Latest / The Efficient Advisor: Tactical Business Advice for Financial Planners / 231: Critical Foundational Exercises Every Advisor Needs to Do - Level 1 of The Systems to Scale Framework

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231: Critical Foundational Exercises Every Advisor Needs to Do - Level 1 of The Systems to Scale Framework · The Efficient Advisor: Tactical Business Advice for Financial Planners

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: My name is Todd Pisarczyk and I'm the CEO of Momentous Wealth Management, an advisory firm based in Washington State.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: We had never worked with any sort of business coach or consultant in the past, so I was not entirely sure what to expect when we started working with Libby.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Just under one year in, I can now say with certainty this experience has far exceeded any expectations we had, exceeded any expectations we had.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: I've commented to Libby many times about the fact that I have been in this business for almost 25 years and everything she has taught us makes me wonder what in the world I was even doing and how I was even able to run a firm before going through this process.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Over the last year, libby has helped us implement her series of systems and processes, which we had none of before, that have allowed us to transform our firm and the way that we do business.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: We have now reached a point where I feel like we are truly running our business rather than our business running us, and we can be proactive in the way that we operate rather than spending each day putting out fires.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Most importantly, I also feel better than ever about the experience that our clients and staff are receiving every day, feel better than ever about the experience that our clients and staff are receiving every day.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: I feel like the process Libby took us through is customized to us and centered entirely around who we are as people, our strengths and weaknesses and our own personal goals.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: I don't feel like Libby was trying to put us into a box, like some of the other consulting programs we had looked into before.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Libby is genuine.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: She's super fun to work with and I can tell you from the start she truly cares for her clients.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: If you're on the fence about this, I encourage you.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Just make the jump.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: I promise you won't regret it.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: This week we are kicking off a podcast series and I am super duper fired up.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: As you may or may not know, I have a framework that I've developed over the last nearly two decades in this industry to help advisors, and I call it the systems to scale framework.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Essentially, I've taken all of the big processes as you know, there are seven in your financial planning business and I've broken these seven processes down into microprocesses and I use this framework to help advisors streamline their business by helping them build out those individual systems and processes and the microprocesses within those.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: This is the framework that we work off of for our group coaching program, which kicks off January 9th 2025.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: And registration opens November 14th.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Unless you're on the wait list, then registration starts November 7th.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: But essentially there are six layers that these processes fall into.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: So I think of your business kind of like a cake.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: Each layer has its own ingredients and when you add the right ingredients in the right order, layer after layer, you end up with a super sweet, delicious business and a life that you love.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: So over the next six weeks, together, we're going to dive each week into one of the six levels.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: The levels are define, create, attract, systematize, scale and lead Each week.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: We're going to walk through that week's layer and what's involved and I'll give you a roadmap to build out that level.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: So you'll definitely notice the seven processes that I tend to talk about really weaved into each of the layers.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: In today's episode, I'm going to describe each of the six levels of the system to scale framework and we'll dive right into the first level today.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Throughout this podcast series, I am going to try to throw just a bunch of resources, guides, templates, workbooks, et cetera all the things at you, and it's definitely going to be just full of amazing resources to help you build out each of these levels in your business.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: So let's go.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Look, I know you're here because you know it's possible to have energy left over for your family and still have your dream business, and you know what I'm talking about that business that you are running instead of it running you, which is the complete premise of the Systems to Scale framework.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: If you're new to the Efficient Advisor, I'm so, so glad you're here.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: I'm Libby Grywe work.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: If you're new to the Efficient Advisor, I'm so, so glad you're here.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: I'm Libby Grywe and I started from scratch, built and sold by age 37, a 100% referral-only planning practice that I grew to seven figures as a solo advisor, all while working just three days a week and taking off 14 weeks a year, so that I could be more than just a planner.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: Right, I could be a mom, a wife, a friend, a sister, a daughter and, I'll be honest, my family loved taking long summer vacations.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: So I'm here just to walk alongside you and to show you how to do exactly the same thing and to help you take immediate action on the most important strategies for scaling, organizing and creating less stress and overwhelm in your business.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: We are about to transform your practice, one template, one worksheet, one standard operating procedure at a time.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: It is time to take that one right next step to build a business and a life that you love.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: Okay, so let's dive into the systems to scale framework.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: Basically, what this is is, as I have been obviously building out my own practice over the for the last couple of decades and as I have been coaching other advisors, I've kind of identified and you can download the systems to scale PDF so you can have a copy of this, and it literally walks through the six different levels and what are the kind of key or core processes or systems within each level.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: So I will make sure I link that in the show notes.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: It's out on the coaching page of the website.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: You can find it a couple of different places, but the systems of scale framework is basically what I kind of identified as a way to start to create a foundation for your business.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: You know cause, as I was coaching advisors, I'd say, okay, well, you know you want to work on this process, but do you have this piece first?
