The Confident Advisor Practice Podcast

Today on the Confident Advisor Practice from the Horizon Advisor Network, host Bill Bush and Pete Bush of the Horizon Financial Group discuss with Cam Morton, a business broker who deals in acquisitions, sales, and mergers. They discuss what is involved for business owners to successfully exit their companies.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:56 – Cam Morton has worked on Wall Street and ran a publically-traded REIT (real estate investment trust) and sold after 10 years.

• 01:15 – Exist planning and buying and selling businesses became Cam's interest.
• 01:45 – VR Business Brokers has about 70 locations around the globe.
• 03:55 – There are roughly 10 trillion businesses owned by baby boomers.
• 05:11 – People that help business owners exit their business include: financial advisors, lawyers, accountants, and insurance agents.

• 09:25 – You are going to leave your business at some point.
• 10:00 – How do you plan to leave your business?
• 13:28 – Exit planner typically handle a broad amount of business types and risk types.

• 16:02 – The Exit Planning Institute and OwnerReadiness.com are great resources for planners.

• 18:38 – Camm Morton can be contacted at [email protected] and

(225) 663-5999.

3 Key Points:

1. 1. VR Business Brokers has about 70 locations around the globe.
2. 90% of the people save 90% of their money in their retirement accounts, and this is where advisors go to service.

1. VR Business Brokers works with financial advisors to help their clients figure out how to exit, what the company's value is, what they can do to improve the company's value, what is their life going to look like after they sells their company?

Tweetable Quotes:

- "A lot of business brokers approach the world with, gee, when can I sell your asset? We (VR Business Brokers ) try to approach it by…how do we help you get the most out of selling your asset, when it's time." – Camm Morton.

- "90% of the people save 90% of their money in their retirement accounts." – Pete Bush.

- "The financial advisors tend to be very trusted by their clients. And there is a lot of value out there in companies that are going to have to trade hands as the baby boomers have to exit their business."– Camm Morton.

Resources Mentioned:

• Horizon Financial Group – website for Horizon Financial Group
• Confident Advisor Practice – podcast for Confident Advisor Practice
• Confident Business Leader Scorecard – scorecard for Confident Advisor Practice
• Camm Morton – LinkedIn for Camm Morton

Summary:

Today on the Confident Advisor Practice from the Horizon Advisor Network, host Bill Bush and Pete Bush of the Horizon Financial Group continue discussing retirement plans with Andy Bush, who heads up the retirement plans services at Horizon Financial Group, and provides assistance in the advisors network.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:38 – Andy Bush has a passion for the retirement plan marketplace, helping to 65 plans and $300 million in assets.

• 02:15 – Andy achieved his growth by: having a good team, specialize in retirement plans, and become well known as the person to go to.
• 03:33 – Grow with a team who have special skills that the group needs.

• 04:24 – You can only go so far alone, it's a team sport.
• 04:39 – Andy's team is serving 65 plans, and just over 5,000 employees, he has three advisors and two administrative employees for paperwork and communications.

• 05:49 – Advisors to plans are going to have to be fiduciaries now, so it is important to gain specialized knowledge.

• 07:25 – NAPA, the National Association of Planned Advisors came out of ASPA, the American Society of Pension Actuaries.

• 09:36 – Identity the important people in your organize and their roles, find partnerships, and make yourself know to improve your reputation.

• 13:32 – Offering education and events are important for opportunities to learn andmeet new folks.

3 Key Points:

1. Build a good team around you.
2. Become a specialist in your area of expertise.
3. Become well known for your skillset.

Tweetable Quotes:

- "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, you got to go together." – Pete Bush

- "NAPA, the National Association of Planned Advisors came out of ASPA, which was the American Society of Pension Actuaries." – Andy Bush

- "Identify the important people, and their roles, in your organization for you to build your business." – Andy Bush

Resources Mentioned:

• Horizon Financial Group – website for Horizon Financial Group
• Confident Advisor Practice – podcast for Confident Advisor Practice
• Confident Business Leader Scorecard: – scorecard for Confident Advisor Practice

Summary:

In this podcast episode of Confident Advisor Practice by Bill Bush and Pete Bush of the Horizon Advisor Network, they welcome their guest Melissa Terito, a partner and CPA at the accounting and business advisement firm Faulk & Winkler. Melissa handles their third party administrative practice (TPA) – branded as Sentinel Pension & Payroll. They have an enlightening discussion about the benefits of financial advisors and TPAs working together on behalf of their clients to add piece-of-mind and value to retirement plans.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:44 – Melissa Terito, CPA gives an introduction about her work at Faulk & Winkler.

