You've Been Framed

CHAPTER 1 You've Been Framed!

I am willing to bet that as a financial services professional, you show up every day and work hard for your clients. You make phone calls, have in-person meetings, and do quarterly and annual reviews. You crunch numbers when required; you get in your car or on the plane when you need to be somewhere important for your clients; and you do your homework, reading the financial papers, the tax code, and new industry regulations. You tell your team, if you have one, what to do and how to operate to ensure success for the client and the firm. You’re working hard and doing everything right. Or are you?

That is the question. As much as work and life are busy, and as easy as it would be to give a quick nod of a yes, if you are really and truly honest with yourself as a financial services professional, the answer has to be “maybe,” because you can’t really know how you are doing until you take the time to assess.

Have you asked yourself lately how you are doing with your financial services business? Not just in terms of top-line and bottom-line numbers, but in terms of everything that leads to a truly successful career, business, and client community? Here are some questions to consider as you contemplate how successful you really are today.

• Do you have a clear understanding of your firm’s unique value, and have you documented that value for yourself and your clients, so that the business not only thrives but also can be replicated, scaled, and sold if ...