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: Do you have this foundational piece?
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: And I found that while sometimes we want to jump to creating some of the sexier or more exciting standard operating procedures Now I know you never thought you'd hear sexy and standard operating procedure in the same sentence, but welcome to my world people Some processes are a whole lot more exciting and interesting and feel like they're the thing that's going to move the needle in your business.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: And they are.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: However, if you don't have a good understanding of some of the foundational pieces in your business, we can spend hours and hours and hours building out the world's greatest, let's say, like financial planning process or onboarding process, but if we miss the mark because we don't have a good idea of what your definition of your business is like what's your sweet spot, what's your elevator pitch, who are you working with?
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: What's your brand?
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: We're going to miss and we're going to have a few kind of fails within some of those other processes, so let's just dive in here.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: So, basically, the idea of the systems to scale framework is that we start to establish the base levels and we build up and out from there, ultimately ending in stepping into that CEO role of your business and really becoming a true leader and leading into your leadership potential.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: Okay, so let's just talk quickly.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Before we dive into the first layer, let's just talk about what the layers are.
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: So the very first layer I call define, and this is the layer that you this is where you define your brand.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: You create your elevated elevator pitch so that you can very clearly describe what it is that you do, who it is that you do it for and what is the outcome clients can expect in working with you.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: We identify not just your ideal client avatar in this level, but who your profitable ideal client avatar is client avatar in this level, but who your profitable ideal client avatar is and we spend some time establishing the five brand pillars that you need to build out all of your processes.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: So, as I mentioned, you know like you have to have some of these core base things and it's the work that I always joke like as we're going through our group coaching program, as I call it, the eye roll work, like it's the work that everybody's like oh, I don't want to do that.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: Who has time for that?
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: I know it's important, um, but I really don't see how some of that is that stuff that's really going to make a massive impact to my business.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: But I will tell you it, when you take the time to pause and do some of this eye roll work, this foundational work, it dramatically impacts and increases the efficiency of your future processes that you build.
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: So this is basically the work to figure out what it is that you do, who you do it for, what makes you unique and special and what would clients and employees like, why would they want to work with you, what can they expect from working with you, and by having a really good, solid foundation in your why story and having this kind of compelling business brand, this DNA, and really kind of starting to establish what your practice is and how it shows up in the world and why it's important for people to work with you is actually important and we'll get into that a little bit later in this episode.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: Okay, so that's called define.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: That's layer one.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: Layer two is called create, and this is my favorite layer to work through with advisors.
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: This layer, create, is where we start to sketch out your planning process.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: We distill it down into standard operating procedures and standardized processes the stuff we all know we need to do but no one wants to do.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: This is more of that.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: But it's really designing these processes around your client experience and creating these systems and processes to support that client experience.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: It's also establishing your client service model.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: You know what do you do for different types of clients.
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: When do you do it?
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: What do you do in year one, year two, year three?
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: What do you do before, during and after and in between each meeting?
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: So we're designing your process, we're detailing it out and documenting it.
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: We're making sure that that plays into a really elevated client experience and then we're going to break down your client experience into additional processes, sops, systems that make sure that you and your team can deliver that process consistently.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: And understanding what your client service model is means a couple of different things.
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: So there's a whole bunch of KPIs that we'll talk about in that episode for this create level.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: But what this means is having a good idea, then, of what is your capacity to serve Are you operating at.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: If you want to go back to the episode on KPIs, I'll make sure I link all of these in the show notes, but we did a whole episode on KPIs and understanding your revenue per hour and helping you kind of determine how you can serve your clients or what is the appropriate amount of service to provide to different levels or different segments of your book.
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: So that is the create level and again, that's like my absolute favorite.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: I feel like that's the one that when we work with advisors in the group coaching program or really even just in one-on-one coaching, it's the one that everybody has like that big stupid grin on their face when they're done because it just feels so good.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: It's the.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: That's the thing I've been meaning to do forever in my business and I've just never taken the time to do it and when.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: And it's and it's really it's not your fault, right?
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: It's not your fault that you haven't taken the time to do it.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: Financial planning practices are so busy that you're constantly just wrapped up in the tornado.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: That is your business.
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: And if you're anything like me, I used to say like, okay, I'm going to carve out a whole day to work on this process, or I'm going to spend a whole day working on this thing.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: And by the time that day came on my calendar there were just so many more other pressing matters that I had to deal with first, that that eight hour day became a six hour day, and then that six hour day became a four hour day, and then by the time I finally had a moment to work on that project, it was like, oh, I'm too burned out, or gee, that's not enough time now, or all of the excuses, right.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: And so the thing that I love about the program or the coaching or whatever, is being able to give people like, hey, here is a template to work off of, here is a chassis.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: And for this round of coaching, I've developed like three or four new templates all surrounding planning process that I'm super stoked about.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: They're pretty cool.