• 02:01 – Melissa discusses how a TPA can work with a financial advisor with a 401k plan.

• 03:02 – What makes a good interaction between a financial advisor and a TPA according to Melissa is trust with their client.

• 04:42 – Melissa shares examples about a few positive experiences with advisors that understand the value of that teamwork.

• 07:04 – When Melissa started with Faulk & Winkler 9 years ago they had about 125 plans with a team of three and they have grown to six fulltime people and one intern.

• 08:54 – Some of the qualities that a financial advisor looking for a TPA should look for include: make sure they know what they are talking about and immediate response time,

• 10:09 – The average advisor has less than five plans – which means they aren't using technical expertise on a regular basis like someone with a large case load.

• 10:51 – Advisors can get better with retirement plans by having plan documents in their office and being proactive by setting up meetings with the clients several times a year.

• 13:27 – Melissa deals with quite a few retirement plan opportunities outside of her local service area of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

• 14:32 – The 316 administrative services is liability on the TPA for signing the 5500,making sure notices go out, approving all loans and distributions –everything the sponsor would be doing.

• 16:26 – Some broker dealers are not allowing their advisors to serve as a 321 or

• 18:05 – Clients are reassured when they see their financial advisor and TPA working as a team on their behalf and have a strong bond.

• 19:12 – The closing credits

3 Key Points:

1. For the interaction between a financial advisor and a TPA to work they have to trust each other with the client.

1. Qualities a financial advisor should look for in a TPA include: immediate response time and that they know what they are talking about.
2. Advisors can improve with retirement plans by having plan documents in their office and setting up meetings with the client several times a year.

Tweetable Quotes:

- "When you think about what constitutes a retirement plan, there is the legal document, there's accounting and administration, then there is the investment side of it., to invest the dollars that go into it." – Pete Bush.

- "I've never gone to a meeting with an advisor and a current client, a potential client and not had something to bring to the table." – Melissa Terito.

- "I think facetime with the client is important." – Melissa Terito.

Resources Mentioned:

• Horizon Financial Group – website for Horizon Financial Group
• Confident Advisor Practice – podcast for Confident Advisor Practice
• Faulk & Winkler – Melissa Terito's Faulk & Winkler profile page
• LinkedIn – Melissa Terito's LinkedIn profile page
• Sentinel Pension & Payroll – Faulk & Winkler's pension service

Summary:

During this installment of The Confident Advisor Practice from the Horizon Advisor Network, Bill Bush, Pete Bush, and Chris Sullivan discuss the importance of building your team and continuity and succession—the last two categories on the Confident Advisor Scorecard.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:54 – Bill Bush, Pete Bush, and Chris Sullivan prepare to wrap up their ongoing discussion of the Confident Advisor Scorecard.

• 01:11 – Building Your Team: Scoring yourself 1-3 means this statement might be true:

- Prefer to work alone but know you can benefit from help.

- Don't like managing people and see them as an expense.

• 02:23 – Look at the people you are training as an investment that will earn a return.
• 03:47 – Most advisors are coming out of a producer mentality with the focus on revenue-generating ideas.

• 05:15 – Building Your Team: Scoring yourself 4-6 means:

- You believe in having employees, but just to divide the work.

- You become frustrated when they make mistakes because they have to where many hats.

- Workers don't feel a part of the overall vision, and are only motivated by their paycheck.

• 06:43 – Often advisors will end up with a ton of clients, and 6-7 administrative assistants doing the same role.

• 07:36 – Building Your Team: Scoring yourself 7-9 means:

- You have reached success by surrounding yourself with talented team members that are engaged in your vision.

