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competitive-strategy
Do you actually have a Strategy?
by Tony Vidler        Nearly every financial services firm says they have a strategy.  Which is remarkable really, as creating a competitive strategy is actually difficult usually. Especially if you don’t know what “strategy” is to begin with.     Many practices have a plan, and that plan is usually full of tactical decisions and thinking.  […]
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Which Clients To Keep; Which Ones To Fire
by Tony Vidler         More clients is good, right? But when you have plenty of clients on the books the question becomes which clients to keep. Or which ones to get rid of.  Actually, advisers should be constantly asking these questions regardless of how big their book of clients actually is.  They are not questions […]
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Selling Change Inside Your Own Practice
by Tony Vidler        External challenges and changes mean we are often selling change – or the need for yet more change – inside our own practices to our own people. And that becomes yet another challenge, as change is frequently resisted.  What practice owners often don’t understand though is what it is that is actually […]
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time-management
Time Management: How to figure out what you should be working on
by Tony Vidler        Time management is always cited as one of the top challenges for advisers, but is time management really the problem?  Or is it a prioritisation problem?   Working out what you should really be working on is one of those things that we all know we should do, but for one […]
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business-disruption
Where will the greatest disruption to your practice come from?
by Tony Vidler        Disruption has long been a feature of financial services distribution.  Disruption constantly occurs with new market entrants, product innovation, shifting strategic focus on the part of suppliers in relation to control or autonomy of distributors….but disruption has typically come from within the industry itself.   Some years ago I read a piece […]
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digital-marketing
Taking Charge Of Our Digital Moments Of Truth
by Tony Vidler        So much is done via digital engagement today by our clients and prospects that there literally hundreds of “digital moments of truth” for our practice on a daily basis.  A “moment of truth” is that instant during interaction with our firm when a customers expectations are tested.  The rise of digital interaction […]
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succession-planning
Successful Succession: Lay Out A Career Path
by Tony Vidler        Succession planning is a major issue with an ageing adviser force, many of whom are wondering how to get their decades of accumulated equity out for their own retirement in the next 10 years.  The most popular strategy for making that happen is find somebody who will come into the practice, learn […]
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happy-client
Creating Happy Clients Is Not Enough
by Tony Vidler        Creating and keeping happy clients IS essential for the success of a professional practice.  There is no question about that.  But is it enough to help a practice grow at a greater than industry average pace?   I don’t believe so.   Being a great practitioner and running an efficient & […]
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client-management
What do you have to change to keep clients?
by Tony Vidler        The first priority for any adviser in tougher times is to keep clients that you currently have, right?  Then you can afford to worry about getting new ones. Changes to financial services are coming thick and fast, and advisers know that clients are rapidly changing in their expectations of service, solutions and […]
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fee-discount
When – and how – To Discount Your Fees
by Tony Vidler        As a general rule I don’t recommend that a professional discount fees as it tends to undermine their entire value proposition whilst also creating a mindset for the client that the adviser is a price-taker rather than the price-setter.   Discounting fees usually moves a professional from being an expert with […]
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