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: So, anyway, that's the create.
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: The next layer I call attract, and this is where you identify your offers, your packages.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: This is how we price our planning and our services.
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: This is where you build.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: We're in the defined stage, you build your why story.
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: Here is where you build your how story so that you can start to easily explain to your clients what it is that you do and how it is that you do it in a way that's so easy for them to understand and for them to differentiate you from other advisors.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: So in this level, we're trying to attract the right client and be able to make our business so easy to understand, and I've shared this story before and I'll share it again when we get to this episode.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: But just by having a defined process and being able to explain to clients what is in scope and what is out of scope and process, and being able to explain to clients what is in scope and what is out of scope and very clearly being able to articulate what it is that they get, what that looks like, how it will make them feel and what it costs, is something so simple, but it is so unique to a lot of financial planning practices that it makes not only your offers easy to sell but, more importantly, it makes it really really easy to buy.
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: So if your offers are very vague like, oh well, we, you know, we collect data from clients and we talk about your goals and then I put it in this software and then we make recommendations and then we manage and help you implement um versus a very clear like.
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: We have a five-step process that we follow and it does this, this.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: You know, being able to articulate it in a really clear, concise way makes a big difference.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: So this also then makes it very easy for you to create some tutorials or videos and social media starts on how you do planning that are just super cool, I love.
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: I love the attract phase as well.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Okay, so we've got defined, we've got create, we've got attract.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: Then number four is systematize.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: So this layer is where you build out the time management systems, the templates, the checklists, the playbooks galore.
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: My favorite system here is when you can build out your recommendations templates for clients.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: So we used to have to do for my broker dealer these long, obnoxious advice summary letters, um, and they were literally like anywhere from eight to 20 pages depending on the client, and we were able to create a template and I will show you how to do that in the program that was taking a 12-page summary letter like that and we could get it done in 30 minutes.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: It is still super customized to the client, but by having this standardized recommendations template, and I'll show you guys how to do it.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: It's super cool and we'll talk about it in that episode as well.
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: But that was one of my favorite the recommendations template.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: So, whether you're using a one-page plan or you have to do these a little bit more in depth, or you have something kind of in between, where you want to be able to deliver to clients a written recommendations with maybe some data supporting it, et cetera, so that it would just help them to take that information home and they could go make better decisions.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: Great, we're going to show you how to do that.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: So systematizing is building out the workflows inside your CRMs.
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: It's all of the things that help you move faster to delegate, automate, to delete and, you know, just streamline, okay.
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: So the fifth level is scale.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: So, in the scale part of the systems to scale framework this is where we're really going to take that planning process that we created in level two create.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: This is where we're going to be able to take that process and really do the work to understand which parts we can scale first and easiest then which parts we can scale second, with a little bit more effort, work, people, et cetera.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: This piece is really team oriented and understanding.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: Okay, who are the key players that we need?
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: Because I get this question all the time.
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: People will say, well, what's my first hire supposed to be and what's my second hire supposed to be?
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: And my answer is always well, it kind of depends on, like, so, the perfect financial planning answer right, it kind of depends on your situation.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: But realistically, every business doesn't need the exact same roles and we'll dive into understanding roles and org chart and all that kind of stuff.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: We'll get into that when we talk about this level.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: But this is really understanding.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: Who are the right players?
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: What are the seats on the bus that you need?
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: Who do we need to fill them?
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: What knowledge gaps exist?
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: What technology gaps exist?
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: How do we really understand what our business needs?
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: And then how do we craft and create a plan to fill those gaps?
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: This is also then where we build out your three-year plan to scale your team, your business, your processes.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: This is where we can start to say, okay, here's where I can see a year into the future, two years into the future, three years into the future.
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: This is how I can grow my team and start to, in a very meaningful way, whittle down the work that I, as an advisor, am doing into just the work that's my sweet spot, that I enjoy, that brings me happiness, and this is where you can start to see um, you know the forest through the trees a little bit that, hey, there is.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: There is this dream business waiting for me just on the other side of some of these key hires and these key systems.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: Okay, so the last layer here is lead.
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: And so level six, leading your business.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: This is where we take that information that we've acquired during our scale process, like check-ins, where we're going to do some worksheets, we're going to do some, and this is true of all of the coaching.
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: So I don't want you to feel like, hey, this is only for group coaching.
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: So, for those of you that are in the one-on-one coaching or looking for one-on-one coaching, when we go through your business and we identify how to scale, then when we step into that lead piece, we can create an org chart that does a couple of different things for us.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: It shows our employees how they can grow professionally within our small business.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: It also, too, allows us, as the leader, to really establish different roles.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: And then, who is that next key hire that we learned in this last level and we can really learn?