- Employees have become proficient in their roles and processing the business you attract.

• 09:32 – Building Your Team: Scoring yourself 10-12 means:

- Your self-managing team helps to define the culture, goals, and vision of the ever-growing future of the company.

- Employees have a stake in the outcome.

- Team members are leaders and continue to grow their personal capabilities and grow the overall team.

• 12:30 – Continuity and Succession: Scoring yourself 1-3 means:

- The practice would not be able to survive your death, disability, or retirement.

- You are uncertain of how your family and employees would be affected in such an event.

• 15:19 – Continuity and Succession: Scoring yourself 4-6 means:

- You have a "gentleman's handshake" with someone and you have communicated to someone on your team what to do if something goes wrong.

- You know you need a firm plan in place if things fall apart, but you continue to procrastinate.

- Retirement is a ways away, and you assume you still have time.

• 16:37 – Continuity and Succession: Scoring yourself 7-9 means:

- You have legal agreements in place with an identified continuity partner.

- You have a buy/sell agreement in place funded by life insurance.

- You believe someone will buy your business when you retire.

• 18:24 – Continuity and Succession: Scoring yourself 10-12 means:

- You're confident that the updated written agreements that you have in place will protect your family, your team, and your clients, based on a three-phase plan for continuity, integration, and eventual sale of your business.

- You have annual evaluations of your business done.

- You keep striving to add value.

3 Key Points:

1. Investing in quality employees is an important investment that you pay overtime instead of all up front.
2. Provide your team with a stake and vested interest in the company beyond just their paycheck.
3. Preparing for continuity and succession is important for you, your family, your employees, and the clients that you serve.

Tweetable Quotes:

- "What would be the return on investment in a person, in the form of leverage you can get so you can go out and maybe bring in an extra client?" – Pete Bush.

- "The investment in a person, you don't even have to come up with all the money at one time…you're doing it over a period of time, maybe 1/26th every couple of weeks as you are doing payroll." – Chris Sullivan.

- "Team has become so crucial to the operation of the business that your demise, or your absence from the business, you're recognizing that it doesn't just effect you." – Pete Bush.

Resources Mentioned:

• Horizon Financial Group – website for Horizon Financial Group
• Confident Advisor Practice – podcast for Confident Advisor Practice

Processes and Procedures

Summary:

The Confident Advisor Practice from the Horizon Advisor Network discusses the importance of process and procedures, how they can be properly embedded into your company to make them easily taught and transferable to new employees, and how to empower your team to make your agency run smoother without depending on the owner having to micro-manage everything.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

● 01:03 – Bill Bush, Pete Bush, and Chris Sullivan introduce the topic of processes and procedures. ● 02:51 – First Statement for Processes and Procedures: deals with doing paperwork yourself and growing frustrated with how to remain compliant. Surround yourself with people that can handle your weaknesses. ● 06:50 – Second Statement for Processes and Procedures: involves not having put your processes and procedures in writing. It is difficult to convey it to them, but needs to be shared so it doesn't get lost with the one person that knows. ● 12:07 – Third Statement for Processes and Procedures: involves having tasks properly delegated to qualified team members for financial advisors to make better use of their time. ● 16:35 – Fourth Statement for Processes and Procedures: is for when you have defined the levels of service you offer to the different levels of clients and the team has created the system that is easily taught and transferred. ● 17:19 – You can have a self-managing company that still has a leader. Empower your team instead of trying to dwell on control. ● 19:15 – Decide what you want to do and then ask who can help you execute it.

3 Key Points:

1. The hourly rate for a financial advisor to talk to prospective clients and to assist current customers about updates is around $1000 an hour, but unfortunately their time often gets distracted by smaller tasks that should be delegated to others. 2. Quantify work as performing tasks that you enjoy doing. 3. Instead of focusing on what to do, focus on who can do it for you.

Tweetable Quotes:

- "Everybody has sales, and service, and operations and administration. Every business." – Bill Bush. - "It's different roles, different procedures. And you don't get bogged down with everyone doing the same thing." – Chris Sullivan. - "What an advisor needs to do is give themselves permission to quantify work as stuff that they enjoy to do." – Chris Sullivan.

