Should I Stay or Should I Go?

As more Branch Managers pick up and move to another firm, more and more Advisors are quoting the classic 1981 song by The Clash while considering whether they should follow their old boss to greener pastures. They should consider the following criteria:
1. First and foremost, does the new firm have all the products and services that the old firm has? In other words, can the Advisor make the case to his or her clients that the new firm is better for them? Remember, your old colleagues will say that you moved for the check, so you better be able to look your clients in the eye with specifics and with credibility.
2. Is your business model better supported at the new firm? Will the capacity to problem solve or support new business ideas be encouraged and promoted?

Since most of the movement is from big firm to smaller firm, these questions are crucial. I firmly believe that as the Bigger Firms have become Bigger, they have lost much of their entrepreneurial spirit. That said, the departing Advisor needs to make sure that the new firm has the ability and the willingness to cultivate this free thinking. The best Advisors run thriving individual businesses. Typical big producer comment: “I’m stifled by the rules here that assume I’m a crook and keep me in the same box with everyone else. Regardless of whoever is the Manager, I need a place that appreciates why my business is special.”

3. Did the Branch Manager truly make the Advisor more productive based on the value that he or she added?
Part of the value that Branch Managers add every day is the pull they have within the organization. The best ones always seem to know the right person to call to make the problem go away, to get the exception done, to cut through the bureaucracy. It is therefore a fair question as to whether those same skills translate to a new organization. If the Branch Manager is brand new, how can he or she know who to call? On the other hand, considering the investment that the new firm made to hire the new Branch Manager, a new recruit who quickly follows his or her old boss to the new locale will benefit immensely from the warm glow of a honeymoon period. Indeed, by being one of those recruits, he or she is actually helping to extend that honeymoon.
Beyond “bureaucracy skills”, is the Branch Manager a true partner who gives true business practice advice, a partner who can help close business and make the Advisor more effective? These folks are rare (says Mr. Cynical Big Producer who I spoke to while writing this: “I’ve yet to meet one.”).
Bottom line: If you are one of the really lucky Advisors who have worked with one of the rare “value added” big time Branch Managers, you are unlikely to work with someone that good again. Consider that as you make your final decision.