Lesson 1 | Team Profile & The Planning Table (6:04 minutes)
Team Profile & The Planning Table
One more concept that I want to talk about in the Team Profile that you will see as a component of the Planning Table conversation is a couple of measurements as we now move forward and we engage in the relationship with this client, and we're moving forward to start to understand the role, and the value that these other advisors are bringing to the table, is the Team Profile, which is really an understanding of the value, and the relationship that these other advisors have with this client. So, we look at a couple of different things in here. One way is we want to understand what's the real relational value that they're bringing to the table. We're measuring that on a couple of key areas. Is it relationship focused? Do they have a great relationship? Was this a fraternity brother, a childhood friend, or something of that nature? Are they bringing a level of solutions to the table? Do they bring great solutions? Is that why they're on the team, because they're super smart, technically competent and they bring that to the table? Is it the fact that they're bringing a level of discovery to the table? Do they help you think about that, above the horizon concepts that we have talked to you about, that we bring to our client relationships? Are they helping you get clear on what matters most? Where are they on that?
The last part that we're trying to measure is are they bringing a level of management, oversight and structure to what you're trying to achieve, and the process, and how that gets done. We're measuring those on a scale of minus three to plus three. A negative three to a plus three. We're doing that because you want to really be able to show where somebody is weak versus where somebody is strong. The only way you can really do that successfully is going to a negative. We do a negative three to a positive three, and we can basically calculate out who is the most valued on the team, and what are those areas that they are the highest valued. That's one really powerful thing to understand about the other advisors.
The other thing is that we're measuring them around is the trust that they have with this client in the relationship. There's a formula for this, too. The formula for trust works this way. You've got a formula that on the nominator is credibility, plus reliability, plus intimacy, and then it is all divided by what they call self-interest, or self-orientation. Credibility, reliability, intimacy, and then all divided by self-interest, or self-orientation. I'll talk about those real quickly.
When you look at credibility, reliability and intimacy, those are all measured on a scale of one to ten. So if I'm a 10, I'm a rock star and I'm highly credible, high sense of reliability and high sense of intimacy. However, if I'm a 10 below the line, in the denominator, in the self-interest or self-orientation, if I'm a 10, I'm not a rock star at all. I'm very self-oriented, I'm very much all about me and serving my needs and what I get out of this, my income versus my client's outcome. That's more important, and that comes out. Unfortunately, our industry has people like that.
So, if we're looking at this formula, we want to understand from a scale of one to ten, how credible is this person in your eyes? How reliable have they been over the time that you've been in a relationship with them? What's the level of intimacy that you have in that relationship, meaning sharing things with them that you haven't shared with anybody else, that are really important to you and your family, and whatnot. Then down below, we're going to get a grade from them around self-orientation. Are they, on a scale of one to ten, how focused are they on their needs versus your needs? For you, and from your standpoint, you want to be a one in self-interest, or as low as you possibly can, because if you're a 10, it kills your score around the amount of trust that you have with a client. This is a really, really powerful tool.
One last thing. This is powerful as you start to move into the face-to-face advisor meetings. Once you've been engaged by the client, you now know the lay of the land. You know where and why this client values their other advisors that you're going to meet with. You know the level of trust and the specific areas and why it is what it is, because you've had that conversation with the client. As you're going into these meetings, it's powerful to be able to share with them where they're valued, and also gently and carefully about where they're weak, and where they can build and where they ought to focus their efforts and energy. That can be a valuable exchange for you to bring to them and say, "Listen, they love the work that you did on this and this. They love how you do this for them all the time, or each and every year, but you know, there were a couple of things that came out in that conversation where I think you could really even continue to elevate your relationship and trust, and roll on that team, if that makes sense to you."
This is obviously something you want to do over time. You don't want to do out of the gate. The point I'm trying to make here is that this tool and this conversation, with this prospect, now that we're engaging, really can become a very powerful conversation, and it will put you into a place of high knowledge and degree as you start to go meet with your future fellow collaborators.
I really hope you've enjoyed this section, and I look forward to your use of the Planning Table and the Team Profile.