Resources Mentioned:

● Horizon Financial Group – website for Horizon Financial Group ● Confident Advisor Practice – podcast for Confident Advisor Practice

Horizon Advisor Network-website for Horizon Advisor Network

Summary:

Today on the Confident Advisor Practice from the Horizon Advisor Network, host Bill Bush, Pete Bush and Chris Sullivan of the Horizon Financial Group continue discussing the Confident Advisor Practice scorecard for rating financial advisors and business owners. They have previously covered Financial Management, Vision, Value Proposition, and Business Development. Now they get into the four grading sections of "Professional Network." Learn the importance of trust and sharing your talents in building out your network as a financial advisor.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:03 – They discuss the 5th category of the Confident Advisor Practice Scorecard: "Professional Network:
• 01:53 – Score yourself 1-3 if you are suspicious about CPAs and other service providers and focusing on what your professional network can do for you and not what you can do for them.
• 04:10 – Score yourself 4-6 if you only refer other professionals business if they refer business back to you. You network but you don't share how your approach could benefit them.
• 06:35 – Score yourself 7-9 if through working with clients you have gotten to know some of their other professional relationships and you randomly receive referrals. You are active in the community and sit on boards and have earned trust and respect. But your opportunities are coming to you randomly.
• 10:33 – Score yourself 10-12 if have a network of specialists ready to help you and your clients and routinely refer your best clients to them. You keep them updated on how you can add value to their clients. You trust them and they trust you.
• 13:03 – Pete mentions the importance of not asking for anything until you have had the chance to give first. Create opportunities to build a professional network with individual meets and taking them out to eat.
• 16:25 – Part of your value proposition is to connect clients with other specialists without pretending you know it all.
• 17:32 – Next Episode Preview on, Process and Procedures, Unique Ability Teamwork, and Continuity and Succession.
• 19:24 – The closing credits

3 Key Points:

1. 1. Keep professionals in your network updated on how you can add value to their clients.
2. Don't ask for anything until you have had the chance to give that person help first.
3. Your value proposition should include connecting clients with other specialists without pretending you know everything they need help with.

Tweetable Quotes:

- "You are not only needing other professionals to help complete the client's financial needs...you need to be part of their financial network as well to get some their reciprocal type of referrals." – Pete Bush

- "What you really want to do is position yourself as a valuable resource for their clients and then let the chips fall where they may." – Pete Bush.

- "You are be a magnet versus pursuing." – Pete Bush

- "The law of reciprocation is give first." – Pete Bush

Resources Mentioned:

• Horizon Advisor Network – website for Horizon Advisor Network
• Confident Advisor Practice – podcast for Confident Advisor Practice
• Confident Business Leader Scorecard: – scorecard for Confident Advisor Practice

Summary:

