Steve Long and Andy Reiss, Supernova
Every aspect of our daily lives has been impacted in the past year by the Covid 19 pandemic. We have adapted our regular practices and patterns to accommodate the medical and emotional toll that many of us have faced. 
We all would agree that the past year has been unprecedented in numerous ways. Meeting in person with clients, prospects and centers of influence has morphed into a kaleidoscope of new technologies and new methods to communicate virtually. The impact we believe will be felt for years to come and will probably result in a new “normal.”
One of the sustaining elements of a Supernova practice is implementing a 12-4-2 model of client communication that applies to every client in the practice. The client receives 12 monthly calls that are scheduled in advance, 4 quarterly portfolio reviews, 2 of which are supposed to be in person. While most of 12-4 have been implemented, the 2 in person reviews have been either postponed or now over the phone.
We reached out to some of the recent FA’s utilizing Supernova and inquired how they have adapted the 12-4-2 method to today’s environment. Their first thought in this disruptive period was the appreciation of having Supernova and bringing a laser focus to doing only things that create value for the client. They also stated that keeping 12-4-2 was helpful in eliminating things that distracted or diminished their focus on the client experience.
What makes the 4 reviews with 2 in person so impactful?
The process is flexible and creates rituals for both the advisors and clients to follow in any climate. Not meeting in person doesn’t alter the process. The client receives an outline of agenda topics several days in advance of the meeting. The client input is solicited as to any other items they would like to discuss at the meeting. A revised agenda is sent 24 hours prior to the scheduled time. In the pre-Covid period the client would arrive at the office, be offered refreshments and directed to a comfortable conference room. Team members needed would be included in the conversation. Following the meeting an executive summary would be sent within 24 hours and be placed in the client folder.
With today’s restrictions there have to be a few minor changes to the process. Prior to the actual meeting date, the CSA or Administrative Assistant would set up the technology platform to be used and provide some instructions on how to join the meeting. Some advisors send a gift card to provide some refreshments for the session. It is sometimes necessary to limit the number of participants on the actual call or video link to make the communication less cumbersome. The conversation and review are conducted and the executive summary is provided within 24 hours of the meeting.
What is critical to remember is that 12-4-2 doesn’t stop because you can’t meet in person. If done properly the meetings can still be impactful because the client receives the same experience on reviewing their progress against their plan and has a personal and private conversation with the advisor.
Many advisors that use Supernova feel “todays” technology is effective in saving everyone time and keeps the focus on the client and their needs.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the threat of COVID-19 is eliminated. Hopefully, we will be able to have that discussion soon. In the interim, adapting the Supernova 12-4-2 process can be very impactful and help bridge the gap between in person reviews and virtual reviews.
This approach regardless of the current environment can create what we call, “break away velocity. The ability to differentiate yourself from other financial advisors, accelerate your practice and give you a better balance in life.
- Get in a workout before you come to work. The endorphins will last for hours. If the stress is getting to you, increase your workout intensity. Intervals work best because your day is made up of intervals, highs and lows.
- Take breaks during the day. A break every hour for 5-10 minutes will be enough to decompress your day. Walk away from your desk. Drink some water. Eat a quality snack like a handful of nuts or a few bites of a power bar.
- Call a friend that is always in a good mood or has a joke for you. When asked why he was such a good putter Gary Player said, “I hang out with good putters.” Stay positive by being around positive people.
- Put up reminders in your office of your purpose in being there. Goals you want to achieve. Pictures of family. That vacation you are working for. That new car.
- Stay on a schedule. If you are going to work hard until 6pm and then go home, go home at 6:00. If your work isn’t done, set a plan to work the next night until 8 and then go home. Don’t just hang out at the office. Have a plan including your work hours.
The worse thing you can do is avoid the stress because it will continue to build to an unmanageable level. Be ready, confident and able to meet the challenges of your day by maintaining your health, sleep, exercise and balance of life/work.
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Earlier this year I was coaching an FA. The FA had gone through Phase 1 Supernova training but was still not where he wanted to be from an organization standpoint. He liked his CSA a lot but didn’t feel that everything he needed to be done was getting done. I asked him a question that I have asked many times in the past – “Does your CSA know what your priorities are?” In a hesitant voice the FAs response was, “I think so”. I asked him to answer three questions for me.
- If your CSA could only do one thing for you each day what would it be?
- If your CSA could only do two things for you each day what would they be?
- If your CSA could only do three things for you each day what would they be?
After a little thought he gave me the answers.
In a later meeting with his CSA present, I asked her three questions.
- If you could only do one thing for this FA each day, what would he want it to be?
- If you could only do two things for this FA each day, what would he want them to be?
- If you could only do three things for this FA each day, what would he want them to be?
How many of the CSA’s responses matched the FAs answers? Only one and that was the third thing on the list. In other words, the CSA didn’t know the two most important things that the FA wanted done consistently each day.
If an FA reading this and you think your CSA knows your top 3 priorities, why don’t you make your list and see if your CSA’s list matches yours. My experience tells me that they won’t.
