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Use Personal Development to Grow Your Business

As business owners, it can be easy to focus on the work itself and lose sight of your own personal development, but self-improvement is just another part of expanding your company. By taking the time to focus on yourself, you can develop new ways to support your clients and market your business. After all, as Elise Buie says, “We can’t go any further for our clients than we do for ourselves.”

Consider Your Shortcomings

Even the most well-rounded person has room for improvement, so take an objective look at yourself and decide which are your biggest opportunities for personal growth. Is there a particular skillset that you have been wanting to enhance and haven’t got around to just yet? For example, is there a part of your life that is noticeably disorganized? An area of your work that refining a particular skill would make a difference? As you reflect on your day to day, you will be able to create a list of things to improve upon over the next year. You may be lacking a skillset such as communication skills (whether in a group setting or one-on-one conversation), leadership skills, or even personal discipline such as working out to improve physical fitness and energy level. All of these can contribute to enhancing your sense of personal empowerment overall and your ability to attract new clients.

Think Small

If you are struggling to get started with a large-scale project, it can be easier to pick up a small skill instead. Even something as minute as juggling gets your brain used to new tasks, and it can be learned in a single afternoon. Once you get those balls in the air (no pun intended) you’ll find the motivation to move onto larger tasks.

Look Online

No matter how obscure the skill, there’s a class for it online. From mediaeval sword making to personal organization, you’ll be able to find course materials and tutorials. If you browse YouTube, you can watch a few minutes of each video to find a teaching style that works for you, and then watch a new video every week to master the skillset. There are also sites like udemy.com and khanacademy.org that provide full online instruction, and these tend to cost around $60-100 per course. If you need structure and the ease of finding the next step in your education, these sites may be worth the investment!

Schedule It Out

Setting benchmarks is the best way to enact your plan. I invite you to create deadlines in your calendar throughout the year. Set reminders for when to start a new task, as well as when you intend to complete it. While you can adjust these dates as other appointments come up, create a rule that you can only delay each task by two weeks. This will ensure that you stay on track while still maintaining flexibility in your work schedule.

Though your work is essential, don’t neglect your own personal development! Your clients look up to those who have mastered many different skills, and you want to always strive to have one more skill at your disposal than you did the previous year. By showcasing your own personal development, you can enhance your attraction factor which will support you in growing to meet new needs of your existing clients!

How to Optimize Your Marketing Strategy to Support Your Business Transition

As you expand your book of business, it can be easy to lose track of the best marketing plan to both entice new clients and retain your original base. By taking the time to restructure your marketing, evaluate your mission statement, and even change your branding, you can optimize your marketing to appeal to both existing clients and new prospects.

Consider Your Best Fit
In an ideal world, you will take a step back and think about your ideal client before your transition event. Has anything changed about who you want to attract? Take a look at any clients you’re acquiring, the age and specializations of your team, and your future goals to evaluate whether you should change your marketing strategy to attract a different type of client. This is a great opportunity to create your marketing focus for the future of your company. Who are the ideal clients that you want to attract and how many? While it can be tempting to shift focus entirely, think of this process as a time to narrow your focus. You still want to cater to your top clients and ensure they feel supported and valued, but you may want to reframe your branding to a more focused group.

Craft a Comprehensive Message
At the very start of your succession planning experience, sit down with your entire team to craft a unified message that speaks to your current goals and values. Look at your newly defined ideal client, existing client base, and total expertise to come up with consistent branding for your website, email campaigns, social media posts, and any printed or direct mail media. The essential thing to consider when creating this messaging is why you are the best fit for your clients’ needs. What unique experiences do you bring to the table that helps to set you apart from the rest? Why are you passionate about your business? In which situations are you most effective at helping clients meet their needs? What is your goal for your clients? What is your favorite example of a way you’ve gone above and beyond for a client? Use these questions to guide you towards a personalized tagline, then use it to create consistency across all your marketing. By unifying the message in your marketing materials, you make it easy to build brand awareness and attract your ideal clients.

