I start my day as a student of wealth and engage my time and energy to find out ways of expressing myself as a million dollar advisor. Half way through my day, I spend time on calls taking to people, connecting with them and helping them along. I feel blessed being into advisory business and I think that every advisor has in him the potential to show up as a million dollar advisor in his client’s financial life. A million dollar advisor is the one who creates his/her special place in the hearts of his clients. It certainly goes beyond advice and fees.
I want to develop myself and would love to see more and more advisors to show up as million dollar advisors because I know that good and authentic advice has a lot of power in it. You will find three types of advisory services in India:
- Sales driven – where the primary goal is to sell as many, high margin investment products as possible
- Goal driven – where the primary goal is to help people create a logical, rational investment plan that helps in meeting goals (and they charge a fixed fee for)
- Change driven – where the primary goal is to create as much positive change as possible for their clients (which could also involve helping them work with emotional issues / relationship to money issues / etc)
Here are 11 things to look into your Financial Advisor
1. Your Advisor has to be RICH
If he is not rich how will he make you rich? His financial life has to be inspiring and should demonstrate how to live an extra-ordinary financial life. He is rich not just in terms of money but with the overall richness. He is rich with in his thoughts, with ideas, and with speaking and listening. You should feel empowered in every interaction you have with your advisor.
2. Who is ready to give a sweet kick on your ass
True advice may not be always sweet to hear and easy to digest. Million dollar advisors are fearless; they will step forward whenever they see casualness or reasons in their clients. They will fill your financial life with the right rigor. If the advisor really cares for his client than he won’t care how it will look to his client! You may not like your advisor when he will do this but this will really move things in your financial life. He should be able to tell you the truth. Working with a million dollar advisor is never easy you need high level of commitment and should be willing to pay high fees to receive such high value.
3. Has a clear intention
Nothing happens outside of an intention, by ‘nothing’ I really mean nothing! It is very important to identify the intention of the person you are choosing. Intention is what will convert into actions when you will move forward with your advisor. All the make-up will wear off after a few meetings and the real intention (face) becomes visible.
4. Work speaks more than experience or certification
When I started my practice I was really inspired by L Dolan who was a very famous Time Management Consultant. He used to advice mostly companies and groups. He had no visiting card, no brochure, no website, no videos or audio to show his work to his prospects. Yet he had 100% conversion. All those who contacted him always became his clients. If someone wants to hire him he would send a box full of 500 hand-written heartfelt letters (Transformative Testimonials). This is what he used to do with all prospects and his conversion was 100%. His work would always get him more work.
It does not matter how many plans your advisor has created; what matters is how many financial lives they have changed. Even a new advisor can achieve this, he may have just one client’s work behind him but this one client’s transformation can lead him to become a million dollar advisor.
5. Advice Comes with Money Back Guarantee
A million dollar advisor has full confidence in his work and his ability to advice. If he feels you are not ready to work with him he will say a clear NO to you. He is not needy as needy is creepy. He has the guts to turn your offer down. It is not the fees that will determine his choice it is your overall attitude that matters to him. Giving a money back guarantee is not to lure an investor or as a marketing gimmick but this is the confidence he has in his own work and his abilities.
6. One who helps you to un-learn
The real change and transformation comes from unlearning and you advisor has to help you attain this skill. This brings a change in ‘who you are’ as an investor as your myths and non-supportive beliefs about wealth creation gets stripped off.
7. Experts connect you with other experts
A real expert always connects you with other experts as he is always surrounded by good experts. If your advisor is a million dollar advisor he will connect you with the best of the experts or companies available in the market with different solutions for you. He will connect you with the best of the best so that things move faster in your financial life.
8. Does not believe in customers are always right
This is one of the best ways to measure your advisor. Do something stupid or commit a mistake and see what your advisor does with it- he is accepting your mistake, or appreciates you or gives you a negative feedback that “YOU ARE WRONG”. All those advisors who believe in customers are always right are NOT million dollar advisors. They are moving in the market only to get business and to please people and not to serve people.
9. Helps you transform your financial habits
This is one area where most planners and investors do not focus. We are creatures of our habits some are supportive and some are not. Till you do not identify your unsupportive financial habits the world’s best advice won’t help you grow.
10. When shit happens he helps you to convert it into fertilizer
Our financial life is always a mix of good and bad experiences. It is not possible to find a person who always had only good experiences in his financial life. The million dollar advisor helps you grow from your mistakes. He talks about possibilities and helps you win with the cards you have. Your million dollar advisor will make you okay with all these good and bad experiences and helps you grow.
11. One who Walks the Talk
Financial planners are not movie stars who are free not to use products/service that they endorse. True advice is not given, it is simply shared. Most planners don’t have their own financial plan because investors never ask for it. Your Planner has to have his own finances in place. He should have his goals in place; he should be having his finances in place, he has his own strategies in place and sees that his financial goals are inspiring, full of life and energy. He has to be a disciplined investor himself. He himself is relaxed in the area of money.
The bottom line is your million dollar advisor is a stand for your financial success. He Helps you win with the cards you have, He will make money when you make money; He will suggest you products that he is ready to buy. Do share your views on the above 11 ways and which one is most appealing to you as an investor.
