Decades ago, when you filled your car with fuel, a bloke would meet you, say G’day, flick a lever on his bowser and start the flow of petrol into your tank. Occasionally, he’d check your oil and radiator levels as your tank filled.
When he wasn’t filling cars, he was attending to his daily list of cars needing servicing or fixing, all in various states of roadworthiness.
Years ago, when you went to get an X-ray, you would be introduced to a doctor who would ask a few questions, answer yours, and then oversee the X-ray.
When she wasn’t talking to patients, she would be reviewing the films in her office using lighted boards to analyse the ghost-like images, before completing a report of her findings, and reassuringly updating you with your next steps to recovery.
Today, there are no owner/mechanics filling up cars, and I haven’t seen a radiologist in a X-ray theatre for many years – the majority now advise from Asian-based cities.
The practice of financial advice today is moving towards these service models.
As an industry, it won’t side-step similar commoditisation that has transformed how Australians access and buy their services.
Advice teams can switch to better paths, not as controlled by the commodities they provide.
Paths like those are being built by advice teams like Dan, Rachel, and Alan.
THE NEW PATHS
Last week, Rachel, who holds the joint roles of practice manager and client services manager, and Alan, a PY associate adviser, conducted an engagement meeting to present their firm’s proposed Terms of Engagement to prospective clients Catherine and Rick.
Founder and senior adviser Dan was still enjoying his summer holidays.
There was no thought of delaying this engagement meeting until Dan returned.
Dan’s firm has worked to build the team’s value, skills, and engagement methods so they are not dependent upon specific technical products or team members.
Their team engages totally based on the value prospects seek from an advice relationship.
They’ve done this by mastering their Discovery & Engagement Conversation frameworks, making these conversations methodical, repeatable, tailored and valued by their ideal niche of clients.
The new path they are championing is not about specific product advice or detailed technical aspects.
While the technical details are crucial, the detailed expertise required is discussed after clients have agreed to proceed and pay for their valued advice relationship.
For advice teams like Dan, Rachel and Alan, the technical elements of their advice relationships are not what is driving their pricing, their propositions, their reputations, or their future.
That’s an enduring path – totally dependent upon the value experience by their clients.
THE NEW RESULTS
Since taking this new path, every engagement meeting conducted by Rachel and Alan has, so far, been successful.
100% of new prospects have engaged with them.
Not one prospect has asked for Dan.
Not one has questioned why the senior adviser wasn’t in the room.
Not one needed detailed product recommendations or fully explained technical strategies before agreeing to proceed.
The team’s average new client fee? About $12,800 per year.
Compare this to most advisory firms, where the founder or key expert must be present for every engagement meeting because technical expertise, rather than client value, is central to the pitch, and where prospects are presented with choices like Strategy A and Strategy B before they’ve even agreed to pay.
Dan’s firm has eliminated all of that.
It is the only path for advisory teams building enduring advice relationships.
What do you reckon?
Photo Credit: Shutterstock_2395058517