Throughout my career as a financial advisor, I have attributed much of my growth and success to having great mentors. Today, I’m proud to say that I now serve as a business coach and mentor to many fellow advisors across the country.
What’s nice about being on both sides of this relationship is that I have been able to use all my experience as a protégé to enhance my skills as a mentor. Ultimately, this relationship involves work and commitment on both sides of the equation. In this blog, I’ll share some tips for finding the right financial-advisor coach/mentor and getting the most value from your relationship.
Know What You’re Looking For
The first step in finding the right mentor lies in knowing specifically what you want for your practice and yourself. Identify your business goals and personal development goals, then look for someone who appears to already have achieved similar goals for himself or herself.
Actively Look For It
Read books, attend seminars, and actively seek the kind of leadership you’re looking for. When a certain advisor’s message and methodology resonate strongly with you, dig deeper. You won’t know if a potential mentor is right for you until you’ve interacted with them. You must “click” with this person on a certain level, or you run the risk of not being motivated enough to be truly coachable, and that is crucial.
Focus on ‘The Big Four’
A good coach or mentor for financial advisors should focus on four main areas as he or she works with you regularly. These “Big Four” areas are as follows:
- Personal Development: This includes things like goal setting, your attitude toward work and your work/life balance, your relationship with clients, and how you present yourself to potential new clients. It addresses all the internal mental and emotional factors that can help you become a better and more successful business owner.
- Marketing and Branding: Whether he or she is independent or is affiliated with an FMO, your coach or mentor should be an experienced expert in the field of branding and marketing for financial advisors, as they are core elements of growth and success. A truly successful advisor coach should be able to help you implement strategies that allow you to continuously attract qualified prospects and free you from the need to constantly “chase” new business.
- Sales: Most coaches and mentors for financial advisors are heavily sales-focused, but in my experience, the most effective are those who use and teach a well-defined sales process. Ideally, this sales process should be turnkey and aligned with all your mentor’s other teachings, so that learning it comes naturally as you grow and develop with your mentor’s guidance.
- Practice Management: This might also be called Business Development. The fact is, even many advisors who are good at marketing and sales do a poor job of running their own business, and this becomes their biggest obstacle to reaching their full potential. A good mentor should know this and be able to help you overcome this obstacle.
The Importance of Being Coachable
Once again, the relationship between mentor and protégé requires focus and commitment from both participants. It’s up to you to be a good student. To put the time and effort in and be coachable. Here are a few tips on how to do that:
Plan and Prepare
In working with my own mentors over the years, I made a point of being well prepared for our weekly interactions. I always created lists of specific questions and identified topics I wanted to focus on. By the same token, I find that the advisors who get the most out of their regular calls with me are those who come to those calls well-prepared. Naturally, I have my own agenda for our conversations, too; a good coach should always be proactive and prepared. But only you can know at any given time what your top priorities should be.
Take Copious Notes
In working with my mentors, whenever I came across something during the week that I thought would be good to discuss, I wrote it down – either on a notepad or in my phone. I made lists, and I urge all the advisors I coach now to do the same. It could be a little thing you want to discuss, or it could be something significant and strategic. Either way, it’s important because it is unlikely you’ll be able to mentally retain all these thoughts during a busy week. By the same token, of course, it’s a good idea to take extensive notes when meeting with your mentor, even if you’re recording your meetings. The surest way to remember and internalize things is to write them down.
Take Initiative
While being coachable and following your mentor’s guidance is important, so is recognizing other opportunities for growth and improvement that align with your mentor’s teachings. For instance, would taking a course in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) enhance your use of your mentor’s sales process? Would a training session with Toastmasters improve your live marketing events? Look for these opportunities and take advantage of them with your mentor’s blessing.
Summary
Having a coach or mentor is one of the keys to true success. Sure, you might be smart and tenacious enough to eventually figure things out on your own, but why take five years to achieve a breakthrough when a mentor can get you there in one or two? There are no points to be won by rugged individualism!
If you don’t have a coach or mentor, I strongly encourage you to find one; you can start your search right here. If you do have one, I urge you to make sure you’re doing all you can to get the greatest value possible out of this important relationship!
