Bracing for the Worst: The Importance of Contingency Planning
Fred Schaard's overseas vacation during the fall of 2008 was a far cry from what he had envisioned. Instead of relaxing, he spent the bulk of his time trying—often unsuccessfully—to communicate with jittery clients amid widespread panic in the stock market.
But there is one thing his experience taught him: "It was a wake-up call for me that I had to get serious about contingency planning," says Schaard, managing principal and president of Rehmann Financial, a financial services firm in Lansing, Mich., that offers advisory, financial planning and retirement plan services. More |
Expanding Your Practice: Building the Proper Team
A successful growth strategy can result in the need to hire additional staff, or you may be looking to hire staff to help your firm grow. Expanding your practice successfully, however, requires more than simply increasing the number of employees in your ranks. It's about finding and cultivating the right mix of talent—and being able to distinguish the flowers from the weeds. Read on for some pointers on how to make the best hiring decisions for your budding practice.
Do a Thorough Skills Self-Assessment
When it comes to building your team, it's all about figuring out who you are, what your skills are, what your long-term goals are, and formulating a staffing strategy that will complement you. One problem, however, is that many advisors aren't clear about what help they actually need. Figuring this out is the first step. Start by identifying your unique abilities—namely the things that only you can do, that you like to do and that generate revenue. Honing in on this will help you figure out where the gaps are in your organization, says Chris Noonan, a branch manager who's in charge of several Texas offices for AXA Advisors LLC. More |
Tips for Successful Marketing
Successful marketing means not just having a website and a brochure to hand out. It's how you present your firm and your value proposition to clients and prospects. The most successful firms in the industry are thriving, in part, because of the time and energy they put into the marketing process. In this issue, we speak with George Tamer, director of strategic relationships at TD AMERITRADE Institutional, for some tips on how to help your business grow through marketing.
Focus on your ideal clients
You can't be all things to all clients. Advisors should have an understanding of the products and services they deliver and which types of clients those offerings are best suited for. You'll get a higher return on investment if you focus on the ideal client for your firm, instead of going off in different directions. More |
