Rattiner's financial planner's bible: the advisor's advisor

Rattiner’s Financial Planner’s Bible......Page 6
Preface......Page 12
Contents......Page 16
Your Role......Page 26
Changing Society......Page 28
Raising the Bar: The Trend Toward Expertise in Delivering Quality Financial Planning Advice......Page 29
Repeal of Glass-Steagall and the Formation of True Financial Services Supermarkets......Page 31
The Need to Become Process Oriented Rather Than Transaction Oriented......Page 32
Trend Toward Fee-Based Rather Than Commission-Based Planning......Page 35
Trend Toward Specialization, Leveraging, and Developing Alliances in Other Areas......Page 37
Trend Toward Technological Advances and Becoming More Reliant on Technology and Less on the Personal Touch......Page 38
Trend Toward a Revamped Individual Marketing Approach: It is a Different Ballgame Now......Page 39
Trend Toward Building from Within: It is Cheaper and More Effective to Develop Your Infrastructure Right the First Time......Page 40
Trend Toward Commoditization of Services......Page 41
2 The Practical Effect (An Internal Focus): 25 Ideas to Generate a Stable Business......Page 44
2. Hold the Appropriate Directors Accountable......Page 45
4. Say to Yourself: What If I Were Just Entering the Business? Would This Be the Way I Would Set It Up?......Page 47
5. Encourage Everyone in Your Office to Be Creative. Have a Contest. Reward Those Employees Who Think Outside the Box with Prizes......Page 48
6. Hire the Right People Who Understand the Marketplace. Scout the Competition. If They Know Enough About Your Market, Then Listen to Them......Page 49
7. Have Anyone in Your Office Be Able to Sign Off on a Problem......Page 50
8. Establish a Realistic Chain of Command......Page 51
9. Test Market New Firm and Product Opportunities with Your “B” Clients. Form a Client Advisory Group......Page 52
10. Keep All the Players Informed......Page 55
12. Keep Your Books Just as You Advise Your Clients To......Page 56
13. What to Charge: The Old Adage “How Much Does the Client Got?” Does Not Cut It......Page 57
14. Select the Right Form of Business Entity......Page 58
15. Location, Location, Location......Page 59
16. Technology Hang-Ups......Page 60
17. Time Management Issues......Page 64
18. Do Not Do It All Yourself: Delegate, Delegate, Delegate!......Page 65
19. Failing to Take Responsibility Yourself......Page 70
21. Spend Money on Training Yourself and Your Staff......Page 71
22. Do Your Own Due Diligence on Products, Companies, Working Relationships, and the Like......Page 72
23. When Is It Time to Bring in a Partner?......Page 73
24. Having a Succession Plan......Page 74
25. If You Don’t Believe in Yourself, It Will Never Happen......Page 75
Appendix 2-1: Firmwide Self-Assessment Survey......Page 77
Appendix 2-2: Working with Mutual Funds......Page 88
Appendix 2-3: Investing for Retirement (IFR) Business Plan......Page 93
What Does Marketing Really Mean?......Page 100
1. Branding......Page 101
2. The Next Level......Page 102
3. Forming Alliances......Page 103
4. Charting Your Course......Page 106
5. Do Not Sell Out on Volume......Page 107
7. Your Marketing Plan Is a Working Document......Page 108
9. Learn from Your Mistakes......Page 109
10. Realize That It Is All Interrelated......Page 110
12. Analyze and Measure Your Results......Page 111
13. Derive a Marketing Analysis......Page 112
15. Listen, Comprehend, Question, Then Incorporate All Suggestions into the Marketing Game Plan......Page 113
17. Do Not Package All Your Services Under One Identity That Could Become Cloudy......Page 116
18. Pick One Thing or Theme and Do It Well (Marketing Focus)......Page 117
19. Keep Raising the Bar......Page 118
20. Know Your Market (Understanding Your Prospects and Clients)......Page 120
22. Pick Your Piece of the Pie: Stake Out Your Turf and Guard It......Page 122
24. When You Steal from One, It Is Plagiarism; When You Steal from Many, It Is Called Research (Know the Industry and Take the Best of the Best)......Page 123