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: We're going to take the time to actually, I'm going to teach you a system on how to delegate with confidence.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: So how do we create a plan for our employees that builds their competency, so that we can actually start to turn over processes and start to turn over paperwork and start to turn over some of these systems in a way that allows us to feel confident that they are going to be executed consistently.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: This is also where we start to build systems to track team KPIs, to track results, to really be able to say how do we know if we as a team are hitting our goals?
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: How do I know if I am maximizing every individual within their role?
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: How do I know, as a leader, if there's more opportunity for personal or professional development for each of my employees within the role that they currently have?
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: So we're going to spend time developing leadership skills.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: We're going to establish a goal setting strategy for your business as the CEO that actually works, and we're going to identify some of those right next steps for the business and I'm going to teach you how to build out a good idea parking lot and how to come back as a CEO through CEO days.
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: This is where we want to in this layer Now in the group coaching program.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: I want to be clear we can't do all of this in a year.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: This is like a lot of work.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: I would love it if we could crush through every single one of these things so we don't get to go through everything, but this is the framework that we work off of and there's some of this stuff that, frankly, you don't need me, for I can give you some resources and push you off in the right direction, but the goal is at least understanding that at some point we have to step into that CEO role and we need to start executing CEO days and taking time and white space to be the leader and the visionary in the practice.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: And if you personally don't want to be the CEO, bringing in somebody or partnering with another advisor who has that skillset and that sweet spot and really enjoys that type of work, okay.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: So define, create, attract, systematize, scale and lead.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: Those are the six levels of the systems to scale framework that we are going to be walking through over the next six weeks together.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: So let's go ahead and dive into define.
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: Okay, so for this week's episode, define.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: There are, in this layer of the systems to scale framework, there are four basic components.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: So the important thing I think here about defining is really defining who you are as a financial planner.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: What is your identity, what is your firm's DNA, who is it that you serve, how do you serve them and what do you want your clients to think of and feel when they speak of you to other people?
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: Right, this is where and it's interesting because we'll talk about this in the brand piece but you can influence your brand and you can set the tone for your brand, but ultimately, at the end of the day, it's your clients that control your brand, right?
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: Your brand is what do people say about you when you're not in the room?
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: How is it that they describe your business or you, or your culture as an office to other people?
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: So, understanding the first.
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: So define your value add, right.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: We need to understand what's your sweet spot, and there's a whole process that I walk you through to really understand.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: What is the kind of planning that you love Like.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: What brings you the most joy, what brings you the most happiness?
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: What is the type of planning that you do that, when you're done, you think like, oh my gosh, I feel like a million dollars, I feel like I genuinely helped those clients, I feel like I really made a huge difference in their lives.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: What is the type of planning that keeps you, as an advisor, interested?
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: And then we cross, pollinate this with what is also profitable, right?
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: So what is it that you're naturally good at, what's your aptitude, what is it that you enjoy doing, and then also what is profitable for you and then, where all of those intersect in the middle, is your sweet spot, and then we can take that sweet spot and really start to build out what I call your elevated elevator pitch.
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: Now there is a worksheet that goes along with this and there's an entire episode.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: It's episode number eight.
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: I will link it in the show notes below, but I want you to go back and spend the time listening, so I'm going to reference three episodes here in this first layer.
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: I promise every level won't be like that, but these ones are really good and really really detailed and have worksheets or resources associated with them that I think will be really helpful for you to go back, download, print out and do the work right.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: Doesn't cost you a penny to do some of these exercises and they're super, duper helpful.
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: So going back and going through your elevator pitch and then taking it to that next level and elevating it.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: So there's a formula that I like to use.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: That's basically this it's I am a blank and I help blank so that they can blank.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: So whether you want to call yourself a wealth coach or a financial advisor or an investment manager, I don't care what you call yourself.
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: Financial planner great, we want to understand what is it that you do?
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: And then I love to say here's how I help, here's who I help.
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: I am a financial planner and I help blank.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: I help C-level executives who have complicated C-suite employee compensation packages.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: I am a wealth coach that helps Christians give generously through donations and tax-friendly, structured blah, blah, blahs.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Or I am a investment manager who helps pre-retirees modify their portfolios in a way that allows them to produce reliable income in retirement.
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: So, whatever it is, it's who are you, who do you help and how do you help them?
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: And then my favorite part is so that they can and by adding and again go back to this episode, cause I go into way more detail and there's a worksheet that goes along with it but so that they can is a really important part to your elevator pitch and it's the most missed piece, right?
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: So I'm a financial advisor.
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: You know, if you go to a wedding and someone's sitting at the table, you know you're at that eight top eating your you know your chicken dinner or whatever, and someone says, oh, what do you do?
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: And you say, oh, I'm a financial planner and that's it.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: There is a hard, full stop to that conversation.