Be Consistent with Your Value Proposition
As you move forward with your transition, it is essential to keep all team members on the same page in how they present your value proposition. Go over brand standards for email, social media posts (including employee’s personal LinkedIn activity), and client conversations so everyone presents the same value proposition across all mediums. Use the same language and phrases consistently so each individual appears as part of a larger team at all times, making it clear that you’re united in the service of your clients.

Reach Out to Clients
Once you have completed these steps and created a clear marketing strategy, you’re ready to reach out to your existing clients. Be sure that the first message you send out includes your new tagline and a link to your mission statement, along with what clients can expect in the first few months of your business transition. Schedule one-on-one meetings to share your new brand message, your commitment to take great care of your clients by providing ongoing support and clearly demonstrate your devotion to existing clients even if your business model or brand is changing slightly. Above all, highlight the exciting new services, features, and benefits of your new business model.

Though it can be challenging to align your marketing during a business transition, it is essential to have a clear plan as you onboard new clients and potentially new employees while setting expectations for existing clients. By sitting down as a team, crafting a new mission statement, and considering your ideal client, you can ensure that new clients feel supported even as you transition your business.

How to Create Consistent Branding Throughout Succession Planning Process

As you continue your ongoing goal of onboarding new team members and expanding your book of business, it can be easy to lose sight of the initial values that
attracted clients to your company. Here are some of the steps you should take during the transition to keep your company on track with your marketing and branding!

Meet Internally and Craft a Plan

Before you reach out to any clients, meet as a team to discuss the best messaging for your first few interactions. Often, a business transition causes stress on the client side of things, so take the time to align your talking points and mirror their existing experiences with the company. As often as possible, involve their previous points of contact in the new discussions, as these trusted advisors can create a bridge between the old and the new.

Go Back to Your Roots

After you’ve completed the initial steps of your transition, take a step back and think about the initial plan for your company. If you have old emails or marketing materials, this is a great time to review them and look back at what helped your company to grow. Though your new round of marketing and branding materials don’t have to be a complete match, your existing clients may be more comfortable to see previous values communicated clearly in your new marketing.

Meet with New Employees to Communicate Values

To ensure that new employees will champion the standards of your brand, schedule an all-hands-on-deck meeting to explore the company values. What sets you apart from the crowd? What does your ideal client need from your team? How can you take your customer service to the next level? Bring these questions to the top of your employees’ minds so they are aligned with both the company’s origins and future goals.

Reach Out to Valued Clients for Feedback

While you should have already discussed the transition with your existing clients, you may not have had time for a post-mortem examination of everything they loved about your previous company. Take the time to ask what attracted them to your brand, what they need most from your new team, and if they would recommend any changes. Taking time to hear the feedback from your loyal clients will help you evaluate if any changes need to be made, or if you can continue the course with your existing branded strategy.

Be Open to Change

While many companies want to keep everything consistent during a major transition, it can also be the perfect time to shake things up. If you weren’t happy with your previous logo, slogan, or design, it’s the ideal time to meet with a specialist and ensure your company gives the best possible impression. Involve all of your team throughout these changes to accumulate multiple points of view and reach out to trusted clients for their opinions as well.

As you complete the transition of your company, it is essential to outline your branded messaging and keep all team members on the same page. Creating this consistent messaging will craft a smooth transition for all parties involved, including your trusted clients!

How to Delegate Like a Pro!

As your business grows, it is essential to begin handing off your tasks to employees who are competent and eager. Having a properly trained team will allow you to focus your efforts on the high-level tasks that really matter, and it will also help combat burnout and ensure you get the work/life balance everyone desperately needs. Since delegating is such a key part of any management role, here are some tips to manage the process like a pro!

Hire with Future Development in Mind

This is one of the most challenging steps for a business to take, as it requires taking the time to hypothesize what future obstacles may arise. Before you hire additional staff members, sit down and brainstorm the future of your company and what new challenges you may face. How will you grow your business? What industry changes may be on the horizon? What is the best way to find new clients? Keeping these thoughts in mind will help you hire employees with skillsets that will be aligned with your needs.