In today's 5th episode of the Confident Advisor Practice from the Horizon Advisor Network, Bill Bush, Pete Bush, and Chris Sullivan of the Horizon Financial Group of Baton Rouge, Louisiana talk about ways to factor in business development when financial advisors rate themselves using the Confident Advisor Practice scorecard. They address the 1-3 category that deals with "the strategy of hope." The 4-6 category focuses on unfocused advisors that chase the newest and latest ideas to garner clients. Then, there is the 7-9 category that takes business development into the area of having a defined data base of niche clients. Also, the 10-12 category is the level where financial advisors have a dedicated team to handle marketing.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:26 – Bill Bush, Pete Bush, and Chris Sullivan introduce the show
• 00:57 – Start the discussion about business development for the Confident Advisor Practice scorecard with 8 categories
• 01:41 – The 1-3 Category: Not having the tools to expand in your niche market, a "strategy of hope," if you don't get an immediate yes from a prospect they slip away, without a CRM (customer relationship management system) to follow up
• 05:04 – The 4-6 Category: Advisors that feel if they stay in touch with the newest ideas will lead to business, keep looking for the hottest things, looking for new products to offer, not using a proven strategy
• 06:29 – Marketing is any activity you do that creates an opportunity.
• 06:55 – Once prospects move from being attracted by your marketing efforts into your office, next step is your value proposition story – the business development activities lead the prospect to you – need a plan
• 07:37 – Business development said another way is "selling." Selling yourself from a value standpoint for the client
• 08:08 – The 7-9 Category: Advisors with a well-defined niche of clients who continue to come to you for more help and send new client referrals your way, you have a staff member that handles marketing, you have a data base of clients and stay in touch systematically
• 10:54 – Markets are always changing. What people want is always changing - so don't get too complacent,- keep looking forward
• 11:28 – The 10-12 Category: have a dedicated team member that owns and operate the firm's marketing plan: focusing on branding, public relations, communications, events in each niche market, all efforts are designed to create awareness, educate prospects, inspire them to take action – creating predictable flow of clients
• 11:59 – You see the machine: Who am I messaging to? What type of business am I trying to develop? And then, what are all the ways I can reach those markets: be a guest columnist, appear on TV or newsprint, interviews, videos, host an event
• 13:25 – Separating yourself from the day-to-day operations to make more time for developing and expanding the creative processes and strategies to evolve and grow
• 13:58 – Importance of the unique abilities of an advisor, advisor's keep doing busy work to avoid harder jobs
• 15:38 – The tipping point when advisors need to bring on more people: attract enough of a client base to need a support system
• 17:43 – Frustration leads to needing to hire more people or outsourcing
• 18:20 – The wrap up of the episode: preview future episodes: professional network, process and procedure, unique ability teamwork, continuity and succession
• 20:08 – The closing credits

3 Key Points:

1. Markets are always changing. What people want is always changing - so don't get too complacent,- keep looking forward.
2. Who am I messaging to? What type of business am I trying to develop?
3. The tipping point when advisors need to bring on more people: attract enough of a client base to need a support system

Tweetable Quotes:

- "Business development said another way is "selling." – Chris Sullivan.

- "Markets are always changing. What people want is always changing." – Pete Bush.

- "Who am I messaging to? What type of business am I trying to develop? And then, what are all the ways I can reach those markets?" – Pete Bush.

- "Frank Sinatra didn't move pianos." - Brother Pete quoting Dan Sullivan

Resources Mentioned:

• Horizon Advisor Network– website for Horizon Advisor Network
• Confident Advisor Practice – podcast for Confident Advisor Practice
• Confident Advisor Practice Score Card – score card for Confident Advisor Practice

Confident Advisor Practice by Bill Bush with Brother Pete and Chris Sullivan

-Podcast Show Notes-

Summary:

Today on the Confident Advisor Practice from the Horizon Advisor Network, host Bill Bush, Brother Pete and Chris Sullivan of the Horizon Financial Group continue discussing the Confident Advisor Practice scorecard for rating financial advisors and – with a focus on value proposition. They address the 1-3 category that deals with advisors that target anyone with money to invest. The 4-6 category highlights advisors that do anything to get any client. There is the 7-9 category, which is when more than one niche has been refined and the advisor has solidified their reputation. Finally, there is the 10-12 category that addresses creating a unique and specific client experience.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:27 – Bill Bush, Brother Pete, and Chris Sullivan introduce the show
• 01:00 – Confident Advisor Practice scorecard with 8 categories for financial advisors to rate themselves – with a focus on value proposition
• 01:20 – Value Proposition explained, packaging the abilities and benefits you can offer and sharing them with others, what we do to help others
• 02:57 – Scorecard 1-3: Advisors that target anyone with money/casting a wide net, seeing value as picking investments without financial planning, selling third-party money management
• 04:15 – Not all relationships are what they are cracked up to be
• 04:43 – If your value proposition is only making investment recommendations with people with money then it is not enough of a niche for who you can be valuable to
• 05:39 – Scorecard 4-6: Without serving a defined niche, doing one-off projects for clients/whatever it takes to get their business, have a unique story about your value
• 07:28 – Scorecard 7-9: Proficiency in one or more client niches, developed your story that is easy to share with others, your reputation and abilities are your brand and your value proposition
• 11:40 – Define the niche ahead of time brings the right conversation leading to the right clients
• 12:15 – Scorecard 10-12: Created a unique client experience that clients can easily share with others, other deepening levels of engagement with clients, and offers from a team with diverse niche experiences
• 13:21 – Narrowed down the people you are messaging to the point that you have created not just a suite of services – you've elevated it to an experience beyond asset management
• 15:03 – Focusing your value is the opposite of what most advisors do: they tend to list every single service possible to stuff keywords on their website to be found in a Google search – even if they outsource them or never have done them but think they could
• 15:34 – Steps an advisor takes to reach the 10-12 level of value proposition:

