DO YOU STRUGGLE TO DELEGATE? IF SO, ENVISION THIS.

Do you envision an Advice-Based Financial Planning practice where your clients get scheduled for meetings automatically? Or, what if your staff prepares everything for the meeting without your input? Perhaps it’s where you don't have to think about the client again until your staff is briefing you prior to the next meeting. 

If it sounds too good to be true, it’s not.
 

IF YOU'RE LIKE MOST ADVISORS...

 
You struggle to delegate.
Your service model is very reactive to the client.
You have trouble keeping track of what you are doing and for whom.
And who is doing it!?
You feel like you are at the center of the world and it will fall apart if you aren't holding it all up. 

Whether you’re a solo advisor, or if you have a team, creating processes and systems is essential if you don’t want to keep pulling out your hair or running in circles every time you get ready for a client meeting. By establishing a clear set of procedures and guidelines, you can ensure that your team works for you, and your practice runs efficiently and effectively.

Does this sound like you? 

Believe me, I know! Years ago, my practice was nothing like it is today.

• I was making all my own calls.
• I told the staff what needed to be done before the meeting.
• I tried to delegate, but wound up micromanaging everything.
• I did the meeting. 
• And then I did half the follow up. 
• I tried to delegate, but I ended up micromanaging it all. The next time the client came in was driven by the next time I could get them on the phone. 

These days, though, I don’t touch anything until the day of the meeting. I meet with the client, write the meeting note afterwards and once I hand it off, I don’t have to think about it again until the next time the client is scheduled to come in.

HERE'S THE OPPORTUNITY

• Your clients get scheduled for their next meeting automatically. 
• Your staff prepares everything for the meeting without your input. 
• They brief you on what needs to be done and you add your thoughts.
• You deliver the meeting.  
• With one post meeting note you task your team. 
• They follow up on all administrative tasks. 
• They queue up for the next meeting. 

And you don't have to think about the client again until your staff is briefing you prior to the next meeting.  

Delegating tasks and having your team truly work for you allows you to free up your time and focus on meetings with and serving your clients on purpose and with purpose.

YOU MAY BE THINKING IT'S NOT POSSIBLE FOR YOU

 I am here to tell you that it absolutely is!

You may be thinking…

My staff won't do this: This is where your leadership needs to come in. Build the process with them, explain the objective and why it’s important. If you document your processes and lead them through it, they will come around. And, follow-through with your own actions…(i.e. write your quality meeting note for your staff to follow up on).

I don’t have a team yet: That’s ok! Create the processes as if you already do. Run your processes from both the admin and advisor hats. This way, when it comes time to hire a team, you’ll already have a rock-solid system in place which will be so much easier to hand off and teach at that time.

But, my clients want me: Your clients want you because that’s how they’ve been trained. It’s time to retrain them.

A professional does not schedule his/her own appointments.
(Does your dentist call you directly or does his/her staff?)
A professional doesn't do little follow up calls chasing down documents.
A professional doesn’t answer his/her own phone.
A professional has a process that delivers results and he/she sticks to it. 

YOUR CHALLENGE

 Your challenge and NEXT STEPS if you want to build a team that works are:

1. Schedule a meeting with your team. People support what they help to create!
2. Identify which tasks can be delegated: Make a list of all the tasks you do on a daily basis and identify which ones can be delegated to others.
3. Choose the right person: Consider the skills, experience, and availability of your team when choosing who to delegate tasks to.
4. Provide the necessary resources: Ensure that the person you're delegating to has all the resources they need to complete the task successfully.
5. Trust and empower your employees: Once you've delegated a task, trust that the person you've chosen is capable of completing it and empower them to make decisions along the way.

Remember, delegating is not about relinquishing control, but rather about empowering your team to take ownership and responsibility for their work. By delegating effectively, you can create a more efficient and productive Advice-Based Financial Planning practice.

These are the basics you can integrate to continue to build your practice with purpose and on purpose!

If you’re ready to dig in to build and implement strategic processes in your practice and have your team truly work for you, I’d like to invite you, with a one-month trial gift, to join us in the IMPLEMENTATION Monthly Mastermind, where we dig deeper into this and more.

As part of the free trial, you will receive instant access to dozens of training sessions. To explore this topic further, check out MAKING YOUR TEAM WORK from February 2020. And, while you’re there, feel free to browse for other topics that might be valuable to you before ever paying a penny.

For the right advisors, those aligned with The Intentional Advisor's mission and values, I hope this free trial is the beginning of a long relationship as we work together to change the industry, one client at a time!

I hope this serves you and your clients!

- Lucila