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The Value Equation: Enhancing Client Experiences and Advisor Self-Worth · The Perfect RIA

• 0:28
  Amber Kuhn: Hello TPR nation. This is Amber Kuhn. I'm back
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  with our Follow up Friday to recap this week's episode
• 0:33
  highlights and action items. On Monday, Matt was joined by Dan
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  Murphy from Commonwealth. He's the head of wealth strategies on
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  their executive team and is also practicing advisor. Dan joined
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  that to talk about the transformational growth they've
• 0:47
  had in their firm and the different angles advisors can
• 0:51
  deliver value to their clients. Dan said clients, in general,
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  want a more personalized experience than they've had in
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  the past, and that technology will continue to change and
• 1:01
  disrupt and enhance what advisors do, and that what's
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  even more important than before is that clients have trust and
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  transparency in working with an advisor. Matt and Dan discussed
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  how things that used to be considered high level value are
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  now becoming table stakes, and advisors need to have in depth
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  conversations with their clients. Model social self
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  planning, as Dan defines, is truly focused on. It's more
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  about confidence and goal achievement and working together
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  in the relationship. As far as how Dan trains advisors on his
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  team, on these skills and having these in depth conversations, he
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  talked about three core pillars, the first, and he said the
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  biggest is mindset shifting to a new, better way to do things.
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  The second is operations and what does good planning look
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  like. And the third is a platform and what tools are
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  advisors using that the client is seeing throughout the
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  process. Dan spent some time talking about the concept of the
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  experience economy and how economies change over time,
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  along with what end consumers value and expect. So for
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  advisors, if you don't adapt to this and you're only focused on
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  doing things quickly and efficiently, you're going to be
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  left behind. So Dan teaches advisors that they aren't just
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  providing a service or commodity, but those things
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  delivered in a way that's personalized to the client and
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  creates a memorable and positive experience. They talked about
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  the involvement of AI and technology related to this as
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  well, and how ultimately, these things will likely provide good
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  technical answers, but they can't provide the connection or
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  empathy with a person. Dan said a part of that connection really
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  comes from being able to ask good questions, stay curious and
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  really try to understand what someone is asking. He said,
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  Don't rush to give an answer without getting to the heart of
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  the matter with a client and the intention behind the questions
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  they have. Dan said, advisors need to remember why they're in
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  this business and that they're here to service and help, but
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  this means being deeply present and caring in conversations with
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  clients. He said, advisors need to focus on building an
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  experience versus just offering a service. That experience will
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  either be positive or leave clients looking for a better
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  experience elsewhere. It's about time well spent. Let's get into
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  action items. Go to a really nice restaurant in your city and
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  then go to the divious place and make a list of the 10 to 15
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  things that are different in one experience versus the other, and
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  then apply that same thing in your office. Now, on top of
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  that, consider what happens before you step into the
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  restaurant and your office and what happens after. And then
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  remember that planning isn't a one time event. So look at the
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  touch points you have with your clients and the experience
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  you're providing on Thursday, Jamie discussed the dreaded head
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  trash that's holding you back marketing yourself as an
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  advisor, and the fees you charge. But to get started, she
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  talked about the different stages an advisor goes through.
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  The first thing the growth stage, which she mentioned in
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  previous podcasts. And this is Lynn. The only thing you should
• 4:00
  be focused on is marketing and growth. But with marketing, it
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  encompasses so many things, and it should be whatever gets you
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  on a platform to share your expertise. So everything works,
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  but you have to work it. But marketing also means delivering
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  an exceptional client experience. Jamie also spent
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  some time talking about value adds, and how this is something
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  that takes time. You need to make sure that you have the
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  necessary information to generate the value add, and you
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  also need to make sure that it works the way you want, and that
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  your team understands it as well. So for newer advisors, if
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  you've never done a value add, start with the end result and
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  back into it, and don't try to do four at once. But again, if
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  you're in the early stages of growth focus on perfecting your
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  marketing and client experience and expectations. Now, when you
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  get to that next stage, the freedom stage, Jamie said,
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  advisors have the money to do the things they want, and
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  they're wanting to take more time out of the office and do
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  more delegating and also increase their revenue. And with
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  the Empire stage, which Jamie has also referenced as
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  enterprise as well. It's not just about delegation, but also
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  about training other advisors. And everyone should be doing
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  things the same way. You don't have to say things exactly the
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  same, but you want a common vocabulary, and you want to
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  follow a similar strategic plan for clients, Jamie said she sees
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  most advisors get stuck with that head crash between the
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  growth and freedom, because she said they don't believe they're
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  delivering any value. As an advisor to justify asking
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  someone to pay a fee, she pointed out, and this should
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  come as no surprise to anyone, she doesn't work for free, but
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  neither should you. Jamie's comfortable with what she's
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  charging, because she knows the value she's providing, but the
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  moment she doesn't feel she's providing value, she either
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  graduates the client or she does an assessment, she'll list out
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  things about her that make her one of a kind and one of many.
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  And what she's found when other people start doing this
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  assessment is that they start to get in their heads and think
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  they have to be unique or different, that they're just one
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  of many. But you need to remember that just because
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  people are looking for a similar service you might offer compared
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  to someone else, it doesn't mean they want that service from
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  someone else. So with the assessment, she said, don't get
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  discouraged by what makes you one of many, but take the time
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  to write out when a client hires you, what are you going to
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  deliver, and what areas of financial planning are you going
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  to cover? And you just keep rotating through that list as
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  you meet with your clients, because our lives are constantly
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  changing, and you get to come in as a problem solver, listen to
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  their questions and concerns, and if you're doing all these
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  things, and you need to be comfortable knowing that there's
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  going to be an exchange of value, and that exchange of
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  value is that you're taking care of things for them. Jamie said,
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  don't look at someone and say that they can or can't afford
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  you. Your price is what it is, and don't discount it. So if
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  you're struggling with delivering value or with the
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  hedge trap, what you're charging, then write it down and
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  make yourself a checklist of what you said you were going to
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  do and what you did. If you did what you said you were going to
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  do, then you shouldn't have any problems charging what you said
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  you're going to charge, because it's your client's choice to
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  hire you. That wraps up this six recap. So TPR nation, if you're
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  looking for more resources, or if you have a question, be sure
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  to email us at lifestyle@theperfectria.com.
• 7:30
  Thank you for joining me, and please share this or any of our
• 7:33
  episodes with another advisor or team member who you think might
• 7:37
  benefit from land, and be sure to subscribe to The Perfect RIA
• 7:41
  podcast so you don't miss an episode. Until next time, happy planning.