Craft Client Introductions from the Start

Even if you’re not immediately requiring client interactions, you can start curating relationships between your new employees and existing clients. Facilitate brief in-person introductions when the timing is right and create organic conversations, so your clients are familiar with the names and faces of your office staff. This will make it easier to shift responsibilities when the time comes and ensure everyone gets along well ahead of large transitions!

Set Up Accountability Structures

When the you are ready to start delegating your responsibilities, you want to make it is easy to find a bird’s eye view of your team’s progress. An easy way to do this is to create shared documents (for example, a spreadsheet on Google Drive) that all team members can use to log their notes and client interactions. This will allow you to monitor new developments while still giving your team opportunities to test their new skills and interpersonal relationships.

Be Willing to Invest in Additional Training

Even if you hire the best and the brightest, they may need introductions or refreshers to certain skillsets. If you notice that they could use additional training, politely offer additional training on that skill. One way to approach this is to forward them a link to an online class or seminar and simply say “This looks interesting! Would you like to attend? The company can cover your tuition.” This is a non-judgmental way to help improve confidence and give your employees the tools they need to flourish in your absence.

Delegating is an essential part of business growth, so be sure to take the time to properly train your employees to take on more responsibility. By hiring for potential, cultivating client relationships early, and providing support and training, you can ensure your team is ready to handle even more responsibility as your company develops.

Best Practices for Acquiring a New Book of Business

For financial advisors, one of the quickest ways to grow your practice is to acquire an existing book of business from another advisor who is usually exiting the business. While this can be a huge boon for your business, you need to handle the transition delicately and create an optimal transition for your new clients. These tips will help you gracefully handle the acquisition and keep everyone happy and informed!

  1. Find the Right Fit

Before you even consider buying a book of business, take the time to examine what would be the ideal fit for you and your team. The easiest way to create a smooth transition is to find a business that is similar to yours in terms of ideal client, area of specialization, values, and business model. These mutual traits will be essential in smoothing out the transition, so keep these in mind as you explore different companies to acquire.

  1. Ask for Assistance

The biggest asset to help you smooth out the transition will be the previous owners, as they know the personalities of their existing clients. When signing a contract, you might ask to include billable hours for personal support, or perhaps dual meetings where they can introduce you in person. These introductions are invaluable and help create a feeling of teamwork with the new clients, reassuring that they’re in excellent hands.

  1. Tailor Your Messaging and Stay Personal

One of the biggest concerns that your new clients will have is whether you will deliver the same level of service that they have come to expect. It’s essential to build your client relationships right from the start, so ask for personalized info on each client when acquiring the business. Instead of sending out a form letter, reach out to each client personally and invite connection, or ask them to come into the office for one-on-one meetings. While this will add to your workload at the beginning of your acquisition, it shows your new clients that you are committed to their satisfaction and start your relationship off on the right foot.

  1. Combine Your Messaging

While it can be tempting to completely overhaul your website and messaging, your new clients will feel more comfortable with gradual changes. Keep the existing style, messaging, and website for a short period of time while gradually combining your two businesses. People tend to dislike change, especially when it’s forced on them, so keeping things familiar throughout the transition is a respectful and comforting gesture.

  1. Continually Reach Out

After your initial introduction, stay connected with your clients by following up at four-week intervals to ensure they are happy with your service. Continue to emphasize your availability and willingness to meet and use similar messaging as their previous financial advisor to make them feel at home. Just by expressing your support, you can decrease client turnover and make an incredible first impression on your new book of business!

As you start to acquire new books of business, these steps will help ensure a smooth transition for your clients. Finding practices that have similar ideal clients, values, and business models will allow you to seamlessly combine businesses, and personalized touches and consistent follow up will seal the deal for your new clients!

