Financial Advisor Coaching for
Growth. Efficiency. Freedom.

The first step toward improvement is knowing the limitations of your personal knowledge and, importantly, measuring your motivation to improve. This applies universally, whether you seek to optimize your physical fitness, improve sleep patterns, or refine your golf game

Coaching is working with a third party - a second set of eyes - who can take an objective look at your business and provide you with clarity. They can make recommendations on gaps in growth and client acquisition, refining systems and process, creating a better more consistent client experience, marketing and prospecting, and implementing business best practices.

In any competitive sport, the difference between success and failure can be razor-thin. Financial advisors are no different. They constantly strive to outperform opponents and deliver exceptional value to their clients. This is where coaching comes in. It can be the difference that helps advisors achieve the "winning edge," that small yet crucial advantage that leads to outsized results.

In professional sports, the best athletes rely on coaches to stay at the top of their game. Take Michael Jordan. Despite his unmatched skills and dominance, Jordan never stopped working with shooting coaches like Johnny Bach. These coaches helped him refine his technique, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately maintain his legendary accuracy.

Financial advisor coaching works in a similar way. While advisors may possess strong core skills and experience, a coach can provide invaluable support in areas like:

• Mastering the fundamentals
• Developing a system
• Staying mentally sharp
• Building a thriving Business and team

Just like Michael Jordan with his shooting coach, advisors can leverage coaching to achieve the winning edge.

In 2019, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) completed a study, and found that coaching yields an average return on investment of seven times the program cost. That is an astounding ROI! It should be appealing to you as a financial advisor, someone who fully understands the value of that metric.

Advisors are busy. It can be easy to lose sight of the big picture. A good coach can help you achieve the clarity you crave. While a coach won't magically solve all your problems, they can help you by:

• Being a "partner" in your business - They should understand you, your team and how your business operates.
• Holding you accountable - Sticking to a plan can be challenging. A good coach will regularly check in on your progress and keep you motivated.
• Implementing best practices - They will introduce them and help you take action.
• Providing a fresh perspective - Sometimes, you're so close to your business that you can't see the forest for the trees.
• Building your confidence - Overcome your fears, and become a better communicator.
• Developing business acumen - Run your business like a business.
• Avoiding costly mistakes - An experienced coach has had many interactions with other advisors, and have learned what works and what won't.
• Providing support and mentorship - Sometimes this business can be isolating for advisors.

The answer is a qualified "yes." Financial advisors can always benefit from a coach's expertise, but this doesn't mean all financial advisors are coachable.

Here's a breakdown of who might benefit the most. What category of financial advisor do you fall within?

The early stages of an advisor's career are full of potential, but also come with unique challenges. For many advisors that have been in the business for 15-20 years, and have never done coaching, they look back and wish they had from the start. New advisors need to build a strong foundation, develop baseline skills, and focus heavily on prospecting and client acquisition. Confidence building is critical to launching a successful career.

The advantage new advisors have is they're typically more receptive to guidance, compared to established financial advisors who may have ingrained habits that are harder to "un-learn."

Many advisors reach a point where growth stagnates and they find themselves stuck or burnt out, unable to grow and/or have become inefficient at scale. A coach can identify the root cause behind the plateau. Often, the solution is simply adjusting a few things: Redefining goals, restarting motivation, refining the client experience, improving systems and process, and communicating in a more compelling way to clients.

The key is to remember that coaching is not about making dramatic wholesale changes to your business. It's about minor adjustments and improvements to what you are currently doing.

Seasoned advisors that are ambitious and constantly seeking improvement will likely seek the guidance from a coach. They view a coach as a means to their end. A partner that understands them and the vison they have for their business. They have a mission to become the best and provide more value than anyone else. They are actively seeking better ways to implement scalable growth models and streamline operations to achieve those outcomes.

Financial advisors seeking to sell their business and implement a succession plan face unique challenges. How do you ensure that your clients are taken care of after you're gone, and how do you ensure your legacy remains intact?

A coach can help you increase the enterprise value of your business, ensuring that you fully monetize your life's work. A good coach will ensure a smooth transition for you, your clients and your successor. Seek out a coach that has experience and expertise in this area.

When you're considering hiring a coach, it's an investment. Treat it as such. What is the cost? What is the benefit? How will this improve my business? How will this improve my client relationships? How will this improve my life?

Even a simple monthly coaching fee can mean hundreds of hours of time saved per year through efficiencies. Further, imagine attracting just a few new high-value clients. The additional revenue can easily outweigh the ongoing cost of coaching.

The decision to hire a coach depends on your situation. For a new advisor, the cost might be a hurdle, so seek out an option for online or on-demand coaching, which is typically more cost-effective. For established advisors, the risk-reward is more attractive. The more clients and revenue you have, the easier it is to justify the investment and unlock significant growth through coaching.

Choosing the right business coach can significantly impact your success as a financial advisor. Here are some questions that you should consider asking:

There are many varieties of financial advisor coaches, not all of them great. Here are some things to beware of:

• They don't have a specific type of client they coach
• They have limited experience
• They bring you on as a client without determining fit or alignment
• They offer low fees, and thus probably deliver low value
• They want to focus on experience over results
• They offer inflexible coaching versus a customized approach
• They lack specialization

A little self-reflection is a good idea. After reading these answers, do you feel a coach could potentially help you?

If the answer is "yes", the next question is: Are you coachable? Are you someone that can take constructive criticism or advice from a coach, or will it be a constant battle of egos trying to "win" in the end?

If you are coachable, then take the next step, explore your options and speak to a few coaching firms.

Do you want to learn how to implement financial advisor marketing strategies, build a better business, or have a better work-life balance? Speak with a Pareto Systems expert to learn more about our Financial Advisor Coaching Programs.