What Are You Doing To Avoid Change in Your Financial Advisor Business?

Seth Godin’s quote, “Change doesn’t fail because it is too early, change fails because it is too late”, resonates as I am reminded that 54% of financial advisors will do anything to avoid change.

Like the frog, 54% of financial advisors hate change so much, they will sit in a beaker of water on a hot plate until it is too late failing to create a written vision, business plan, 90 goals and time management plan.

The same 54% of financial advisors lulled themselves into complacency over the past six years solely focused on money products in this last bull market and they are really feeling the heat because they are afraid to diversify because of their fear of change.

Over the past six years it was very easy to take orders for money products, and it went on for so long that they forgot how to sell insurance.

At the same time, those same financial advisors who hate change, will avoid conflict at all cost.

‘Selling’ to them, in their fear based mind, equals conflict.

Change will happen because it is only a matter of time before their best clients are contacted by financial advisors that are comfortable with change and conflict.

With money too tight to mention, these financial advisors don’t want to talk to their clients. So they sit waiting for something to happen on the outside when something needs to happen on the inside.

This brings to mind Daniel Pink’s new book, A Whole New Mind.

Daniel is included in the 46% of the population of left brainers and suggests that left brainers need to change to become more right brained embracing the six senses of; design, story, sympathy, empathy, play and meaning.

Daniel’s message of change to left brainers is offered because he believes that left brain skills are being commoditized because of competition, computerization and jobs going abroad.

We have gone through the Ages of Agriculture, Industrial and Information and Daniel writes we must change to the Conceptual Age of creators and empathizers with a high concept and high touch consultative approach.

Pink believes this is because a worker overseas can do routine and average, a computer can do it faster, and if you are not branded and working in a niche, you look like every other financial advisor in the market place.

Having said this, right brainers need to change to become more left brained embracing; vision, ambition, commitment, focus, inspiration and enthusiasm.

Malcolm Gladwell talks about the theory of 10,000 hours in his new book, Outliers.

“That the most successful people in a field tend to be those who met a certain threshold of intelligence or talent, and then practiced their skills for at 10,000 hours before attaining success. He applies this recipe to hockey players, computer scientists, musicians, and others and finds it to be a consistent guide to predicting the most successful.”

Change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes practice and most of the people that have gone through change didn’t do it by themselves, they worked with a coach or a mentor.

Change is about taking responsibility.

When one takes responsibility self confidence, self esteem, self respect, self trust and energy all increase.

When one doesn’t take responsibility self confidence, self esteem, self respect, self trust and energy all decrease.

When one doesn’t know how to get their needs met from within, they are addicted to trying to find the answer to their lack of self confidence, self esteem, self respect, self trust and energy from outside of themselves which can’t be done.

The addiction of trying to meet the unmet need of security and not creating a vision, business plan, and 90 days goals will be fulfilled by watching the news to find out if one is secure all the while giving more evidence that one is not safe.

As financial advisors one must be investing their time into the finding the truth.

Some examples can be gleaned from the Feb 7, 2009 Vancouver Sun article “Canadians spooked by U.S. news” by Barbara Yaffe.

The American experience is making us a lot more depressed than we need to be. In Canada, the housing sector is healthier. In fact, residential mortgage delinquency is on the decline. Canadian consumer spending has been supported by income growth, rather than home equity. Canadians ??? with average savings between two and three per cent ??? have more cash to sustain spending during a recession. Canada’s recession will be both “shorter and shallower” than the one in the States. – Barbara Yaffe

As we approach Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday, and to embellish a quote from journalist and satirist H.L. Menken …

“It is hard for the ape to believe he descended from a financial advisor that doesn’t have a written vision, business plan, 90 goals and time management plan”.

About the Author: Leading Advisor – Simon Reilly offers financial advisor training, coaching, and speaking designed to help Financial Advisors and their teams clear their roadblocks to success. https://www.leadingadvisor.com