have it communicate it to the staff to ensure servicing activities are aligned with the practices Value Commitment. If not, it may be time to rope your Business Coach in for a brainstorming session with management.

Better Business