How to create a proactive business

In a recent issue of Money Management, Grant Abbott looked at the issue of proactivity. In this issue, he outlines how to turn your financial planning practice into a financial planning business.

I made the point in my last message to Money Management readers that running a reactive financial planning outfit should be considered a practice while a proactive concern was a business. The differences between the two can best be summarised in the table (below).

The benefits of proactivity are obvious so let's look at some tools that may help us get there:

Step one is a desire for a proactive change. The first step to turn your business is change. The American business philosopher, Jim Rohn, notes the following about change in his book "The Treasury of Quotes" and "The Five Pieces of Life's Puzzle" available at www.jimrohn.com:

"Change comes from one of two sources. First, we may be driven to change out of desperation. Sometimes our circumstances can become so out of control that we almost abandon our search for answers because our lives seem to be filled only with irresolvable questions. But it is this overwhelming sense of desperation that finally drives us to look for the solution. Desperation is the final and inevitable result of months or years of accumulated neglect that brings us to that point in time where we find ourselves driven by urgent necessity to find immediate answers to life's accumulated challenges. The second source that drives us to make changes in our lives is inspiration. Hopefully that is where you find yourself right now; about to become sufficiently inspired to make major and dramatic changes in your life."

To move from a reactive business to a proactive business requires massive amounts of change. However with the right tools it can be achieved within a short period of time.

The key is the desire within you to make and drive the change through all obstacles. It is not easy but here's the deal. Once you commit to making the change you have actually taken your first step to proactivity. Whereas on the other hand, if you are not sufficiently inspired enough to make the change, change will eventually wash over your business and you.

In the era we live in we cannot escape change. Trying to insulate our business and ourselves from change is in itself a reactive state and brings with it frustration and in some cases depression. So the first step to a proactive business commences with a proactive you.

The second step to a proactive business is building the grand plan.

What is the grand plan for your business? One belief that I firmly hold is that the successful financial planning businesses of tomorrow will be a conduit for all manner of financial services to the client. This includes mortgages, leasing, investments, risk insurance, health insurance, tax structuring, legal, estate planning, accounting, superannuation and the list goes on.

These services will not necessarily be provided by the financial planner but rather will be delivered to the client by the best service providers in every field. Importantly the financial planner controls 100 per cent of the client's financial services relationship.

The question to be asked is whether your business vision is to be one of the best service providers in a specific field of expertise or to run a proactive financial planning business where total customer service is the mission. Or perhaps your grand plan is something else. It doesn't matter as long as you have one, are consumed by it and can inspire others with it.

Step three in the proactive business is to get a good business coach.

There is no easy way to success and the road is full of hidden traps. In the same way that your clients entrust their finances to you, your business needs help from a good business coach.

Someone who is not only there for you when you need it but is also able to deliver business building shortcuts. Here's a hint, if your business coach doesn't promise to spend at least one full day in your business over a minimum eighteen month period then he's only giving you half a solution.

There are a number of good business coaches available in the financial services area. One that springs to mind is Jim Stackpool. The group that we use at The Strategist Group is Shirlaws and they have proven a great success with our business. My suggestion to you is to look around first, have a talk to a coach or two, talk to their clients, find out their fees and make a decision on one that is going to fit your grand plan.

The fourth step is to work on your business not in it.

This will be one of the mantras of your business coach. In fact, taking the step of getting a business coach is a step to working on your business. Most successful business owners live by this rule. This means that they spend no time in administering their practice - the day to day drama of computers, HR and so on.

They generally spend no more than 20 per cent of their time in the factory - for financial planners this means writing financial plans, conducting client reviews and so on.

The greatest amount of their time is spent building the business. This may take the form of building strategic networks and alliances with accountants and other professionals. It may also include looking for service providers that can deliver a true value-add to the clients of the practice. Then there is finding better ways to carry out a financial planning business including how to charge to make solid future cash flow or looking at how the business can service clients better.

With the new year still young, try to make 2001 the year that sees your financial planning practice turn into strong financial planning business.