o 15:51 – Profile your existing clients, who are those people

o 16:02 – Become an expert in that niche

o 16:14 – Build that process and then take that process to market

• 16:32 – A firm has two types of clients: A Clients: require a team to take care of them and B Clients: can be handled by one person
• 17:13 – Difference between 7-9 and 10-12: more A Clients in the 10-12
• 18:14 – Clients that require a team may not focus on one advisor
• 19:15 – Reaching 10-12 are more likely to talk to their friends about it
• 19:46 – Next Scorecard topic in the next episode will be Business Development
• 20:05 – The closing credits

3 Key Points:

1. Value proposition is making your abilities easily understood to share with clients.
2. Defining your particular niche for financial advisement ahead of time brings the right conversation leading to the right clients.
3. A Clients: require a team to take care of them. B Clients: can be handled by one person.

Tweetable Quotes:

- "Once you figure out what you are wired to do, it becomes about sharing that message with others." – Chris Sullivan.

- "Let's just face it, in this business, and in anything we do in life, we are always selling something." – Bill Bush.

- "Make it easy for people to tell your story." – Chris Sullivan.

- "It's a matter of defining exactly who you want to work with, what you enjoy doing, and how you best go tell that story." – Chris Sullivan.

Resources Mentioned:

• Horizon Advisor Network – website for Horizon Advisor Network
• Confident Advisor Practice – podcast for Confident Advisor Practice
• Confident Advisor Practice Scorecard – scorecard for Confident Advisor Practice

How the Confident Advisor Practice Scorecard Deals With Vision

Summary:

The Confident Advisor Practice from the Horizon Advisor Network discusses tip and strategies to grow and maintain confidence in financial advising. This episode has host Bill Bush of the Horizon Financial Group of Baton Rouge, Louisiana chatting with Brother Pete and Chris Sullivan about the ways in which having vision comes into play as they continue discussing the Confident Advisor Practice scorecard for rating financial advisors and business owners. They address the 1-3 category that deals with having vision. The 4-6 category focuses on the action steps and accountability it takes to execute ambitious plan. Then, there is the 7-9 category for adapting and growing and the 10-12 category that addresses the "why" of your business that motivates your achievements.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:27 – Bill Bush, Pete Bush, and Chris Sullivan introduce the show
• 00:51 – Confident Advisor Practice scorecard with 8 categories
• 01:14 –The 1-3 Category: Discussing having vision, time spent reacting to problems, Financial advisor vs. Business owner
• 03:56 – The 4-6 Category: Ambitious plans need action steps or accountability to achieve them
• 07:29 – The 7-9 Category: 3-5 year plan and a built system to grow and adapt as the industry changes, you needing a strong team
• 08:10 – Person that has grown satisfied and sluggish having the lifestyle they want but lacks stability to last beyond them when they are gone
• 09:24 – People with the point of view that they have built their business up and may just maintain the value and one day sell it off, The limiting factor: your business begins and ends with you without creating surplus that can outlast you & continuity of care for clients and employees
• 10:07 – Know what they want to do but maybe not why they are doing it
• 12:00 – The 10-12 Category – Understand the "Why" Purpose for your business,
• 13:00 – Executed a plan bigger than themselves, helping people become more confident
• 14:00 – Being fired up to share your purpose because you know why you are involved in your business and it is about helping others – not just your own lifestyle
• 14:37 – Where you start to make progress on these categories: reflection/forward thinking then marketing plan elements like dangers, opportunities and strengths to address them
• 15:35 – Vision without action is just a dream, changing the world of those that you help
• 16:44 – Boxes 1 and 2: you are by yourself, Boxes 3 and 4: you are sharing it with others
• 17:08 – Realizing when you need help and power of collaboration – and it is fun
• 18:06 – How Horizon Financial Group can help it's associated advisors, wealth of experience
• 18:49 – Next episode preview: Value Proposition: conveying to others how your team can create value
• 19:12 – The closing credits