Don’t force your CSA to be a mind reader. Make sure that he or she knows what you think is most important. Both of you will be happier and less stressed at the end of the day.
Largely in the past the financial services industry followed a sales oriented, transaction based, unstructured approach. Clients would stop by and chat or call in whenever they had a question and their advisor would call them every time he had a new stock or mutual fund or bond to sell them. As advisors started to switch to a fee based system it became less necessary to call their clients for every product they wanted to sell them so some advisors stopped calling altogether. Of course this resulted in the clients calling them more resulting in a lot of phone tag. Supernova provides a happy medium with structured monthly appointments like the 12-4-2 model. And turning over the scheduling to the CSA’s, BOA’s or office managers will help you manage your practice more efficiently and avoid procrastination in making those calls.
In psychology procrastination refers to the act of replacing high-priority actions or tasks with low-priority actions and thus putting off important tasks to a later time. However procrastination may result in feelings of stress and guilt for not meeting responsibilities or commitments. How many times have you looked at a phone number of someone still sitting on your desk you have been meaning to call but never got around to it?
One way Supernova keeps you on track is through the use of the Inverted Pyramid. The Inverted Pyramid changes the flow of your office so your Office Manager/ CSA/BOA is running the day to day operations instead of the Advisor. The advisor turns into the surgeon that is gloved, gowned, and handed the tools he or she needs to do the operation – in your case – the client interview and planning process, by his team. The surgeon doesn’t schedule the operation, fill out the paper work or even give the patient the anesthesia, his/her team members are assigned those tasks. He walks in, performs his task brilliantly then hands over the other details to his team. That is what you do as a Supernova Advisor. Your team will prepare your client folder and mini me folder (the folder the client gets to keep) and have 5 of them placed in your rack on your desk every morning. They will have confirmed the appointments, sent out the agenda for the call and keep you on track.
You come in, make your calls, do your in-person meeting, put notes in the folders and turn them back in to be processed and go home at the end of the day knowing you accomplished what you set out to accomplish. One advisor that went through the Supernova Training Program remarked “I have found by turning over the calendar to my assistant I have more time to concentrate on what I do best, talking to the client. But I also was able to leverage my assistant so she could take care of all the administrative tasks when she called to confirm the appointments. This not only cemented her relationship with the client but also gave me more time to take care of the large picture in the relationship. And clients tell me they are so glad they don’t have to bother me with small things like ordering more checks.” That advisor, like many others, has discovered one of the time savers built into Supernova, the inverted pyramid.
Curtis Brown
Retaining clients and doing a “deeper dive” to examine clients’ goals, problems, and overall financial needs and
concerns is an area that teams can excel at providing.
Teams have a leg up on sole practitioners because of the perceived value that the client is getting more than one person serving their needs.
This initial differentiation is a distinction in the value teams provide. Teams need to establish a high level of service for clients. An example of this might be the Supernova 12-4-2 model: offering 12 contacts per year (one per month), four appointments with two of the four appointments being in person; a financial plan and multi-generational planning; a one-hour response to problems with a 24-hour resolution.
This high level of service can only be accomplished with highly organized teams.
Another example is having all the FAs on the team meet with a client at least twice a year during their in person meeting. Each member of the team can take a different role such as presenting the financial climate, the client’s risk measurement, progress with their plan and so forth. Perhaps one team member specialized in retirement planning and can address that topic. By showing your clients that there are multiple people working on their situation resonates with client.
However, if one team member has a better connection with a client and the other team member is better at planning/investing let the client know you are working together in their behalf.
If teams have some kind of diversity you can also play to that strength by attracting like-minded clients. For example, if your team has both male and female FAs, multi-cultural FAs (Hispanic, Asian, Indian, African American, etc.) they will have different strengths and approaches to issues. This will allow the team to prospect clients they may not have had access to otherwise. It is very important to communicate in the language of the client which adds to the WOW client experience.
“Leaders of organizations often use the expression, ‘Think outside the box’ when urging their employees to innovate. The belief that eliminating constraints and allowing people to think freely will increase creativity. Instead of telling employees to think outside the box give them a ‘better box’ to innovate inside of. These constraints will actually increase creativity and lead to useful solutions.”
Stephen Shapiro, Best Practices Are Stupid
The firms that have embraced Supernova training have done exactly that. They have decided to work inside the box by giving financial advisors the tools they need to innovate their practice and their customer service. Just the simple concept of planned client contact through a phone appointment, rather than an interrupting call, is a clear example of what it means to think “inside the box.”
The Covid 19 virus has forced all of us to rethink how we work, communicate, create and generate business. Advisors are using video apps like Zoom, Citrix and Skype products for their client calls and office meetings. We are more dependent on technology than ever before.
Calls are the lifeblood of our business. The ringing of the telephone is the ringing of the cash register for financial services. It is up to each advisor and each firm to make sure that cash register is ringing.
Over and over again clients have told us they want more contact from their financial advisors, i.e. proactive service. Inside-the-box thinking asks, “How can we do that?” And the solution is to implement the Supernova process with a scheduled prearranged monthly call with every client. rapid response to their concerns and an updated financial plan in place.
