In my travels to various industry gatherings in recent years, I have met with an increasing number of independent financial advisers — even some longtime veterans of the industry — plagued by the same problem. While they've built successful businesses and established many lasting relationships, their practices have hit a bit of a wall. Specifically, they are unable to convert new prospects or add wallet share from their existing clients like they once did.
The problem? Often, these advisers were doing too much. While many had administrative support, they weren't leveraging it effectively, engaging in many tasks around the office better suited for other members of the team, including scheduling, answering phones or filing paperwork. In essence, they were working harder, not smarter. This probably sounds familiar to many independent advisers.
Here's the good news: With more training and a greater sense of empowerment, you can turn your administrative support team into an extension of yourself, a powerful tool for any business owner whose central challenge is finding ways to become more scalable. With that in mind, here are four actions you can take to achieve this:
1) Develop a master list of tasks that can be delegated to a member of your administrative support team. As an adviser, time is perhaps your most precious commodity, and you need to use it as judiciously as possible. An easy way to do this is by drawing up a list of all the things you do each day. If it's not a core competency, like providing expert-level financial planning services, meeting with clients or generating new business, it can be delegated to a support team member. Every second that you spend answering the phone or scheduling an appointment keeps the firm from growing and reaching its full potential.
2) Build connections and contacts with other teams within the industry from whom you can learn. Another good way to boost the operational efficiency of your firm is by leveraging broker-dealer conferences more effectively. Use them as opportunities not only to network on your own behalf but on behalf of everyone in your firm. Talk to other successful advisers about their administrative functions. Discuss the operational challenges they face, note which practices identify common obstacles and, when possible, suggest starting a dialogue between the respective offices so that the two staffs can share experiences and formulate best practices.
3) Take advantage of industry and broker-dealer training programs. Many firms feel they simply don't have the time or the resources to put their administrative support staff through training programs or to take advantage of other critical educational opportunities. While the impact may be somewhat disruptive in the short-term, such activities are a long-term investment in the future growth of your practice, potentially leading to increased operational efficiency, a greater ability to delegate key tasks and more time for advisers to spend on revenue-generating activities. If you are fortunate enough to work with a broker-dealer that offers formal training or other educational resources to administrative staff members, try to ensure your team takes advantage of these offerings.
4) Make sure your staff is aware of your broader strategy. Many administrative tasks can seem mundane, boring or even inconsequential if the people performing them don't appreciate how they fit within the firm's overall growth plans. Talk about your long-term vision for the firm and how each member of the team has a role in fulfilling it. Workers often have more loyalty and a greater incentive to improve their performance when they feel like they are part of a true team effort. If nothing else, when all members of your team understand that their day-to-day work is helping clients to accomplish their lifelong financial dreams, their desire to sharpen their skills can grow immeasurably.
Virtually all administrative professionals in this space whom I have encountered are hardworking, diligent and highly competent. It, therefore, seems strange to think that they could be an underutilized resource. But in many cases, this is precisely what is happening.
It's up to you, the adviser, to take a step back and start letting your support team do what they were hired to do: provide support. You hired them for a reason. Just because you can handle a task around the office doesn't mean you should.
Clive Slovin is president and CEO of the Strategic Financial Alliance, a privately owned independent broker-dealer and registered investment adviser based in Atlanta.