How to Ensure You’re Hiring the Best Possible Candidates!

As you expand your team, you need to evaluate even more than the qualifications and certifications listed on a resume. Having a diverse staff that works well together and is united on common goals will eliminate stress and tension in your workplace and allow your business to succeed! Here are some tips to help you create the best hiring process and find unique qualities that will help your business shine!

Describe Your Ideal Candidate on Your Job Descriptions

While it is common to list out the roles and responsibilities of each job, you also want to explain what you’re looking for in terms of personality and fit. If your company has core values you want a candidate to espouse, include those in a short paragraph under the description of your role. You may also want to explain the culture of your office and what employees can expect from working for you. This helps you attract the right people and set expectations before the first interview even begins!

Monitor Your Social Media Presence and Reviews

The hiring process is a mutual agreement that will involve research on both sides, so make sure you know what comes up when a potential employee searches for your business. Sites like Glassdoor and Indeed are instrumental to showing off your workplace culture and benefits, so ask your happy employees to leave positive reviews if they feel comfortable doing so. You may also want to highlight parties and charity work on your social media profile to show off the fun side of your office!

Ask Existing Employees for Recommendations

A great way to find a cultural fit is to ask your existing employees for recommendations from their previous companies. This is an excellent way to find someone who gets along well with the personalities in your office and has a proven track record of hard work! You can also encourage your employees to share the job listing on personal LinkedIn and Facebook profiles to notify their friends and professional contacts about the new opening.

Reach out to Local Colleges

If you’re hiring for an entry-level position, be sure to post on job boards for local universities. This is a great way to onboard fresh new candidates who will be eager to learn. You can also directly email the office managers of specific departments to find recent graduates who come highly recommended by professors and staff.

Explore Social Media Profiles

To ensure that your candidate isn’t doing anything inappropriate on their personal time, you may want to examine their social media profiles and ensure they aren’t using profanity or engaging in illegal activities. This can help prevent any interpersonal drama in your office and keep your company’s image pristine in the public eye!

When you have a pool of similar candidates, it can be difficult to look past the stellar resumes and qualifications to find the best cultural fit. These tips can help you make the most of your upcoming recruiting process and ensure that the candidate your select will be a team player and a fitting ambassador for your brand!

Interview Tips to Find the Best Employees for Your Team

Especially for smaller companies, finding and retaining quality employees will make or break your business. It is essential to find team players that are bright, friendly, flexible, easy to work with, and dedicated to the success of your enterprise. To help narrow down your field of candidates, here are some creative solutions to introduce into your interview process.

Think Outside the Box

Let’s face it, we’ve all prepared our answers for the basic interview questions and rehearsed scenarios that make us sound like complete superheroes carrying the entire workload on our shoulders. To get an honest answer out of your candidates, try asking one or two unusual interview questions. Even twists on classic questions like “What movie character are you most like at work?” or “What’s an unusual aspect of your personality?” can get an honest answer our of your candidates, as opposed to a pre-planned speech.

Ask About Their Passions

This is one of my favorite questions to ask my interviewees, as you can see their eyes light up as they talk about what matters most to them. It can also give you a glimpse into what their life looks like outside of work, and whether their hobbies will allow them to fit in with the company culture. If they are interested in volunteer work, it can also indicate that they will deeply care about your clients and put in the extra effort to make them feel supported.

Do a Brief Office Tour

One of the best ways to evaluate how a candidate will mesh with your team is to do a complete walkthrough of your office. Introduce them to your employees and see how their personalities interact, and make sure the interviewee is engaged and curious about the roles of his or her future coworkers. Above all, ensure that the candidate is respectful and kind to every person that they encounter, regardless of their job title. This is the best way to preserve the harmony of the office!

Go Out to Lunch

Another way to shake up the interview process is to treat your candidate to lunch on the second or third round. While at the restaurant, pay close attention to how the candidate treats the wait staff and other diners. Are they conscientious of other people’s space? Do they hold the door open for other diners? Do they smile and make eye contact with the hostess and wait staff? If they treat everyone with kindness and respect, they will likely get along with the rest of your team.