Successful sales managers and team leaders who follow up on Supernova implementation find that those most successful in doubling their production in 24 months are those who faithfully follow the 12-4-2 service model.
The only ones who can truthfully commit to that standard and follow through with their commitment are those who are serious with 100-households-or-fewer segmentation.
Supernova is an innovative, creative and positive example of thought leadership. It anticipates what clients really want from advisors. It provides tools that demonstrate to centers of influence the differentiating advantage of the Concierge practice.
Supernova is a real-life example of thinking inside the box. It has proven to be extraordinary in its results.
If you do not use the red client folders that are a key part of Supernova organizational system, you could wind up being very blue.
The red folder is the one Supernova advisors give to their clients when they introduce their new service model. These folders are also given to prospects that agree to a 90-day free look. The goal is for the client (or prospect) to bring this folder to every call or meeting; it keeps them more fully engaged in the 12-4-2 cycle. They are more prepared for your monthly conversations.
The folder should be customized to fit your business style. It contains things like a working agenda, a summary of the financial plan, progress toward goals, a summary statement or any other reports that will aid your conversations. Most importantly, the folder should ALWAYS include blank paper for the client to write notes during the phone appointment or the personal portfolio review. And they should use those blank pages to formulate questions or jot down notes between your monthly meetings.
That’s right; the key to the client folder is the blank paper! Why? Because you want your clients to take notes, write down details and keep them for future reference. You want them to be better prepared for each of your monthly conversations. A more fully engaged client is more enjoyable to work with as well as more loyal.
What if a client doesn’t bring the folder or write down notes? Doesn’t matter…you should write your notes and send a summary to the client. For some clients the use of the red folder takes a little extra training or prodding. But it’s well worth the effort.
The value of this small exercise is not just that you are serious about your commitment to service. It is that you are building a compliance wall around your practice. A compliance wall is another positive result of having a Supernova practice: concierge-sized, planning based, quick resolution of problems, unparalleled service and wall of compliance around your practice…all good stuff.
Do you have to call a client or prospect two to three or even more times before you connect with them? Phone tag is one of those insidious time wasters most people accept as part of doing business. But you don’t have to!
When you apply a systematic approach to communicating with your clients and prospects, phone tag can be eliminated. You end up saving countless hours of time.
And your system doesn’t need to be complicated. When you organize your time around those things you do most frequently, like talking to clients and prospects, you’ve accomplished half the battle. You go from being reactive to being proactive.
In fact, CSAs and other client administrators on teams that have adopted Supernova tell us that their phones never ring. Jennifer in Chicago remarked:
“I have other administrators walk into my office and ask me what the matter is because our phone doesn’t ring. I just laugh because it is such a relief. Instead of being reactive and taking care of emergencies we are the ones controlling the time.”
How is this done? By using the 12-4-2 concept of a monthly contact for each client and prospect. After a couple of months, the phone stops ringing off the hook. Clients know the longest they are going to go without talking to their advisor is thirty days. Prospects expect your calls. No more phone tag.
The 24 month calendar is a suggested list of topics FAs can use for their monthly client meetings. In Supernova the Director of Implementation is in charge of the 24-month calendar. He/she coordinates a topic for each month. Preparation includes training the team the month before the topic. The 24-month calendar and call planning process will populate your agenda. After your client meeting send an executive summary which will include actions taken, timeline and responsible party.
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The problem in financial services is that we have continually demonstrated the wrong thing. We have shown performance charts, mountain charts, diversification presentations, sales literature, and fancy brochures but they are not demonstrations, they are all selling tools and at times, not to be trusted, hence, for internal use only.
So what do you demonstrate? What is a concrete, discernable and trustworthy demonstration that helps sell your services? Until Supernova, they were difficult to find, if ever found. But now….
Every Supernova FA or team has a powerful tool to demonstrate value to clients, prospects and centers of influence. It is the surprisingly simple Supernova folder system.
No…not the folder system from the dawn of manila folders; the bulging and beat-up pale yellowish tan flimsy paper ones. Not those folded, creased, and bent out of shape, bad boys. No….not those. It is the Supernova, hardboard, professional folders that every Supernova FA knows about.
Your Supernova folders are a demonstration of a trustworthy business model of superior client service. Both the FA folder and the clients’ folders are a visible and sensory demonstration of what is different and value-added in your practice. They demonstrate your commitment to client relationship, client care and continued, regular conversation and follow through.
Not to use the folders is to give up one of your most meaningful and proven sales tools. The power of a demonstration to attract your clients and prospects to your upgraded and client-focused Supernova practice can turn your practice green.
That is one of the reasons we use folders for everyone…clients, prospects, centers of influence and mastermind groups. Yes, they keep your business organized and efficient. They make your day automated and manageable. Sorry for the poor attempt at humor, but the folders are no laughing matter (unless you still use the old manila ones). Never forget the power of a demonstration to effectively market your Supernova practice. Green is Good. You will grow more, be more professional with the Supernova folder system.
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