All of my Financial Advisor clients want to be held accountable for the activities they need to execute to grow their clientele. Coaching without accountability would be like a parent lecturing their kids on not crossing a busy street, then ignoring it when they do. I hold every one of my clients accountable for doing what they say they’re going to do — that’s how they get the results they’re after.
I believe this can best be accomplished through a “Socratic inquiry” with the following questions:
1. “What would you like to achieve, by when?” Let’s use an example of coaching a financial advisor. When the coach asks this question, the advisor might say that he’d like to net an additional $30,000 net income by the end of the year. This is a good start — having the FA define what he wants by a specific date.
2. “What would it mean to you if you could do that?” This is where the coach elicits the underlying “why” of the advisor’s monetary goal. The responses will uncover the FA’s true motivation: Maybe it’s for putting his kids in a private school, perhaps he and his spouse want to travel to Tuscany for their 20th anniversary, an ailing parent might need additional financial support, etc. This is how the coach and the FA deepen their relationship.
3. “What behaviors/activities would you like me to hold you accountable for, in what time frame?” Talk is cheap — the rubber meets the road when the FA commits to specific, measurable behaviors. The time frame can range from once a week to once a month, depending on the FA’s need and experience. This is how the coach helps an FA stay on track to not only make more money but to fulfill his underlying goals. And that’s the essence of the coaching relationship. (As an aside, FA’s want to use these same questions with their prospects and clients to deepen their relationships.)
4. “What can I do to help?” As a show of support, a coach wants to indicate to the FA that he is willing to help in any number of ways: Suggest ways he can delegate/eliminate minor administrative tasks, improve their active listening ability, role play their consultative interview skills, etc. Probing for specifics is what makes this work. Of course, following through on any promise is critical.
Question for Financial Advisors: Do you need accountability to help you grow your business?
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