Get Multiple Opinions

It can be difficult to ensure you’re getting a rounded view of a candidate, but asking for a second opinion can help you collect varied opinions. When interviewing, invite other colleagues into the room and give them time to interact one-on-one, then have an internal meeting to ask what everyone thought of each applicant.

As you go through the hiring process, you want to ensure you’re looking at more than just the basic certifications and experience required for that position. Finding someone who is a great fit for your team, will care about your clients, and will get along with your other employees is worth taking extra steps to vet the candidate in unusual situations.

Crafting an Impactful Mission Statement

As your company sets out to create a comprehensive marketing strategy, it’s essential to consider how prospects will view your operation from the get-go. The first impression that they get from your website and social media will color your interactions moving forward, so take the time to tailor a coherent message to weave throughout your site. One of the key focus points of this process is to create an impactful mission statement that summarizes the goals, aspirations, and viewpoints of your business. Here are some key tips to help you get started!

Define Your “Why”

Before you start writing your mission statement, take the time to consider the ultimate goals of your business. The concepts of “making money” and “delivering excellent customer service” are great starting points, but a well-crafted mission statement should go even deeper than these. Ultimately, the mission statement must come from your personal experience, but here are some questions to ask yourself as you brainstorm. Have you always wanted to get into this line of business? Is there a childhood experience or a life event that inspired you? How are you making the world a better place? Weaving these motivations throughout your narrative will help prospects understand your personality, your brand, your commitment to them and what specifically drives you to serve your clients.

Stay Humble (and Human!)

One of the most challenging lines to walk in the business world is the thin one between touting your achievements and bragging. While it’s generally a great idea to highlight your results, it can easily come across with the wrong tone. An easy way to avoid this is to thank the people who made it possible—your employees, dedicated clients and your family. Another way to soften the tone of your piece is to integrate parts of your personality into the writing. If you have a great sense of humor, include tasteful jokes so you come off as approachable. Conveying the right tone can be challenging, but it’s an effective “evergreen” piece of marketing when you get it right, so it’s worth the effort!

Be Specific and Succinct

If you look at the mission statements of other companies, you may notice that they include a lot of industry jargon and buzzwords that take up a lot of space without really saying anything. To stand apart from the crowd, cut the fluff and drill right to the heart of your mission.

Ask for A Second Opinion

As with any piece of marketing, ask for a second opinion from your coworkers, strategic partners and friends. Too often, we get caught up in our own emotions surrounding our creative work, and it’s easy to lose sight of what strangers will think. Getting outside opinions will ensure you’re hitting the right notes, and that everything comes across as genuine and welcoming.

An impactful mission statement is hard to write, but the payoff is one of the greatest in your marketing plan. Take the time to craft a short yet meaningful statement, and you can use it throughout your marketing pieces for years to come. As always, reach out to me if you’d like assistance developing your brand!

How to Convey Your Brand’s Integrity

Today’s consumers are highly motivated to find companies that align with their personal values and ethics, creating a wonderful opportunity for businesses to attract like-minded clients. However, it’s essential to remain humble and sincere while showcasing your brand’s integrity. Here are some strategies to conveying your brand’s integrity without bragging or seeming too preachy.

Crafting a Sincere Brand

When prospects are deliberating whether to use your service, they’ll usually scour your website to craft a first impression. Communicating a clear and concise brand that includes your target market and your area of specialization is an important first step in the articulation of your brand.  From there, you will want to include your brand message to give prospects a clear sense not only of who you are, who you serve and also what you are committed to for them overall.  To make these future clients get a clear sense of your values, it is essential to express why you are focused on this group, why you are an excellent fit to serve this clientele and how your background, education and experience sets you up to be a natural fit for this focus. This complete message sets you apart from the competition and helps your clients to determine whether you’re the best fit for their ongoing needs. You want to stand out from the crowd and setting the groundwork to support clients at specific life stages will support your brand messaging. This is a great time to incorporate your “why” and explain what motivates you to work hard for your clients every day. How did you first get into your field? What most excites you about your work? What are your plans for the future? Answer these questions in a compelling narrative to create an immediate connection with your prospects.

