The Simple Path to Becoming an Elite Advisor

Master this logic to become an elite advisor and have fun in the process. You'll be able to help more clients, give them more value, and make them feel more relaxed and comfortable with your advice. Ultimately, this logic increases your assets under management.  So, let's take them one by one:

It all starts with strengthening your ability to listen and empathize

Everybody has heard that you've got to be a great listener. We know it's not easy. Why? Because it takes patience. So, in order for you to have the patience to listen, you have to take care of yourself. Taking care of yourself goes back to the basics: Are you sleeping well? Are you eating nutritious foods? Are you exercising appropriately? Do you have deep relationships with your spouse, your children, your parents, your community? If you keep yourself tidy and in line, you'll have the energy to be a great listener and have the capacity to empathize.  Clients CRAVE this!

Which leads you to take time to be alone for independent thinking and creative problem solving 

After you've listened really well, you need time away from everyone else, time alone to think, to gather your thoughts. Don't always rush to give advice.  Sometimes, the best way to gather your thoughts might be to write. I know for myself, writing or journaling is the best way for me to think. It helps me get my thoughts together, come to good conclusions, and have the ammunition to give sound advice that makes logical sense and is actionable for your clients.

And then you will leverage relationships with subject matter experts and expand your ability to devise amazing solutions

Many advisors try to do too many things on their own. They try to be everything - the trader, the analyst, economist, the financial planner, even the assistant. 

But the best advisors spend most of their time solving problems, listening, and thinking. To get to the point where you can communicate and have time for the highest value tasks, you must absolutely delegate. 

Delegating means having sound investment strategies based on sound analysis, but also leveraging the smartest people around you, whether they're at your firm or at outside firms. 

In fact, the best wealth advisors don't just rely on internal research; they look at who the absolute best people they can find in each well-defined field or specialty area needed to give good advice and service. They seek out these specialists, keep a rolodex in their CRM of colleagues with specialty knowledge, and maintain regular communication with them. This input allows you to think better and provide better advice.

Which gives you conviction to communicate with conviction and eat your own cooking

The best wealth advisors don't just take blind advice from subject matter experts; they listen to more than one expert in the same area, synthesize that information, and come up with their own conclusions. To be a top-notch wealth advisor, you must have your own convictions. 

If you're willing to put your money on the line, including your own wealth, you should be eating your own cooking. This approach will elevate you to an elite level because you're not just listening to experts and regurgitating what they say; you're actually dissecting their analysis, cross-referencing them, and making it your own.  

And you may even become that intelligent and sincere 7th grader everyone believes

Communication is an art. Not only do you need the time to communicate, but you also need the skills to do so in a way that's easily understood by everyone. Even the smartest people can consume your communication better if you explain it as if they were a 7th grader. 

This keeps them from having to work too hard; you want to make it easy for them to consume at least initially. If you want to dive deeper and get more technical, then you can use more buzzwords or go more in-depth, but always tailor the initial conversation to an intelligent 7th-grade level.

So there you have it, these are the high-level things that maximize client value.  

• #1 Listen - And to listen, you've got to take care of yourself.

• #2 Think - You need a methodology that allows you to logically think things through using first principles. For me, that means writing.

• #3 Delegate - You should have a good skill set to delegate. Have clear guidelines on how you're delegating: when someone can handle something completely on their own, and when they need to check back with you.

• #4 Communicate - This means talking and speaking at a level that's easy to consume, with the option to drill down to be more technical if needed. This will maximize client value.

Everything else you do is ancillary.  This simple logic and reasoning leads to actions that somehow expand your business.  Your authenticity is so powerful when you do this, clients become attracted to your advice and simply want to work with you.

Please send me your thoughts and comments. I love feedback and if you have a topic you’d like me to address, let me know.