Ben Mossman

Imagine the absolute BEST client interaction you’ve ever had, and I mean the client relationship where you did everything right.  Your Mona Lisa.  Chances are, within that relationship, you had to fight for and earn respect and trust.  You had to put aside any pre-conceived notions you had and truly listen to what your client was telling you.  That’s not the hard part, though.  You applied your expertise and planning savvy to put together a seemingly “perfect” plan.  That’s still not the hard part.  Finally, you had to take a series of products and strategies and boil them down into a cohesive plan that could be communicated in a way that connected with your client WHILE remaining nimble enough to adjust on the fly.  And you hit it square.

Now, imagine this scenario again but change the paradigm.  Substitute your business for the client.  As a Financial Advisor, the work you do with your clients is not unlike the work that needs to be done on your business.  So put a mirror to the process above for a moment.  In the reflection, the respect and trust you earn is from your employees, teammates and shareholders.  YOUR notions of the health and direction of your business may not be what it is actually trying to tell you if you don’t truly listen like you would with a client.  The financial plan you put in place for your client?  In the mirror’s image, this is your business’s strategic vision and requires the same level of expertise and thought.  Lastly, boiling all of this down to a cohesive plan that creates a connection?  This is the process of collaborating with and presenting the strategic direction of your business to your team, thus allowing all members to push in the same direction.

Since we are in the mode of reflection, think back on the client relationships that have faded or didn’t live up to expectations.  I bet you can surmise in many cases there was a missed connection, or you didn’t hear what your client was saying.  Or maybe you were just off your game.  Either way, it wasn’t the most beneficial outcome for either you or your client.  This can happen with your business as well.

Take the time to put a mirror on your business and try to remove yourself enough to have an impartial view.  This can be a great way to codify your vision, understand what your business is telling you and create a growth mindset with all members of your team on board.

If you are too close for perspective, please reach out.  We’d love the opportunity to help.