An Investment Decision-Making Checklist for Advisors
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
Release Date: 11/04/2024
Class in Repricing: How to Raise Your Fees Without Losing Your Clients
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
Too many financial advisors fall into the same trap: slashing fees to win business, then spending years overdelivering for a client who’s paying far too little. The result? A regretted acquisition. Raising your fees should be the obvious next step. But the fear of rocking the boat—and losing a valued client—keeps most advisors stuck. Using insights from behavioral science, this master class will show you how to align your pricing with the true complexity of your clients’ lives and the full value of your services. Raising fees doesn’t have to feel risky. Done right, it reinforces your...
info_outline
Questions You Should Ask When You Are Thinking About Buying Another Advisor’s Practice
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
One of the fastest growing opportunities for advisors who are committed to growing their business is the acquisition of retiring advisors’ businesses. In the 1980’s and 1990’s thousands of advisors started new businesses, and these are all now coming of age with advisors who are eager to sell. There are few opportunities more motivating to a growth-oriented advisor than the chance to add hundreds of new clients to their practice funded by a declining pay-out over 4-5 years. Unfortunately, there is more to acquiring a practice and benefiting from the acquisition than many advisors assume....
info_outline
How to Change Your Mind About Discounting (and Keep the Change!)
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
Life is complicated and it moves very fast. To cope with complexity the human brain learned long ago to create a model of the world from experiences and to use that model to understand everything that happens. What a person believes about the world (their model of the world) defines everything decision they make and every action they take. Unfortunately, beliefs are often the result of a few, unfortunate experiences rather than a carefully selected series of events. In this fast-paced conversation, Ken and Scott explore how beliefs are formed, how beliefs determine what an advisor is willing...
info_outline
How to Create Maximum Emotional Impact During the Deep Discovery Conversation
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
Most advisors know that clients don’t walk into their office with their financial hopes, dreams, goals and concerns all neatly organized on a mental spreadsheet. New, prospective clients especially experience their financial lives as a jumble of competing priorities and wishes. In this deep-diver conversation Scott and Ken explore how advisors can use a simple exercise with 5x8 cards to help clients clarify what they want their future to look like and how to define and organize their priorities. Not only does the exercise help the advisor understand the client more deeply, but it also helps...
info_outline
How to Create Maximum Impact in the First Meeting with a Prospective Client
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
In AB Advisor Institute’s “Masterclass on Pricing” we propose that advisors can confidently charge a premium fee for their services if they do change their approach to the first few meetings with the client. We recommend that they slow down, complete a thorough Discovery and Fact-Finding process before establishing the price of the services and provide impactful experiences for the prospective client that intentionally build trust. In this deep-dive conversation Ken and Scott explore a step-by-step conversation that an advisor can have with a client in the very first meeting that creates...
info_outline
The Advisor’s Practical Guide for Dealing With Political Conversations
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
Every advisor knows how important it is to respect the perspectives of their clients and to avoid emotionally charged conversations about religious or political topics. In spite of an advisor’s best efforts, there are going to be times when a client will want to discuss their political views and will want to discover what their advisor thinks about the political narrative of the day. In this fast-paced conversation, Ken and Scott explore the 3 different perspectives that clients can have about political disagreements, and how to avoid the two types of personalities that cannot...
info_outline
Never Be Closing! How to Manage the First Meetings with a Prospective Client
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
For years advisors have been taught the importance of closing a prospective client quickly – if possible, during the first meeting. On closer look advisors will have much more success if they slow down, take their time and give the client time to fully appreciate what the advisor has to offer. There has always been a dynamic tension for advisors between taking the time to build trust in a new relationship and getting the client to sign on the dotted line. Especially when new clients seem scarce, advisors can feel a compelling need to get the new relationship started, even if it...
info_outline
Curating Experiences with Impact: It’s All About the Client
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
It takes time for trust, perception of value and feelings of confidence to develop within a client. Observations over time have revealed that trust, confidence and value reach their highest point about 3 years into a relationship between an advisor and a client. Unfortunately, most advisors are in such a rush to “close” a new relationship they set the price of their services before the client has had any meaningful experiences with the advisor. In this deep dive, Ken and Scott look at how an advisor can curate experiences intentionally to accelerate the trust-building process. Also...
info_outline
Master Class in Pricing: How to Never Discount Your Services Again
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
For almost two decades, financial advisor fees have been under pressure. Factors such as clients expecting discounts, skeptical next-gen clients and anxious competitors willing to do anything to secure a new client make it difficult to set attractive fees. But slashing fees isn’t the answer—it’s time to shift the conversation. In this episode, we discusses how to position your value so clients see your worth—without asking for a discount. Additional resources: Also in this episode, the AllianceBernstein Digital Coach – see practice management solutions for advisor...
info_outline
Responding to Volatile Markets: Creating a Communications Plan
Secrets of Successful Advisors℠ with Ken Haman
Market volatility continues to threaten the advisor-client relationship. At the end of the day, the advisor’s role is not just about managing a client’s wealth—it’s helping navigate experiences and surprises. In this episode, ABAI’s Ken Haman explains why the main reason clients hire an advisor is to manage their own emotions. He’ll also dive into how advisors can go beyond wealth management to empower clients' financial futures. In addition, exploring the emotional impact of advisor interactions and how they influence client experiences—both expected and unexpected, and...
info_outlineFor years advisors have been fascinated by the insights coming out of the discipline of Behavioral Economics about how human beings make decisions. In this provocative conversation, Ken and Scott explore how advisors are uniquely vulnerable to making series decision-making mistakes because of the way the human brain reacts to complexity. Several common, built-in types of mistakes are explored and then they present a 6-step “investment decision-making checklist” to help advisors avoid these challenges.
Also in this episode, the AllianceBernstein Digital Coach – see practice management solutions for advisor success: abfunds.com/go/digitalcoach
Note to All Readers: The information contained here reflects the views of AllianceBernstein L.P. or its affiliates and sources it believes are reliable as of the date of this podcast. AllianceBernstein L.P. makes no representations or warranties concerning the accuracy of any data. There is no guarantee that any projection, forecast or opinion in this material will be realized. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The views expressed here may change at any time after the date of this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. AllianceBernstein L.P. does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. It does not take an investor’s personal investment objectives or financial situation into account; investors should discuss their individual circumstances with appropriate professionals before making any decisions. This information should not be construed as sales or marketing material or an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument, product or service sponsored by AllianceBernstein or its affiliates.