In coaching advisors for 11 years and serving as a financial planner and investment firm CEO for 26 years before that, I've found that many of the most elite advisors have a secret weapon: the power of their presence. These advisors light up any room they walk into. Their personal presence makes them nearly irresistible to wealthy investors who want to know more about them the moment they meet them. Once these investors are clients, they become marketing apostles for their advisors, telling their wealthy friends and associates all about them.

Does presence really matter? You better believe it. Example: One advisor, Bruce Raabe of Collins & Co. in Larkspur, Calif., garnered a new $19 million account recently, which he credits largely to how he first presented himself to the investor.

"The affluent that I work with like to align themselves with people who intrigue them. To get the chance to work with them, you have to make them interested in you as a person right from the start," Raabe says.

SIX KEY STEPS

To tap your full potential and become a go-to advisor in your market, you must tap into the power of presence. There are six key steps:

1. KNOW YOUR STORY

People will want to know who you are. A compelling story that reveals the truth about who you are will attract others to you - both potential future clients and team members who will be crucial to your success.

In Raabe's case, we helped him recognize and hone his story. "I was a successful civil engineer who came to San Francisco after the earthquake of 1989 and helped to demolish the damaged Embarcadero Freeway. In dealing with the aftermath of the quake, I realized how much I wanted to work with people directly and help them with their financial lives," he says.

"So my story focuses on how this terrible quake changed my life and how it ultimately brought me to where I am today. This makes me interesting to prospects - they've never met someone who became a wealth manager because of an earthquake," he adds.

By telling your story well, you'll realize practical benefits:

* It attracts people to you. Beyond attracting new prospects, you'll increase client loyalty and draw potential strategic partners toward you. When others hear your story, it gives them insight into who you are, what you stand for and what you had to overcome to get to where you are now. This can create a willingness, even an eagerness, to associate with you.

* It creates trust. Because your story is uniquely yours and no one else can tell it like you, your values, concerns and passions will come through. By opening up to others about what is most important to you, your listeners become much more inclined to trust you with what is most important to them.

* It is the foundation of your vision. As you review your life, you see how certain events shaped you in powerful ways. You uncover clues about what you most value, which in turn clarify your vision for your life. Having a clear vision is an absolute prerequisite for accomplishing greatness.

2) BUILD YOUR DREAM TEAM

Building a top advisory business is not something you can do alone. You need the help of select professionals who can fill specific roles on your internal team and on an external team of strategic experts. These might include partners, coaches, mentors and role models. The optimal group of individuals who will support you, push you, leverage your strengths and minimize your weaknesses will buy into your dream of building the best possible business.

Leading financial advisors surround themselves with top people both internally within their own organizations and externally in the form of strategic alliances with specialists, such as CPAs, attorneys and insurance specialists. An elite team enables you to leverage your talents and skills to build your business by focusing on value-driven, client-facing activities.

3) LIVING YOUR VISION

There is one factor that will anchor everything you do: your vision of what you want to do and who you want to be. When you define your vision and passion in life, your tasks become clear.

The road ahead becomes obvious and your energy becomes focused. By building a powerful presence, you galvanize those around you into action.

Too many advisors focus on the "how" of building their businesses. I think you should instead first focus on the "why." When you have a compelling vision, you have a powerful tool to guide your practice. It will also be a source of strength and perspective when the inevitable obstacles present themselves.