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: Very few people are going to go wow, that sounds so interesting.
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: Tell me more.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: However, if we can think about it a little differently like I'm a financial planner, I help accountants and attorneys who have their own businesses, minimize their taxes and create better employee compensation plans for their you know, whatever Like if you can be really specific, that's going to trigger more questions, more follow-up, but the really important piece here is this idea of so that they can.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: We are in a industry that's so easily commoditized, right Like, oh, if you used to say, oh, I'm a financial planner, that's not really all that defined, and so I think that's a really good way.
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: One definition of a financial planner can look extremely having done this for 20 years can look extremely different from somebody else's definition of a financial planner.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: So what people are really looking for?
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: I think what is really the more motivating, moving or interesting piece about what you do is what is actually the result that you can help people with.
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: So, for example, I am a wealth coach that works with C-level executives that have complicated benefits packages so that they can focus on growing their business and worry less about managing their own personal finance.
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: So something so that they can.
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: What is the result that we're shooting for with your clients.
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: What is the peace of mind, the end result, the desired outcome that people will experience by working with you?
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: So what we're wanting to do when we're at that wedding and we're eating the chicken dinner is we're wanting to share with people like hey, this is the result that we're.
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: We're helping people get out of debt so that they can start saving for retirement.
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: I help entrepreneurs create their own benefits packages and get them set up so that they can focus on building their business and worry less about saving for retirement, and yada, yada, yada.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: In that episode I give a lot more way better, well thought out examples.
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: So make sure you go back and take a listen to episode number eight, elevate your elevator pitch and download the worksheet that goes along with it.
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: The second chunk to define is identifying your profitable ideal client avatar and designing your avatar story.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: So this is.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: There's another episode that goes along with this that goes into way more detail Episode number 10, it's called how to create a laser focused marketing message that speaks directly to your ideal client.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: There is a workbook that goes along with this, so a multi, multi-page workbook.
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: I think it's like, probably, if I'm trying to remember the difference between the coaching program one is lots and lots of pages.
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: The podcast one, I think, is maybe four or five pages.
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: So it's a workbook that actually walks you through, identifying the type of planning that you love, listing out the clients that you've worked with recently that you just remember feeling really great.
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: Then we cross-reference that with profitability and then we start to look for, we start to build out basically a spreadsheet of what are some of the common qualitative and quantitative attributes of those clients so that we can really start to understand, like who is it that we work well with?
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: And it's interesting every time we do this exercise.
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: To me it's always fascinating Because I think sometimes when we start to think about having a niche or a niche, we tend to think of like a certain age of people or a certain employer that they all work for, or a very specific um need that these clients have.
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: And what I think often comes through with this exercise that's really really interesting to me is sometimes it's very much, very, very qualitative.
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: Right, I work with people with this type of income, in these types of jobs, with this level of net worth that are these ages and this far out from retirement.
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: Sometimes it does look like that.
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: Sometimes it's a little bit more qualitative, like, wow, I tend to do really well with introverted clients who had a poor experience with money in the past, or I tend to do well with people who are divorced or widowed, or you know genuine, like personality traits, or you know ways that you can define clients in a qualitative format versus just quantitative, and I always think that's really interesting and I walk you through that in the episode as well, and we literally go through each step so you can download the workbook and go along and listen to the podcast and go along and do the work.
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: And in that too, as we start to develop who is our ideal client avatar, then we can start to look for some of those key things that they need.
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: What are some of their common fears?
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: What are some of their common concerns?
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: What are some of their common fears?
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: What are some of their common concerns?
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: What are some of their common collective experiences?
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: Maybe what have they experienced with financial advisors in the past?
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: And we can start to use all of that information to build a story that we then can weave into all of our future processes when we move on from this defined level and into the create and attract and systematize.
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: So let me give you an example If you are working with young families and you're focusing on helping young families with parents in their thirties who are really focused on saving for the kids college and minimizing their current taxes or positioning themselves for the tax-friendly retirement or whatever, there are going to be certain things that as we develop your financial planning process that just really maybe like if you were working with pre-retirees or retireds that matter to them but just frankly, don't matter to these people.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: So we're not going to put a lot of time and effort into this type of output or using this type of software.
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: So this is where that automate, delete, delegate or streamline comes into play.
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: Are there things because we have such a good understanding of who it is that we work with and how we speak directly to them that we can also then build out our processes that speak directly to them as well, where we can eliminate some of the waste that is triggered because we feel like we're following, like the shoulds right, like well, we should be doing this type of analysis for them, like you're not going to do a long-term care insurance analysis for a couple of 30 year olds.
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: I don't know, maybe you would, but but for me that's most likely not going to be an effective use of my time or, you know, it's a maybe an information overload for them when there's so many other more pressing, more important planning tenants to be focused on with those individuals.
