Build On Purpose (1/3)

Oct 24, 2019

Building On Purpose

Part One of Three
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Three Simple Reasons Why Building On Purpose Is Critical

  1. It Empowers you to earn trust quickly in a digital world.
  2. It allows you to highlight the value you control the most. (Perception)
  3. It sets the standard for behavior in collaborative relationships.

What does it mean to “Build on Purpose?”

When your client-centered purpose has been defined by you, it empowers you to earn trust quickly in a digital world. This tangible demonstration of your shared interests with your ideal audience is the cornerstone of your unique foundation of trust. The words you choose to define your purpose must carry the weight of the seriousness of your calling… in other words, your purpose can’t be a catchphrase.

When you are able to align your purpose with your principles and values, you are beginning to demonstrate your integrity in a tangible format.

This is my purpose… these are the principles that have helped me form my unique purpose… these are the values that I hold dear… they are connections that must be published by you to demonstrate connecting points with the behavior that will be promised by you and your clients.

 

Your beliefs and opinions must be demonstrable as well. After all, they are why you get paid in the first place. If you aren’t forming beliefs and opinions about this industry and the value you provide to your clients, you aren’t really in the business of financial advice.

 

These are my beliefs… I state them as being fundamentally true because that’s how strong my conviction is around the decisions I make daily. My opinions are published in the form of genuine concerns that I have for my clients. 

Your purpose principles and beliefs must be in complete alignment and you must be able to prove that alignment tangibly to survive in a robo world.
Part Two of Three

Advisor Benchmarks

Oct 23, 2019

The New Digital Footprint

Originally Published 12.27.2016

Building a digital footprint is critical in the era of collaboration.

Everything that you publish, whether it be in the form of comments as in this article, or in the form of blog posts as seen here on this blog post… or a combination of the two, curated to bring meaning to my beliefs and opinions in a tangible fashion. This blog post is a working example of HOW to leverage your digital footprint by exuding your authentic value 24/7. Your ideal audience will find you so you had better be publishing with a purpose.

 

The Future for Advisors is about proving value. 24/7.

When Advisors allow any other entity besides themselves to define their authentic value they diminish the chances of survival and hinder their plans to thrive in the digital age. You mustn’t allow your plans to thrive in the digital age be undermined by anyone… much less yourself. Avoid self-sabotage by reading on…screenshot-2016-10-04-at-11-11-48-pm

The advisor in the future must look beyond industry standards and minimum antiquated regulation to demonstrate in a tangible fashion why anyone should do business with them Pertaining specifically to this article, (Original Article from RIABiz.com) the advisor who relies on the industry to demonstrate his or her value through a benchmark is more likely to be replaced by the industry.  Advisor autonomy goes beyond the realm of value props.. In order to thrive in the digital age of transparency advisors must own a “client-centered purpose.” Technology and transparency will weed out the ne’er do wells. It’s already happening without (and in spite of) regulation. Clients are becoming more empowered through transparency and technology , which is a beautiful thing. Advisors must also leverage the same transparency and technology to empower themselves.

You can’t police advisors into stewardship roles.

Any form of industry standard benchmark weakens the advisor… it does nothing to empower the perception of value, which is under the complete control of the advisor… more specifically, the advisor who owns a client-centered purpose. – Most advisors are good.-(Especially those advisors who subscribe to RIA Biz.) More industry drafted oversight is only adding to the digital noise. Advisors must become empowered through autonomy to thrive in the new collaborative world of 24/7 advice. My opinions about the facts in this article are backed by my conviction about HOW advisors can and should become empowered. Advisors must be afforded the opportunity to exude their authentic value through – ownership – of the perception of their value.  Acquiescing to antiquated industry standards that limit the ability of the advisor to own the perception of his or her value, in my opinion, is a catastrophic mistake that can and should be avoided. Now, more than ever, investors are searching for a trusted source of wisdom. Advisors who are empowered through autonomy will be more likely to exude that wisdom than those advisors who agree to become suppressed by industry created benchmarks. ((BTW, this is a great article that shines a much needed light on the difference b/t portfolio alpha and advisor alpha. Keep ‘em coming.)) This article is an important component in moving the conversations away from the “what” that most RIABiz readers are already well aware of.

The comments after the article (found in the link above) are nearly 2 years old… and there they sit… Conveying my unique beliefs and opinions about this business.


If advisors rely on the industry to define their value will they be replaced?  

Who do you trust?

Who should your clients trust?

Better conversations start with questions that lead to better definitions which lead to better solutions that can truly make a difference in the lives of trusted clients…  

 

By posing these questions I am reminding my current ideal clients of my authentic value while exuding my alpha to a new audience who is looking for a trusted source of wisdom to help them see hear and feel about their business in a different dimension. The perception of my value is entirely up to me. There has never been a greater opportunity for advisors to take advantage of technology. By ignoring this statement you risk extinction… discover as much as you can as soon as you can.

