For many advisors, teaming up with a coach just makes sense—and dollars. According to the 1Q 2008 Cerulli Edge Advisor Edition, advisors who worked with a coach or consultant generated $861,289 in average annual revenue, compared with $670,050 among those who did note_SEmDdespite having comparable levels of assets under management. While increased revenues are often a natural by-product of coaching, they aren't the only reason to engage a coach. Today there are many reasons why advisors of all stripes choose to work with a coach.

Different Strokes

"The advisors I work with tend to have many different goals," says Rebeca Buffaloe, an executive coach who recently started her own business after overseeing the practice management team at Householder Group in Scottsdale, Ariz. "One advisor may want to expand his or her practice and cover a larger territory, while another may want to work with just a few select clients and cut back his or her schedule." When she meets with potential clients, Buffaloe helps them decide if they are ready for coaching and, if so, she helps them identify their specific goals.

Once advisors have prioritized their objectives, Buffaloe works with them to design a plan. "A lot of advisors I've worked with know what they want, but they've just had trouble getting there for whatever reason. I help them get clear on the reason and create a plan to overcome it," she says. "It's valuable to have someone there who can help you clarify your vision, verify your plan and establish goals that are realistic. At the same time, a coach should be someone who can make sure that you're really challenging yourself enough to reach the next level."

Answers Within

"Advisors may already have some of the resources and solutions to address the challenges they face but need a coach to help them implement those resources more effectively, while making faster progress toward their specific goals," says David Patchen, regional director of sales and supervision for Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Fla. He notes that the role of coaching is to help advisors identify their challenges and move past them. To begin, he typically guides advisors through a process to identify strengths and weaknesses in several areas of practice management. He then engages them in coaching sessions over time, designed to address their unique needs.

Patchen's firm offers both coaching and consulting services to advisors. "Consulting is different from coaching in that it usually seeks to provide an advisor with a clear-cut solution to a specific challenge at a particular time," he says. In contrast, coaching tends to be an ongoing relationship with advisors who already have experience to draw upon and simply want to unlock the answers they already possess. "Top advisors tend to want more coaching, while newer advisors often need more consulting," he says.

Outside Resources

If you're an advisor associated with an independent broker-dealer, you often have access to a range of coaching and consulting resources. Joni Youngwirth, a managing partner for practice management at Commonwealth in Waltham, Mass., notes that her team offers one-on-one coaching and group support for Commonwealth advisors. "About 90% of our advisors take advantage of our services during the year through individual coaching, participating in a production group or accessing practice management tools and resources online," she says.

"Many of our advisors started out as small businesses," Youngwirth says. "But over time, they have morphed into full-fledged entities that need to adopt more businesslike principles." She observes that advisors overseeing a team need to act as both the chief executive officer and chief financial officer. "As their businesses grow, advisors often need to exercise more leadership by updating their business plans and delegating more responsibility. They also need to fulfill the CFO role by keeping a closer eye on the financials of the company." In addition, she says that advisors may face a host of other issues related to human resources, operational efficiency, marketing and business risk management.

Advisors who take advantage of these development resources may see dramatic results. In 2007, Commonwealth created a coaching group of 18 advisors, with businesses representing $200,000 to $400,000 in revenue, who were interested in increasing their production. "Advisors in the coaching group joined a biweekly conference call for sharing ideas, challenges and success stories," Youngwirth says. At year-end, participants averaged a revenue growth rate of 32.3%. In comparison, their peer group within the firm averaged a 17.2% growth rate.