This week
- Decide if you need professional help in your financial life or not?
- What kind of advisor you would love to work with sales driven, Goal driven or Change driven? Are you ready to make a financial commitment?
- Which of the above qualities you would like to see in your advisor?
This article is written by Nandish Desai and he likes to put his thoughts on Financial Coaching Conversations here on this blog
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Lovely Article Nandish.
This sums up a lot of the qualities. Most important one I believe is truth telling. This also includes setting expectations straight.
Many people have incorrect notions about debt (always safe), equity (always risky, bumper dumper returns overnight etc) – Once they have their expectations in line it makes life easier for both the parties.
Thanks for a great one.
Regards,
Ashish
Ashish
Yea .. very correct .. Its interesting that you raise this point of Equity being risky and debt being safe perception which common public has .. i have tried to cover these two topics in my upcoming book
Manish
That’s great Manish.
I m sure that the book would be a very fine work of yours.
Wish you all the best.
Ashish
Good points. I did not seek these. Thanks a lot for the elucidation.Simple yet effective.
Rajiv
Then you should watch out those things in your advisor ..
Manish
The definition of (monetary) RICH needs more explanation. What is RICH in this article ? Rich in thoughts and actions is mandatory but I am not sure how to infer monetary richness as a parameter for a good financial planner. I ain’t rich so I want to be rich so that I can call myself a good planner …LOL.
In a country where every person dealing with money calls himself a planner, the certification is a must-ask from clients otherwise they are sure to be duped. The certification does not prove that the planner is the right person to do the job, it proves he comes with the right learning.
Also, it is not that people with no certifications cannot do the job.
The importance of WORK over CERTIFICATION is valid in mature sectors and after the planner has put behind him some successful years to display that work. In a nascent profession like ours, the work is such that the certification can easily and practically give more weightage.
Also, how will the cleint know how many financial lives the planner changed ? Testimonials do work but practically, very few clients talk to each other to say their planner changed their lives.
On your last point, till date, I have had only 1 client asking whether I had my own plan. He did sign up
I personally think that though these are terrific points a planner should possess and client should look for, clients just do not have the right way to know about any of these for sure BEFORE THEY SIGN UP. And on those in which the client will learn, he can only do so after he has already signed up with the planner and then learn the hard way.
Thoughts Manish ?
Yea Radhey …
I know clients can not find out all these points .. It all the points which should ideally be there ! .. not compulsorily be there ..
Manish
True.
But will it be possible for someone to deduce many of these points. For example, richness. How do you know. Similarly, testimonials. If you ask me, i will provide you with testimonials of the ones who praised me.
Still i am not saying that these points are irrelevant. They are very relevant. But one needs time and some mistakes to know these practical differences.
This brings us to the important aspect of learning. One should be(rather teach himself to be) in a position to understand things as he moves forward, as it in his own interest he is working.
Also when one is drawing up a plan, he can take planner’s words. However, cross check the same continuously regularly.
Thus, in addition to having a planner, it is more important to inculcate the habit of learning and keep learning as one progresses.
Srinivas Richness is a state of being and once you connect with someone fully you can experience it in your conversation. Nothing wrong when clients praise you but it should be authentic. Testimonials is nothing but your body of work that you carry and and build as you move forward.
This advisor client relationship is special. As an investor the more you experience your advisor the better it gets.
I really ask my clients to share their experience with me which contains their results and difference they created in their financial life.It is their victory that we are celebrating and sharing with the world.
I got my first client with no testimonial with me, infact i did not knew how to create a financial plan. I searched on net spoke to many experts but they did not reveal what they do with their clients.
This is what i tell people who approach me . I never charge for me, my credentials, my experience, my knowledge, my reputation. I charge for the work. I charge for the breakthrough we are going to create together.
Be blessed Srinivas
Awesome. Informative article. Each and every word in this article triggers a thought process. There is so much to learn and so much to implement
Aparna good to have you on the blog.It is great to have you as our client
Nandish,
Good one and Straight to the core…
The Fin. Advsr. should be our alter ego…..
Thanks Daniel. We really want to raise the bar for both investors and for advisors.
Nice 1 .
Very nice thought great article representing the truth…
greatly said in these 11 points …really appriciable artical Nandish and Manish !!!!!!!!
I am regular reader of your blogs they are really very intereesting and knowlegeable….
Ajay
Good to hear that .. keep coming
Hi Manish
Greate Article
Could you please suggest me any million dollar advisor from Nasik -Maharashtra that he/she can guide me about my financial planning .
Satish
Better check FPSB Directory
Hi Manish
Thanks for reply, could you please tell how and where i can check FPSB directory
After reading your article,I now understand -how important it is to get a good financial planner. Also how difficult it is.
I know its really important to be active and alert when it comes to investment in the fast changing times and for that, a financial planner/adviser comes to the rescue of a normal investor/layman. But I doubt credibility of planners who belong to firms/ work as free lancers and need to sell their financial products. Till what extent can they be trusted in the advise that they give?
Roshni
No planner should be trusted blindly and his advices .. you should be wise enough and atleast knowledgeable to draw the learnings out of it and really understand how they work .
Manish