3 Key Points:

1. Confident Advisor Practice scorecard with 8 categories
2. Building your business to be bigger than you by knowing "why" you are doing it"
3. Realizing you need help and the power of collaboration

Tweetable Quotes:

- "Business that lack vision lack success." – Pete Bush.

- "You are too busy working in the business to work on the business." – Bill Bush.

- "My "why" is that I love improving things around me." – Chris Sullivan.

- "Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world." – Chris Sullivan.

Resources Mentioned:

• Horizon Advisor Network – website for Horizon Advisor Network
• Confident Advisor Practice – podcast for Confident Advisor Practice

Confident Advisor Practice Scorecard

The Confident Advisor Practice Scorecard

In this episode, Bill and Pete Bush of Horizon Financial Group along with Chris Sullivan discuss the importance of financial management, an important metric on the Confident Advisor Practice Scorecard. They outline the practices and ideals that determine your score—one being low on the Scorecard and twelve being high. Find out why a scarcity mindset will only lead to poor, financial management practices and why those who involve stakeholders are given a positive score. Tune-in to see where you stand in your financial management practices and get insights on how you can improve.

• 00:11 – This podcast is brought to you by the Horizon Advisor Network
• 00:30 – Brothers, Bill and Pete, from Horizon Financial Group along with Chris Sullivan host this podcast
• 00:53 – In the last episode, we talked about the Confidence Advisor Scorecard
  • 01:11 – The scorecard consists of eight categories
  • 01:32 – Today, we will be discussing FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
• 02:05 – Rank yourself from 1 to 12 on four statements
  • 02:11 – Find out if your financial management practices have the lowest score of 1
• 03:09 – These are people who are running their financial advisory on a scarcity mindset
• 04:03 – Difficult to make a mindset shift for someone who has adopted these practices for a prolonged period
  • 05:05 – Grade and compare yourself to your best self in the future
  • 05:49 – Do you score a 4, 5 or 6 on the Scorecard?
• 06:49 – A person who knows that there is a better way to manage finances, but finds it difficult to manage it all by himself
• 08:03 – Someone who has made a jump from a producer to a business owner
  • 09:00 – Key metrics that a financial advisor need to be mindful of: net revenue after expenses, revenue per client and budgeting
  • 10:59 – Find out if you can score yourself a 7, 8 or 9
• 11:01 – A comfortable approach which provides for you and your employees
• 12:12 – While this is a comfortable model, it may keep you from progressing from good to GREAT
• 13:01 – Involve other internal stakeholders who are your second set of eyes
• 13:39 – Pipeline management is about adding new clients to your business
• 14:08 – Being overconfident is worse than not being confident at all
  • 15:11 – Do your financial practices merit a top score of 10, 11 or 12?
• 15:40 – A polar opposite of someone who scores a 1, 2 or 3
• 16:58 – Using the Scorecard will enable you to kickstart the process to become an ensemble practice
• 18:02 – Partnering with people and leveraging their skillsets is the best way to move towards the top slot
• 19:00 – We will be tackling the next 7 categories on the Scorecard in upcoming episodes
• 19:20 – Try out the Confidence Advisory Scorecard
• 20:02 – In the next episode, we'll be talking about VISION
• 20:17 – Visit our website to gain more information about our team and services

1. People who are running their financial practices on a scarcity mindset score poorly in financial management.
2. Key metrics that a financial advisor needs to be mindful of: net revenue after expenses, revenue per client and budgeting.
3. Use the Scorecard to kickstart the process of being an ensemble practice.