You may be familiar withthe following quotation by philosopher William James: "A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain." In many cases, you won't know whether the financial plans or strategies you have crafted for your clients are strong enough until they've been tested. The market turmoil that has wracked Wall Street and Main Street in recent weeks is, of course, such a test of the chain you've forged over the years.

And as the general population gets older and the average age of your best clients heads north, it's inevitable that many of life's issues will begin testing your plans. If you haven't established a proactive, process-oriented approach for uncovering current and future planning issues, then perhaps the links in your chain are beginning to rust.
Many advisors who have historically focused on investment management are coming to realize that more of their clients have ongoing planning demands. At one time or another, you likely have been asked to address such issues as wealth transfer strategies, asset protection planning, estate coordination planning and business succession planning.

Structural Change

To retain your existing—and aging—clients and to position your firm for growth, you may need to make the transition to a more planning-oriented service. Generally, the goal of this approach is more about recognizing and demonstrating your ability to coordinate your clients' myriad issues and less about getting your hands on more assets to manage. Changing your current structure, however, may be easier said than done.

The most important change you can make is to be proactive in minimizing holes in your clients' financial plans-anticipating potential needs in advance instead of addressing each issue as it comes up. Start by evaluating your current approach or working to develop a consistent planning and review process that you can use for all clients and prospects. It's true that financial planning requires a larger time commitment than investment management, but using a proactive and consistent review process will save time; it will also help you get to the heart of your clients' life goals.

Think about it. Do clients entering retirement really care about Sharpe ratios and beta? Probably not. They are more interested in how you can help evaluate all their planning issues and then craft a plan for their next life stage. Gathering information about your clients' essential wishes and even their non-investment goals can help you discover their need for certain products, work more cohesively with their other professional advisors, keep the plan strong and, perhaps most important, turn your clients into raving fans—and referral machines.

Ideas for Change

How do you accomplish this? There's no standard blueprint, as advisors have different levels of financial planning knowledge and different approaches. And you know what works best with your clients. But, as you take a look at your current planning approach, you may want to consider incorporating some of the following ideas:

• Build or rebuild your ideal client profile. After you've constructed your proactive planning process, you'll need to make sure it's compatible with your existing clients—as well as with those you want to attract. Higher-net-worth clients tend to offer more opportunities for you to implement planning strategies. Putting your ideal client profile in writing gives you a tangible resource to help you stay focused on those who will most benefit from your services.
• Allow clients to participate in the planning process. Although the majority of your clients hire you so you can take financial planning concerns off their plates, many will still want to be involved in the decision-making process when it comes to product selection and your overall approach. Be sure to communicate that you use a collaborative approach to financial planning.
• Be sure your clients are intimately familiar with your process. You need to be able to articulate the impact your financial planning process will have on your clients' financial goals. One way to do this is to develop a pitch book that offers information about yourself and your overall approach.

Ease into the data-gathering process. Not everyone is willing to provide all of their information at once, and it may be difficult for them to get the data as well.

Review your intake and other worksheets or forms to ensure that you're collecting the critical data you need to get started. Let your clients know that data gathering is an ongoing process.

• Inquire about other professionals (tax advisors, CPAs, attorneys, etc.) with whom the client works. In addition, be sure that the client is aware that you plan to contact these professionals. Find out how and what they charge to ensure that their work doesn't overlap with yours, thus incurring unnecessary expense for the client. And finally, educate these professionals on your process and how you can work together to accomplish the client's goals.
• Be sure your website is consistent with your planning approach. Because the website plays a larger role in the opinions that prospective and existing clients may form about you, it makes sense to update it to reflect any changes you make to your planning process.
• Consider charging a modest fee for financial plans. This is important for the future of your business, especially as your clients age and enter the distribution phase of their lives. Conversely, if you add services into your asset management fee instead of charging separately, you compromise your ability to offer them profitably. It can also be difficult to make any changes to your fee schedule in the future.
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