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: So also, having that ideal client avatar story allows us to start creating a marketing message that uses the language that our ICAs are using.
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: So we start paying attention to, when a client comes in, how they talk to us, what their concerns are, what they're saying to us, so that we then can take those very specific language pieces and use them in our marketing, and use them in our collateral and use them in our videos, so that when a client is listening, watching, taking in our marketing and use them in our collateral and use them in our videos, so that when a client is listening, watching, taking in our content or even in our pitch, meeting right where we're doing a discovery and we're kind of selling our services, if we can use the words and phrases that they already are using and we can just walk right on into a conversation that's already been going on in their head.
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: And in the episode, episode 10, I give a bunch of examples of this too.
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: But you know we are not going to be talking to clients about inflation eroding the buying power of their, of their dollars, right, we're going to say we don't want inflation to.
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: You know, everything's going to cost so much more in the future that we want to make sure you don't run out of money, like.
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: That's the type of language, the more colloquial language, that our clients are using, versus sometimes we tend to apply a lot of advisor speak, and when we do that, when we use the acronyms and we use the industry terms, we're missing speaking directly into the hearts of our clients.
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: Okay, also, part of this define is establishing your five brand pillars.
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: Okay, so brand pillars in the marketing world, there are five pillars, and the names of these pillars change a little based on whatever marketing firm you're working with, but they're essentially the same.
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: There is purpose, which is like your why.
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: There is positioning, which is also sometimes called perception.
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: There is personality, which is sometimes called identity.
• 35:06
  Speaker 2: There is values and there is experience.
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: So brand pillars are what you communicate to your target audience, but it's also how the public and your audience perceives you.
• 35:17
  Speaker 2: So brand pillars assist in showcasing the important points that set you apart from everybody else.
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: That's why brand pillars are really needed during the brand building stage.
• 35:28
  Speaker 2: But in a perfect world, you'd want your pillars to be created at the beginning of your business.
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: But like, nobody does that so.
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: Or even if you have created them, often as you grow and develop as a financial planner, you're going to want to pivot, innovate, reiterate, reinvent literally all of the things.
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: More often than not, you do not have a static brand.
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: In fact, if you do have a static brand, that can also be a slow death.
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: You have to evolve.
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: So these brand pillars are critically important if you want your audience to understand quickly and hopefully to help them connect with you.
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: So brand pillar number one is purpose.
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: This is sometimes called your why.
• 36:09
  Speaker 2: This is where we communicate.
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: You know why you as a company exist.
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: This is your I help statement on steroids.
• 36:19
  Speaker 2: So I always tell people, you know, I think of it like a toddler, just asking yourself at least like six layers of why, like?
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: Well, why do you exist as a business?
• 36:28
  Speaker 2: Well, we help people become more financially secure, okay, but why?
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: Well, because security plays into literally every area of life.
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: Okay, well, why?
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: Because financial security is important to me.
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: Well, why is it important to you?
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: Because I didn't have it as a child.
• 36:47
  Speaker 2: Well, why, well, my parents?
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: Um, you know they, they didn't seek advice, or they didn't know where to start, or they were living paycheck to paycheck, right?
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: So, asking those six layers of why and you know what I'm talking about, like when I say, like a toddler, you know you get the toddler why?
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: And then you answer it and they go well, why?
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: And then you keep answering it at a deeper and deeper level.
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: So that's what I'm saying here is really understanding your brand's purpose is asking yourself six layers of why to get down to what it is that you do.
• 37:17
  Speaker 2: So, if so, if that's your story, right, that your parents didn't seek advice, they didn't know where to start, they were living paycheck to paycheck.
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: That inspired you to become a financial planner, because that's what you want people to have.
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: That is so much more of a compelling reason that needs to start being weaved into all of the other parts of your business.
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: Okay, the second pillar is positioning.
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: The position your brand takes in the market comes down to your audience, competition and differentiators.
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: When you know the finer detail of who your audience is what they like or dislike their behavior is of the utmost importance.
• 37:53
  Speaker 2: When you understand what their problems are, then you can begin to understand the best way to appeal to them.
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: Right, that sounds familiar.
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: This is that ICA story that we were just talking about.
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: So it's all cut.
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: This is why it's all in the same level here.
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: It's all kind of weaved together.
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: Um, and in the group program I have tons of examples and some really awesome websites that I will uh try to link a couple here in the show notes where people just give a really great job, kind of of all of these brand pillars.
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: Okay, in order to make this not a two hour episode, I'm going to keep moving kind of quick here.
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: The third brand pillar is personality, or identity.
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: So this is really what do you want your clients to say about you?
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: You know, is it that?
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: Hey, you know they're this financial planning.
