Blog Articles
Just bought a business? Turning 2 into 1
So you’ve made the big move… Your business is in growth mode and you’ve decided to accelerate that growth by acquiring another advice business that’s for sale. The price has been agreed, as has the structure of the deal relating to the earn-out period and terms for the owner of [...]
We need to speak about our fees…
One of the areas of greatest challenge for financial planners in Ireland today is increasing the level of your fees / trail commission from the levels that you are currently charging. But time marches along, and often when you actually turn to really examining the issue, many advisers find that [...]
The Value of Advice
I was fortunate recently to be asked by Brokers Ireland to moderate panel discussions at a symposium with 8 professionals from broker representative organisations from around the world. Following the symposium, I wrote a whitepaper that Brokers Ireland will be sharing with their members in the coming weeks. The purpose [...]
5 Apps that help me work more efficiently
Every summer I give one of these articles over to the subject of apps that I use regularly. This year I’ve zoned in on 5 apps that I use very regularly, in some cases many times each day. App 1: ChatGPT Of course, I could give all 5 Apps [...]
Building trust takes conscious effort.
I recently shared the most relevant findings for financial advisers in the Edelman Trust Barometer 2025, in which we saw continuing challenges for the financial services industry in relation to trust. As we all know - without absolute trust in you and the services you offer, strong client relationships will [...]
Provide a gentle wake-up call for slow moving prospects
We’ve all been guilty of procrastination at some point. Whether it’s delaying a dentist appointment or putting off filing our tax returns, there’s always a good reason to “do it later.” But when it comes to personal finances, delaying action can have real and lasting consequences — ones that compound [...]
Your Client Value Proposition is your own guiding map
This month we turn to an activity that is one of the most frequent challenges we work on with our advice firm clients – helping you to articulate, capture and communicate an engaging Client Value Proposition (CVP). First of all, let’s be really clear. This is not your client brochure. [...]
You can’t buy trust
Trust. It sits at the heart of a financial broker’s business. It’s that magic ingredient that you can’t survive without, but unfortunately you can’t just go out and buy it, or even simply ask for it. It can only be earned by what you do, and by what other [...]
Are you ready for that big media interview?
For many financial advisers, this is the great break that they’ve been looking for and they can’t wait to get stuck into the opportunity of waxing lyrically about one of their favourite topics. For others, securing a media interview is a prelude to a couple of sleepless nights as [...]
Can we help you with your planning?
Over the next few newsletters, we're going to highlight specific challenges faced by advice firms in Ireland today and solutions we've developed in StepChange to help you address them. We're going to start with the most important one of the lot - Planning. The best advice firms in the country [...]
Are you finding it hard to finish work?
Many financial advisers that I speak to these days continue to enjoy the benefits of remote working - not feeling they have to be in the office every singe day. They love saving the commuting time and the flexibility offered in working from home. However working from home comes [...]
Set great Performance Goals for 2025
Goal setting plays a key role in getting your whole team pulling in the same direction. We’re going to dig a bit into this area and set out a few thoughts on how to develop really effective goals to help to drive your business forwards. Align the Goals It [...]