25. Never Compete on Price......Page 124
26. Make It Conducive for the Prospect or Client to Act......Page 125
28. Let Your Clients Leave on a Pleasant Note......Page 126
30. Awareness: Do You Know What Your Clients Need to Ask and Look For?......Page 127
31. Give Your Clients More Reason to Act Now......Page 128
33. Constantly Reiterate Your Reasons Why It Is Worthwhile for Your Clients to Have You as Their Financial Planner......Page 129
35. Keep Score of Your Prospect Conversion Ratio......Page 130
37. Do Not Overlook the Home Field Advantage—Your Own Backyard......Page 131
39. Do Not Necessarily Curtail Your Marketing Expenditures During Down Markets......Page 132
41. If You Say You Are Changing Your Service or Product, Then Change It—Don’t Just Say It......Page 133
43. Advertise Your Final Product or Service......Page 134
44. Create Demand Through Your Own Marketing......Page 135
45. Define Your Market......Page 136
46. Develop Effective Communication Tools......Page 137
47. Do Not Be Afraid of the Institutional Side......Page 138
49. If You Want to Go Big Time, Hire a Public Relations Firm......Page 139
50. Speak with One Voice......Page 141
4 External Forces: Controlling Your Own Destiny (The Baker’s Dozen of Leveraged Activities)......Page 156
The Value of Networking......Page 157
Leverage Activity No. 1: Working with CPAs......Page 158
Leverage Activity No. 3: Working with Insurance Brokers......Page 162
Leverage Activity No. 4: Working with Investment Specialists, Money Managers, and Stockbrokers......Page 163
Leverage Activity No. 6: Working with Business Brokers......Page 164
Leverage Activity No. 7: Working with Human Resources Personnel......Page 165
Leverage Activity No. 9: Leveraging Your System and Expertise with Those Professionals Around You and Your Staff......Page 166
Leverage Activity No. 10: Leveraging Your Peers—Graduating Your Clients to the Services of Your Peers......Page 167
Leverage Activity No. 12: Leverage Yourself Through Client-Generated Activities and Through Cross-Selling Clients with Each Other......Page 168
Leverage Activity No. 13: Leverage Yourself Through Multi-Generational Marketing......Page 169
5 Financial Planning Opportunities Using Form 1040......Page 172
Income Tax Planning in a Financial Planning Environment......Page 173
Importance of Understanding the Form 1040 Tax Return......Page 174
Qualifying the Client for Financial Planning Services......Page 176
Working in Conjunction with a CPA or Other Tax Professional......Page 177
Key Aspects of Tax Return Preparation......Page 178
Income Tax Planning and the Personal Financial Planning Process......Page 183
Determination of Financial Planning Needs from Form 1040 by Category......Page 187
Income Tax Considerations of Financial Planning Recommendations by Category......Page 199
Information Not Found on Form 1040......Page 210
Summary......Page 211
6 Quantifying Your Practice......Page 232
Starting Point......Page 233
Analysis......Page 236
Map......Page 245
Evaluation......Page 259
76 Pointers to Running a Successful Financial Planning Practice......Page 266
The Ten Commandments for Client-Centered Relationships......Page 267
Insurance Represents the Center of the Universe: Cover All Your Bases! (Model No. 11 to No. 17)......Page 269
Investment Planning: Creating Wealth (Model No. 18 to No. 42)......Page 273
Retirement Planning (Model No. 43 to No. 53)......Page 275
Estate Planning Issues (Model No. 54 to No. 76)......Page 276
Appendix 7-1: CFP Board Practice Standards......Page 278
Appendix 7-2: JR Financial Group (JRFG) Business Plan......Page 281
Belong: Join a Professional Membership Group......Page 292
Financial Planning Software Programs......Page 296
Financial Planning Publications......Page 305
Structuring Your Small Financial Planning Firm to Reap the Benefits of Larger Firms......Page 310
The Way I See It......Page 311
How Could We Structure Something Like This?......Page 312
The Reality......Page 315
Index......Page 316