Building alliances with Certainty

Minimum Pricing is a tough issue to manage because he forces advisory teams to re-position their value and pricing with existing clients. Advice firms are generally strong with implementation of their minimum annual pricing, but not as strong with the managing the expectations and value conversations with longer term clients whose prices are approaching or falling below minimums. There are a number of factors and tools to address this which is covered in this Certainty Rountable.

Because Certainty Advice is different, screening of enquiries is also different for firms implementing Certainty Advice. This session provides the 'frameworks' but also the key 'mindsets' vital to hold effective screening conversations prior making the time to meet with new prospects. The words used and the way they are delivered set the context for effective Discovery Meetings. This session provides the proven guidelines.

Daily, Weekly, Monthly Huddles are crucial for advisory firms. Without some form of regular team huddle, a team's priorities will tend to become less urgent and important than the priorities of clients and the demands created by clients. The core objective of good Huddles is support for each other as teams inevitably hurdle endless the endless blockages constructed via natural healthy progress. This session discusses how Huddles are prioritising team's priorities for busy advisory teams.

Nicole O'Sullivan and Caitlin Walker from Ambleside Wealth Advisers on Victoria's South Coast town of Warrnambool share the mindsets that have shaped a great Certainty Journey over nearly 12 months. Dropping long-held assumptions, lifting accountability, defining who to serve as just some of the great examples how Ambleside has implemented significant change in a regional community. As a new era of advisers enter the advice marketplace, the stories of Caitlin and Nicole will provide confidence that the future of advice will be built by some great teams.

Building effective third-party alliances requires smart work. This session covers the third technique to build alliances with a strong preference for alliances built via existing client relationships. The session discusses the need for a plan, and the need for Alliance IP, but most importantly, this session highlights the due diligence needed to create, sustain and manage an effective third-party alliance partnership with like-minded third-party professionals.

Understanding what drives clients is essential to every Certainty Advice Proposition. While the annual Discovery conversation identifies, prioritises and confirms the overall approach, tools like Keith Abraham's Goal Driver helps with the micro-steps on every client's journey. Also team members aware of each others micro-drivers helps bring crucial awareness that we are not the same in what matters in the progress with seek. How to use this tool, who to use it with and why it was developed are all covered in this important session.

For good reasons, some clients seek advice which respects that some matters of their financial affairs will be kept confidential even from each other. How does Certainty Advice cater for these client scenarios? This session highlights four areas to focus upon when dealing with these client situations.

Progress means different things to different firms at different times. Once firms are through their initial survival mode when all benchmarks point towards cashflow and survival, a myraid of options appears as to how best guide growth. This session provides an overview of key performance benchmarks for advisory firms in areas of growth, profitability, productivity and fees. Sample benchmarks for 'standard' and 'best practice' performance are also provided.

Referrals are the core of advisory firm growth. Without management, they can become an obstacle to productive growth. This session identifies the key elements required to make client referrals productive for all client-facing team members. It outlines the twelve steps in the Certainty Advice process to generate ideal opportunities for growth.

From never wanting to join a Discovery Meeting to never wanting to miss them, Kylie Stirling shares her journey and the discoveries she has made as Stirling Financial Consulting, the firm started by her partner Jarad, has successfully grown. Especially important to understand about Kylie's journey is her lack of technical financial services qualifications. Her background is events and client management. Ideally suited to growing and prosperous advisory firms.