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: Financial planning, it was fun, it wasn't as stuffy as I was expecting, or they were no fluff, all business, or they were funny, or they were very feminine, they were very energetic, it was very funky, it was really fast.
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: Whatever you want people to describe as the identity of what it is that you do.
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: So once we know what we're trying to say, then we can get creative and we can find the right voice and tone for the visual and verbal expression of your identity.
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: This gives any of your marketing people guidance for all of the various ways that they need to communicate your personality to the world.
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: So this is kind of baked into your everyday language.
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: It was apparent to me when I was selling my business and the guy one of the main advisors, andy, kept a list of what he called Libby isms, and I almost didn't even know that I had him, but he just thought they were so funny and kind of out there.
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: But I realized, like as he repeated them back to me later, that they were part of my brand, so it was funny and entertaining to him.
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: And so what I realized was that my identity as a planner was that, while I might not take life too seriously, I do take your finances seriously, cause he would comment that it was just really funny that some of the things that I would say and how serious and analytical we were when it came to the actual planning side of things.
• 39:57
  Speaker 2: So it could be things like you know, I think I I one of the advisors that I'm friends with their website.
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: I think it's really cute.
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: It says we think our planning services and asset management go together like peanut butter and jelly, or we think fee-based planning and holistic advice are the sugar to your sweet tooth.
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: Things like that.
• 40:15
  Speaker 2: That kind of express that language in your marketing and your collateral.
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: That expresses kind of who you are.
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: So if you are mentioning asset management and planning acting like peanut butter and jelly, that's going to evoke a different emotion than you know, something completely different.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: So again, to keep this kind of quick personality identity is really what is it that you want people to describe about you and your process?
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: Okay, the fourth one values.
• 40:46
  Speaker 2: Brand values are really the moral compass or the kind of rules of engagement for the way that you do business.
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: If your mission sets in place your overarching commitment in achieving your vision for the future, then your values are these behavioral commitments in your day-to-day activities.
• 41:04
  Speaker 2: Okay, so we can state what our core values are, but it's because of our actions and our behaviors over time.
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: So I love when brands put out their values and then you know, as an employer or attracting employees, you can really be clear with your employees of like, hey, this is what our business is all about.
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: This is what's important to us as potential clients Again, being able to look at so someone like Coca-Cola.
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: Right, they have, let's see it's seven different words that describe their core values, with, like, a very quick description next to it that kind of emphasizes what they do.
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: So, for example, one of theirs is leadership the courage to shape a better future.
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: Another one of theirs is passion it courage to shape a better future.
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: Another one of theirs is passion it's committed in heart and mind.
• 42:03
  Speaker 2: Diversity, as inclusive as our brands.
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: Quality what we do, we do well, so things like that that really define who you are as a business.
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: And then those dictate how you show up and what actions and behaviors you and your team have.
• 42:20
  Speaker 2: And it seems like, okay, that seems kind of like yeah, just something fancy and fun that you put on your website.
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: But again, it's when you take these values and we use them to build out your experiences that your clients are having, or your processes or your um, you know, overall planning, like how you do things.
• 42:41
  Speaker 2: When we think back to, or we tie them back to, your values, it's a really easy way to say like okay, you said that qualities, let's say, like the definition that Pepsi had or, I'm sorry, coca-cola, what we do, we do well.
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: So when we're looking at your process, if there's any piece of the process that we just don't have the time or the capacity to do really well right now, we're going to want to put that in the parking lot for future, when we have capacity or we need to be thinking strategically about who we need to hire so that we can execute that piece of it with the quality that we're expecting.
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: Or when we're thinking about how we structure your time in the time management piece, if we know that quality is really important, then we're going to make sure that you and your team have plenty of time designated in your calendar to making sure that you're doing the highest quality work possible and that we're not, you know, printing stuff out last minute as your clients are walking in through the door.
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: Okay, and the last piece.
• 43:40
  Speaker 2: So we've got defining your value, your sweet spot, we've got identifying your profitable client avatar and story.
• 43:46
  Speaker 2: We've got establishing your five brand pillars and we've got writing your compelling why story.
• 43:52
  Speaker 2: So there's a whole episode on the why story called how to add lighter fluid to all your conversations with my speaking coach, deirdre Van Nest.
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: It's episode number 30.
• 44:02
  Speaker 2: She does a killer why story, so just make sure you go back and listen to that episode.
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: But, like we talked about with the brand pillars, this is why this, this layer, it's kind of all inter, you know, interconnected and kind of weaves together.
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: This layer, it's kind of all interconnected and kind of weaves together.
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: But understanding your why can be one of the most compelling and most important pieces as you're articulating your story to prospects.
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: That triggers them to do business with you.
• 44:30
  Speaker 2: So make sure you go back to that episode and listen.
