Much has been written about capitalizing on the psychology of dissatisfaction during tough markets. Every rookie is taught that this is a terrific time for opening new accounts and gathering assets. Why? Because client dissatisfaction is directly correlated with wild downswings in the market. Few clients are satisfied when they are losing money.
This same psychology is applicable to your professional development. Few brokers are satisfied if they are unhappy with their business performance.
The following series of questions requires brutally honest answers. The intention is to stimulate your critical thinking. The state of your business will determine the ease of this process.
- How satisfied are you with the overall development of your business?
- Are you attracting the high-net-worth clients you would like?
- Are you as knowledgeable as you would like to be?
- Have you elevated your overall professionalism commensurate with the elevated expectations of today's client?
- Have you received more complaints from clients than you are comfortable with?
- Are you satisfied with the level of your fee-based business?
- Are you too transaction-oriented?
- Have you lost any good clients in the past 12 months?
- Have you lost any support personnel in the past 12 months?
If any of these questions stir up dissatisfaction in you, it's likely this feeling has probably been there for some time. Your reaction may be the catalyst you need to commit to building a 21st century financial practice that makes you a magnet for affluent investors. Dissatisfaction can facilitate positive change.
After your brutally honest state-of-your-business assessment, the next step is to look into your crystal ball and visualize your business as you dream it could be at some point in the future. The more detailed you are in visualizing your future business, the greater your ability to program this image into your subconscious and make it a reality.
So now it's back to baby steps - linked to your vision. Phenomenal changes are made one step at a time. Let the psychology of dissatisfaction push you along.
Have you ever witnessed a terrific support person leave what appeared to be a good working relationship for more money? I have. The root cause? Dissatisfaction. Have you ever encountered an assistant who is happy doing clerical tasks, comfortable with basic compensation and resists getting licensed? The root cause? Satisfaction.
The psychology of dissatisfaction is a complex two-way street when it comes to working with a parabroker. You can be satisfied with an assistant who is dissatisfied and dissatisfied with an assistant who is satisfied.
In the end, it is important that both parties assess their levels of satisfaction. Are you satisfied with the quality of personnel on your team? Are they satisfied with the clarity of your long-range business plan, how you define their roles and their delegated areas of responsibility?
Everyone also needs to determine their internal level of satisfaction with their role in a more professional business. If anyone is not satisfied, it's time to make strategic changes.