Growth is the name of the game in the financial advisory industry. Everybody wants growth—clients want growth in their portfolios, advisors want growth in their businesses. However, growth can be a double-edged sword. If growth comes at the expense of client service or your sanity, the clients suffer and eventually the business will too. If not, the growth will definitely diminish your quality of life.
So the choices are many. Why do you want to grow? Please take the time to ask yourself this question, especially when you are alone and relaxed. Also, ask yourself, “What’s driving me to grow? How am I serving my existing clients? Are my people equipped to exercise good judgment with clients?” It is vital to be clear about your motivations as they do steer your choices.
Many of us find ourselves running on autopilot most of the time. We have been conditioned to grow and we go about it in a mechanical way—a path that leads us to mindlessly put one step in front of the other and be consumed in frenzied activities, all under the pretense of growth. While trust and loyalty is built slowly over time, it can be lost very quickly. Poor judgment and errors due to ill-trained personnel, or those who fail to understand the real needs of the client, erode client loyalty and retention.
While growth seems necessary in every system, your approach to growth is a personal choice—one that can either improve your quality of life or diminish it. When you get obsessed with growth for the wrong reasons, not only have you become extremely vulnerable to the vagaries of the market and irrationality of human beings, but also willingly give up your peace of mind.
ChoiceLadder workshops are also designed to help Financial Advisors better understand how clients make choices and how they can guide them to make better choices.
