Building Your Financial Team

There is a natural human tendency to “like” people that are the same as you are. An outgoing person enjoys other expressive people. On the other hand, a reserved person is more comfortable with a low-key person. If this tendency is taken to an extreme, it will potentially cause imbalance and weakness for a team.
The same principle applies to technical skills. A research department may focus on scientific knowledge yet people skills, namely persuasion, may be necessary to acquire funding from the finance department. The best team has a balance of styles skills and talents. A good leader will evaluate the strengths of the whole team and hire or train people to supplement any weakness.
With diversity comes possible misunderstanding. It is important to ferret out and address problems on a timely basis. Keep communication lines open. Regular contact with customers, even when there are problems, will minimize the depth of problems. Some financial advisors forget to take enough time up front and don’t consistently follow up with details. When the big moment of the close comes why does it sometimes get tense? All of a sudden the client is surprised. What are these extra charges?(or other details?) Sure you may be able to force the final agreement. But don’t count on receiving any referrals.
Frequent short discussions with customers and coworkers are more valuable than a few long meetings or that all day golf game. People develop trust and understanding by having numerous contacts with another individual. This will require a bit of effort and planning. The result is well worth it.
As you strive to build a diverse team, evaluate your team members based on objective results. How much business do you do with each customer? Which vendors deliver on time? What is the actual sales volume of each sales person? Subjective measures like golf scores, friendships and image are comfortable but not appropriate for most business decisions.

Cooperation

In License to Lead, Ross Buchanan talks about research that clearly shows how you could double your employees contribution. The North American work force in the research study said they could “double” their contribution to their employers if there was “more in it for them.” And what does “more in it for them” really mean? As managers, we typically interpret this statement to mean more money. But in fact, we couldn’t be more wrong.
Buchanan mentions the top three things people are looking for from their managers: 

• Inclusion – Inclusion rather than exclusion. It results in a strong sense of commitment.    
• Appreciation – Appreciation rather than being taken for granted.    
• Accountability – The accountability of themselves and their associates to perform to clearly defined expectations.    

Leadership means to help people achieve what they are truly capable of, to establish a vision for the future, to encourage, to coach, to mentor and to build and maintain successful relationships.
After developing solid individual relationships the next concern is developing cooperation. With diversity you need to make a deliberate effort to have cooperation. There are two aspects that we will consider: willingness and ability. Both are necessary but they are achieved by different means.
Willingness is primarily an attitudinal factor. As a team leader you can influence the willingness of others, however, this is primarily the responsibility of each individual. Years of past experience influence a person’s attitude. A person must choose to have a positive or negative attitude. You can encourage another person but ultimately it’s up to them to decide to improve. Likewise, you are responsible for your own attitude.
Ability is something that can more easily be taught. Ability is usually related to “skills.” With training, an individual can improve their ability. This will tend to improve their attitude by increasing their self-confidence.
When I taught CLU courses to insurance agents we often discussed technical matters. The sharpest students were not necessarily the big producers. The agents with the best attitude had good sales results. The qualified professional with a bad attitude seemed to have a struggle to get sales.
The leader primarily controls the training element that will influence the attitude element. By observation and good listening you will be able to identify problems and determine whether the problems are related to willingness or ability.

Attitude

“No man has a chance to enjoy permanent success until he begins to look in a mirror for the real cause of all his mistakes.” Napoleon Hill
Let’s look at three specific areas in which it is easy to assess a person’s attitude: 

• Time – The way a person treats time shows how much they value it.    
• People – Respect for others or lack of respect shows how much they value others.    
• Events – What events actually get put on your priority list and done.    

Your client can easily tell how you feel about them by observing these three areas. Try these simple questions and think what your client’s answers might be. Are you on time for your appointment? Are you well prepared for all their questions and concerns? Have you done enough research? Are you reading them well and able to adapt to their style? Are there other events you have in common with your customer/client besides making a sale or asking for a check?
If you watch what a person pays attention to you can tell what their unconscious intention is. Attitudes are shaped by the values we really believe. How do you spend your time? How do you spend your money? These two questions reveal what you truly value. It also shows your attitude.

Skills

If you have a great attitude and consistently do effective activities, you will develop the skills needed in your profession. Experience is a great teacher. Skills are important, but even more important is to have a “can do” attitude combined with the prerequisite skills. Many times we hire people because of their technical skills and have to terminate them because of their attitude or inability to get along with the team.
Skills can be improved by training. Develop a plan for formal and informal training. Include your team in a process of continual self-improvement. Not only will their skills improve by this process; it will also improve attitudes. They will be more productive when they realize you are willing to invest time and money in their future.

Effectiveness

The leader of a team has the responsibility of providing the vision for the team. Organizational goals are more important than narrow departmental goals. Effective leaders push decisions down the organization and encourage individual initiative. They are able to organize chaotic situations using highly developed human relationship skills.
An effective leader has a clear understanding of high payoff activities and does them. Most sales people believe the highest payoff activity they can perform is to be face to face with a client. The competent manager will coach this salesperson to understand the value of planning. A good plan will increase production by maximizing quality time in face to face meetings with quality prospects. The leader helps others identify their high payoff activities and to focus on those same high payoff activities. The efficient individual does things very well. The effective individual does the right things.
“Learn from the mistakes of others-you can never live long enough to make them all yourself.”