Show, Don’t Tell

The easiest way to convey your brand’s integrity is to ensure it seeps into every interaction you have with the public. If you’re constantly highlighting your excellent customer service, ensure that prospects aren’t spending a lot of time on hold when they dial in. Remind your team to maintain a friendly and welcoming tone throughout their interactions with the public, even if it’s just someone who only stopped in for directions. You may even want to enlist the help of friends and family to pose as new clients and report their first impressions when interacting with anyone in your office. Conducting these quality checks will help you catch any potential issues early and ensure you’re putting your best foot forward!

Highlight Your Volunteer Work

One of the best ways to grow your presence in the community is to volunteer for causes you support. Having a company presence at major charity events that are in alignment with your brand allows you to network while giving back to the community.  To create the greatest impact for your marketing, choose an organization that speaks to your values and your clients’ priorities, allowing you to integrate your knowledge and passion to create a better world. For example, I am at the Financial Planning Association Day On The Hill event in Washington DC, which allows me to meet likeminded people while supporting legislation that will improve the lives of families across the United States. To maximize your influence, you should post pictures of these events on your website and social media pages. Becoming a donor for charity events that you are aligned with is another way to put your marketing budget to good use, as you will often get a company logo in the event fliers and social media posts.

Be Consistent

As consumers go out of their way to support ethical companies, they will also do preliminary research to ensure their brand statement isn’t just lip service. I recently stumbled across a company that touted their commitment to diversity throughout the site but had a C-Suite team comprised completely of white males. Take the time to think through your company’s day to day conduct and ensure you’re committed to those core values.

As consumers become more socially-conscious, it’s more important than ever to highlight your brand’s integrity. Taking the time to craft a brand statement, portray a friendly demeanor at all times, and highlight your commitment to the community will help you attract like-minded prospects.

Essential Strategies for Succession Planning: Navigating the Transition

As the moment you’ve been planning for approaches, it’s natural to feel anxiety and trepidation, but having a comprehensive plan in place will keep you organized and motivated throughout the business transition. Here are some of the steps you should take during the transition to keep your company on track!

Check in With Your Attorney

While you should talk to your attorney throughout the process, this is where their expertise is vital to ensure a smooth handoff. Have them draft a contract that outlines your responsibilities throughout the transition, and when tasks should be passed off to the new owners.

Meet with New Employees to Communicate Your Brand

To ensure that everyone is onboarded efficiently and will maintain the standards of your brand, schedule a meeting or two to educate your team about the branding and company values. Setting these expectations early will emphasize the tone of the company and prevent any future inconsistencies, so don’t skip out on this vital step!

Communicate Clearly with Existing Clients

While you may have already discussed the transition with your existing clients, reach out to them again to confirm that the transition is underway and outline the timeline. Give them plenty of time to discuss potential changes and express any concerns they may have. I recommend that you send official notifications via snail mail and email.  You may want to also schedule a conference call with your top clients to give personalized attention, introduce them to the new team to further support a successful transition.

Establish a Consulting Timeline

If you plan on staying on to assist after the transition, work with the new owners to outline your responsibilities and time commitment. Having these parameters in place will help you manage expectations while still guiding your team towards success. In your agreement, outline the number of hours you’d prefer to work each week, the days you will typically be available for consultation, and whether you want a trusted team member to monitor your emails to bring urgent items to everyone’s attention. Reviewing your personal preferences ensures everyone is on the same page moving forward!

As you complete the succession planning transition for your company, it is essential to outline your next steps and set expectations for the future. Creating this roadmap and including the new owners in on your game plan ensures a smooth transition for all parties involved, including your valued clients!