#TangibleAlpha

Always available when the time is right for you.

Discover More

The New Model

Oct 22, 2019

Advisor Relevance

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The new era of financial services is upon us and the modern advisor must be able to see past legacy training concepts to visualize his or her preferred world.

The new model designed by Tangible Alpha empowers advisors to update their relevance by defining exactly why their ideal clients should do business with them. We also make available the industry’s first and only 24/7 value design platform which offers 100% confidential modules to bring out the best in each advisor in a way that is unique to him or her.

Transparency is not the enemy… it is the one thing in the digital era that can be leveraged with the most ease to help ensure your relevance. Learn more about the new way of thinking (to survive in a robo-world) here.

Think Differently

The Greatest Opportunity for Advisors

Oct 17, 2019

Transparency

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The Greatest Opportunity for Advisors

The Advisor in the future understands that the position of “Financial Advisor” is completely replaceable by the industry. Institutions have proven this to be true year-over-year by paying a price for all assets acquired. For every asset that comes in the door there is a percentage paid… This is a net interest margin industry and the net interest margin is partially controlled by dropping the laggard advisor or restructuring of payout packages and compensation grids. That is the way the game has always been played. It’s all about net interest margin. If the institution can increase NIM by replacing you with a robot they absolutely will not hesitate to do so. Your position in this industry is not a job in which your employer wants to help you by giving you a salary for a job well done so you can live comfortably and provide for your family. The industry is concerned first with shareholder value (or enterprise value) and getting higher valuations as well as increasing net interest margin. It’s just business. Capitalism in it’s purest form. When you come to terms with this concept you are afforded the clarity necessary to see your business from a perspective that crystallizes your unique opportunity in the financial services industry.

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This industry offers the greatest opportunity in the history of the world for the serious steward of wealth because you can create your own business from any vantage point by which you see fit. As long as you can gather assets you can play in the game. You can gather assets in an unlimited amount of ways… ways which are innumerable… uncountable… the opportunity is only limited by your creativity. Which is why it is so critical to look at your business from a fresh perspective from time to time. Think about this statement for a moment… transparency is not solely for the good of the client. We will come back to this statement.transparency

 

To be offered the opportunity to create your own business after you pick up your licenses is one of the rarest opportunities in this world. It’s beyond special. You are in an elite category of individuals that have ever been charged with the stewardship of the well being of your fellow man. Big shoes to fill… great responsibility… Let’s look at your business from a fresh perspective again… Think about this… If you are not willing to invest in your business what does that say about the quality of your commitment? We will come back to this. 

You owe it to your clients to remain relevant but you owe it to your clients and yourself to become irreplaceable. If you are not able to focus on how you will remain relevant and become irreplaceable in this industry you will become lost… you will become commoditized… and you will be squeezed out. Capitalism in it’s purest form. So often advisors are focused on the daily mechanics of doing business that they become lost… unable to focus on the activities that create demand for their services advisors can easily get caught in a deadly trap which creates stagnation due to a myopic perspective they have about their business. Think about this question… Are you willing to let your clients be led astray by a self-serving advisor who simply sells products in a vacuum?
The opportunity to see and feel your authentic relevant value and create a sustainable business model designed around the well being of your clients is available. You can become the master of your destiny if you are willing to take a step back from your business and see it from another dimension. If you agree that being a serious steward of wealth is the greatest opportunity… in the greatest business in the world… in the greatest time to be a financial advisor that has ever existed… then you can and should become irreplaceable. If you are willing to see transparency in the digital age as resource and not a liability… then you can and should become irreplaceable. If you are inclined to invest in your business and you agree that you must  invest your time before you invest your money… then you can and will become irreplaceable by becoming a serious steward of wealth. You will be enabling yourself to give the care and the commitment your clients rightfully deserve. To become a serious steward of wealth, by design,  you must own the words that define your authentic relevant value. Take a minute to become irreplaceable for the good of your clients and for the sustainability of your business by taking full advantage of the complementary Tangible Alpha minute modules and notebook available here.

 

Keep it Tangible,

Grant Barger

 

Take A Minute

Price & Value – Justify Your Fee

Oct 16, 2019

Price/Value

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Your value does not decrease but your compensation will. The perception of your value is directly correlated to how you get paid.

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The first time I heard this statement was in the 80’s and it holds true to this day… the only caveat I would add is this… an updated version for the advisor in the future… screenshot-2016-10-09-at-3-55-11-am

When your value goes unnoticed it is reflected in the price people will pay for your services. If you neglect to make your advisor alpha (your authentic relevant value) tangible, the sustainability of your business is at risk.

In the digital age of transparency you can’t afford the risk associated with not making your value tangible.medium-1-300x262

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My Value