Just as high-perfor-mance athletes employ coaches to help them reach the next level of excellence, financial advisors can boost their productivity and profitability by working with a business coach.

“An executive coach can help you clarify your objectives and identify and break through whatever is preventing you from achieving your goals,” says Julie Littlechild, president of Toronto-based Advisor Impact Inc. “If you take the time to find the right coach and are willing to follow through on your commitments, it can be hugely beneficial to your business.”

The first step, she says, is to consider whether you could benefit from a coach’s services. “Telltale signs include the feeling of being overwhelmed; a sense that you aren’t on track to reach your goals; and that some aspect of your business is not going according to plan.”

Another sign is recognizing that your work/life balance is out of whack, adds George Hartman, CEO of Toronto-based Market Logics Inc. , who writes the “Coach’s Forum” column in Investment Executive. “Many advisors spend a huge amount of time working ‘in’ the business — doing day-to-day things, such as administration,” he says, “but have little time to work ‘on’ it — doing the strategic planning that will move their practice forward.”

Advisors thus find themselves spending more time managing the business and less time dealing with clients and prospects, he adds: “A typical advisor spends 75% of his or her time in non-revenue-producing activities, such as dealing with compliance, human resources and information technology. While those are all essential to managing a practice, they are not the best possible use of the advisor’s time.”

Hartman says many advisors don’t realize they need a coach until quite late in the game. “Most entrepreneurial businesses start slowly and gradually accelerate to maturity,” he says. “But unless you re-engineer the business to take it to the next level before it reaches maturity, it can quickly start to decline. The ideal time to intervene is before it matures — that’s when you really need a coach. Unfortunately, people often leave it too late.”

Several types of services are typically lumped together under the heading of business coaching, says Littlechild: “True coaching is directed primarily at the executive level — the coach works with a senior executive to understand the company’s strategy, identifies barriers to progress and provides a customized focus on leadership designed to overcome challenges.”





@page_break@Project-specific coaching can help you deal with specific issues, she adds, such as developing a succession plan or a marketing plan.

The best way to find a coach is via referral, Littlechild says: “Talk to friends and colleagues who have had a positive coaching experience and get their recommendations. Alternatively, dealers and wholesalers should have lists of good coaches.”

Once you have some names, interview at least three coaches, she suggests: “Ask about their experience to ensure it’s relevant. And consider the environment in which you’re most energized; coaching can take place in a group setting or one-to-one, in person or by phone.”

Be sure to clarify where the coach’s service starts and ends. Do you want your coach to assess your business and map out a strategy for you, or do you also expect him or her to help implement it?

Are you inspired after talking to a prospective coach? “That’s key,” Littlechild says, “because you want someone who can motivate you.”

You should also find someone who will hold you accountable. Says Hartman: “Most of us aren’t very good bosses of ourselves and we need someone to hold us accountable for what we say we will do.”

You should begin to see the results of the coaching process after about 90 days, says Art Schooley, president of The Personal Coach in Waterloo, Ont., who frequently measures his clients’ progress. “When they see how far they’ve come,” he says, “it builds confidence and helps keep them on track.”

Advisors often make the mistake of failing to commit the necessary time to follow through on their commitment when working with a coach. “They think that writing a cheque is the answer,” Littlechild says, “when it’s only the start.”

Successful advisors, however, have recognized that they can benefit from the expertise of an objective third party who will help them decide how to make necessary changes and then hold them accountable, Hartman says.

“They see it as an investment, not an expense,” he says, “and they have the self-discipline to make the process work.” IE