by Jim Stackpool | Jun 15, 2026 | Advice Clients, Advice Conversations, Advice is not a Product, best practice, Case Studies, Client Care, client conversations, Client Offerings, Consultative Approach, Mindsets, Pricing Advice
It was a well-meaning and not uncommon introduction. A very good long-standing client, a couple who had successfully built a number of businesses, asked if their daughter, Jess, could come in for “a one-on-one chat.” They said that at 34, Jess was thinking about a...
by Jim Stackpool | Jun 9, 2026 | Business Performance, Client Offerings, Competitive pressures, Cost-To-Serve, Fee For Service, Financial Complexity, Future of Financial Advice, Pricing Advice, Profitability
Australians are anxious. NAB’s Consumer Stress Index recently hit its highest level since 2014, driven by what most of us already knew – that the cost of groceries, fuel, utilities, rent, and mortgages is grinding people down. Despite so much to be...
by Jim Stackpool | Jun 1, 2026 | Business Performance, Consultative Approach, Leadership, Pricing Advice, Value Proposition
Many senior advisers at advice firms cling to a quiet but often false assumption. They usually don’t say it out loud. It’s a very influential assumption. Particularly in client meetings, discussing workflows, and when making hiring decisions. The assumption is this:...
by Jim Stackpool | May 25, 2026 | Best Interests, best practice, Business Performance, Capacity-To-Serve, Growth Stress, Hiring Team Members
Nathan’s spreadsheet looked perfect. His cost-to-serve model showed a team of six costing $520,000, generating $1.4 million in revenue, with a margin on every client segment. On paper, the firm was thriving. Day-to-day, however, Nathan was drowning. His two...
by Jim Stackpool | May 19, 2026 | Client Offerings, Leadership, Mindsets, Pricing Advice
Grant didn’t set out to build a big firm. Twenty-three years ago, his plan was simple. Help people who need it. Be the financial expert his clients could rely on. That’s all he focused on. Success, reputation and returns would follow. He never used words like...
by Jim Stackpool | May 11, 2026 | Advice Clients, Advice Conversations, advice skills, best practice, Certainty Advice, client conversations, Client Meetings, Complexity, Consultative Approach, Delivering Value, Meetings, Quality Advice, skills, valuable advice, Valuable Lessons, value, Value of Advice
“We just want flexibility.” “We’d like some options.” “We haven’t really thought about the details yet.” Advice teams have heard versions of these responses from hundreds of clients, probably hundreds of times. And if you’re like most advice teams, you’ve accepted...
by Jim Stackpool | May 4, 2026 | Advice Clients, Advice Conversations, Advice Products, adviser fees, Best Interests, best practice, client conversations, Client Meetings, Client Offerings, Consultative Approach, Profitability, Quality Advice, Separation of advice from product, Serve the Greater Good, value, Value Proposition
“WHAT DO I GET FOR THAT?” Five words. Every adviser has heard them. A prospect sits across from you. You’ve had a good conversation. You’ve built rapport. You’ve quoted your fee. And then it comes. “Sounds OK. But what do I actually...
by Jim Stackpool | Apr 27, 2026 | Best Interests, best practice, Brand Development, Business Performance, Client Offerings, Complexity, Consequences, Consultative Approach, Delivering Value, dependency, Engagements, Financial Complexity, Productivity, Profitability, Retention, Separation of advice from product, valuable advice, value, Value Proposition, Wealth Management
Here’s a question that will tell you a lot about your firm’s positioning and pricing approach. When a qualified prospect meets your team for the first time, where do those vital initial conversations focus? If the answer is the prospect’s specific...
by Jim Stackpool | Apr 20, 2026 | adviser fees, Business Performance, Career Management, Certainty Advice, Consultative Approach, Cultivating Advice workshops, Delivering Value, Fee For Service, Leadership, Pricing Advice, Pricing Committees, uplifts, valuable advice, Value of Advice, Value Proposition
Four partners. A well-regarded firm in Perth’s western suburbs. Two majority partners are quietly lifting their fees. Clients staying. Clients paying. Clients value the advice relationship at rates well above inflation. Two minority partners are watching. And refusing...
by Jim Stackpool | Apr 13, 2026 | Advice Conversations, advice skills, AI, best practice, Certainty Advice, Consultative Approach, Cultivating Advice workshops, Delivering Value, future of advice, Greater Good, LIfe Choices, Public Good, skills, Transformative Advice, valuable advice, value, Value of Advice, Value Proposition, Wealth Management
With the Middle East conflict pushing fuel prices to $3.50 a litre, cost-of-living decisions are changing daily lives. They have to. The headlines are constant. Their narrative tightens the pressure on short and long-term hopes. They also hide alternative ways to get...
