Not everyone has the expertise or the business model to create an annual income stream in the millions. On the other hand, consider some of the most successful professionals you know in your business.
Are they that much smarter than you? Probably not.
Do they have unique skills and abilities? Unlikely.
Is their platform superior to yours? It may very well be the same platform.
Some people drew better cards in life. There’s no question that luck plays a major role in any professional’s success. If you take luck out of the equation, however, it’s still pretty clear that three major ingredients can help you get to the top of the financial advisory pyramid: using client-oriented business models, being street-smart and having drive.
A Client-Oriented Business Model
The optimal business model is a function of your clients and prospects. By understanding their needs and preferences, you can structure a business model that generates maximum returns.
The complication is that the model has to be based in reality. For example, the multifamily office model is especially attractive to the financial elite, so many professionals claim to be multifamily offices or have access to family office services even though the only service they provide is investment management, and not much else.
When the business model is truly client-oriented, it does two things: First, and most important, it results in a high-caliber experience and topflight results for clients. Second, it very likely produces the greatest potential returns for the professional.
Street Smarts
It’s a given that elite advisors need to have technical expertise. Indeed, technical proficiency is a commodity that clients can get anywhere. Yet most financial professionals expect their technical abilities to magically yield profits.
Being street-smart, however, means having a valuable skill set that trumps standard IQ tests. Street-smart means understanding people and contexts. By reading and effectively responding to people—from clients and prospects to other advisors and vendors—the professional is able to get the most beneficial results.
Driving To Excel
Unlike the first two keys to success, drive comes from within. If you have drive and are open-minded, it’s very possible to construct an exceptional client-oriented business model as well as become more street-smart.
Drive is measured by your commitment to excel. For example, as you work to generate multimillion-dollar annual incomes, there will be times you will fail. It’s unavoidable. Drive then becomes perseverance.
As a professional, if you’re truly driven and willing to modify your business model and concentrate on people dynamics, the good news is that there’s likely to be an awful lot of business easily within your reach. This approach might very well catapult you to a seven-figure annual income.