• 44:33
  Speaker 2: Deirdre gives a ton of hard data, data and statistics about how, when you start weaving your why story into your prospecting meetings whether you call them discovery meetings or um connect meetings or I don't care what you call them but by having a strong why and weaving that in and that passion and being able to express that passion through your different systems and processes is just freaking amazing.
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: So again, I'm trying to keep this to not like a 4 zillion hour podcast.
• 45:04
  Speaker 2: So by walking you through each of the layers of the systems of scale framework and then spending some time today on that layer number one, define again.
• 45:13
  Speaker 2: Go back to episode number eight for elevating your elevator pitch, and the worksheet that comes along with that.
• 45:19
  Speaker 2: Episode number 10, the ideal client avatar episode how to create a laser focused marketing message that speaks directly to your ideal client.
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: There's a workbook that goes along with that, there's the brand pillars and then episode number 30, how to add lighter fluid to all your conversations with Deirdre Van Ness, and really she does a great job kind of walking you through.
• 45:40
  Speaker 2: You know for free how to craft a really compelling, wise story, so that today, my friends, I will wrap it up there.
• 45:48
  Speaker 2: That is level number one, or layer number one define.
• 45:53
  Speaker 3: I would love to chat more about this with you over in the Efficient Advisor community.
• 45:57
  Speaker 2: Starting on January 9th is our next round of the Systems to Scale group coaching program and mastermind.
• 46:04
  Speaker 2: I'm so excited, you guys.
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: The results that have been coming out of our previous rounds of our group coaching are just phenomenal.
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: I could not be more excited about how it's going and the results that people are getting and the ROIs are just huge.
• 46:21
  Speaker 2: And it's even hard to really capture an ROI on feeling less stressed or feeling like you are finally organized, and those are the things that are making the biggest difference.
• 46:31
  Speaker 2: Obviously, I love when students who have been through the program report back like, oh, I'm working three days a week now, or I've doubled my revenue, or whatever.
• 46:40
  Speaker 2: Those are easy to quantify, but for me, it's really the people who report back like, oh my gosh, I feel like I'm running my business instead of it running me.
• 46:48
  Speaker 2: Or I finally feel like we actually have a process to deliver value systematically to our clients year after year, Like those are the types of things that are really really hard to quantify, but I promise you will see referrals from that, you will see results from that.
• 47:04
  Speaker 2: You will see reprieve relief whatever it is that you want to call it in your business.
• 47:09
  Speaker 2: You will experience that as a result of getting all of your processes down, documented, rooted in client experience and, of course, automated, streamlined, workflowed whatever you want to call it.
• 47:21
  Speaker 2: But I'd love for you to join us.
• 47:23
  Speaker 2: It's a combination of live coaching, pre-recorded content, small group work, one-on-one.
• 47:30
  Speaker 2: It's a little bit of everything.
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: So if you're looking for more information, check out the link in the show notes, or you can head over to the efficientadvisorcom and there's a banner on the top, or you can go to the coaching page.
• 47:41
  Speaker 2: Just scroll down to the group coaching and you'll see all the details.
• 47:46
  Speaker 2: There's an FAQ.
• 47:47
  Speaker 2: You can set up a discovery call with me if you're kind of on the fence and wondering if it's the right program for you.
• 47:53
  Speaker 2: And look, I'm going to be honest with you.
• 47:54
  Speaker 2: If it's not, I've told plenty of people that it's just probably not the right fit or what they're looking for.
• 47:59
  Speaker 2: I only want advisors in the group who are really ready to benefit from it or this is really what their business needs right now.
• 48:08
  Speaker 2: So it's kind of like having a baby there's never like a good time for it, but there's definitely a wrong time for it.
• 48:15
  Speaker 2: So if you want to set up a time, you can see that they're on there on the webpage, there is a link to schedule a discovery call with me and we could chat through whether or not it might be a good fit for you.
• 48:27
  Speaker 2: And I know it's an investment of your time, of your energy, of your precious money and I promise to make it totally worth it.
• 48:37
  Speaker 2: And if you don't believe me, listen to what my friend Jen, an advisor who I've worked with for over 10 years, has to say.
• 48:47
  Speaker 3: My name is Jen Becker and I'm a financial advisor in Faribault, Minnesota.
• 48:50
  Speaker 3: I went through Libby's program and her coaching is, hands down, the best training I've had in my 16 years as a financial advisor.
• 48:57
  Speaker 3: Each session I come back with dozens of new ways to streamline my processes and I can get it all done in less time.
• 49:04
  Speaker 3: Libby gives you all the tools and templates to truly build out your systems.
• 49:09
  Speaker 3: I've tripled my revenue while working less since signing up with the efficient advisor.
• 49:14
  Speaker 3: Your business is worth the investment of your time, your energy and your money.
• 49:18
  Speaker 3: You will not regret going through this program.