Business owners can often feel frustrated and unsatisfied with their professional advisors. Every case has different issues to deal with. But there’s usually one thing in common – they’re all irritated at not getting the outcome they want.
This causes angst and ongoing frustration that, as a business owner, you don’t need. So what can you do to fix it?
Take Control
Blaming your professional advisors for what’s not working won’t solve anything. It will leave you powerless to impact the situation. If you want things to work with your advisor, you must take responsibility for what’s not working.
If you want to make a difference you’ll need to take charge. It’s your business after all. You’ve hired someone to do a job for you – it’s up to you to see the job’s done the way you want it done.
If you’re not happy with the results, then set a course to remedy it. This could be as simple as –
- Ensuring you’ve provided an adequate brief.
- Making sure you get an answer that you understand.
- Being specific about the results you want.
- Going along to meetings well prepared.
Take a good look at your situation and see what you can do to improve it.
Get The Right Person
It’s not only qualifications that will ensure you get the right person for the job. Also important are their characteristics. Do you know what attributes make up your ideal professional advisor?
- Is it someone that understands your industry?
- Does it matter whether their offices are close at hand or at the other end of the country?
- Would it make a difference if he or she had 500 clients or are you looking for a boutique outfit with only a few clients?
It’s a good idea to draw up a list of criteria for your ideal professional advisor. It’s not only the physical characteristics (such as location) you need to consider. It also helps to take into account their psychographic characteristics (ethics, integrity etc.)
These are not quite so easy to identify. For example, they could include –
- Committed to providing the best value for the client.
- Reliable.
- Understands the client’s needs.
- Confidentiality.
- Utmost integrity.
- Will do what’s best for the client, even if it’s not the way they usually do things.
- Able to explain things in a way the client understands.
If you can find someone who ticks all the boxes you’re well on your way to getting the right professional advisor.
Do Your Current Advisors Fit?
Don’t forget to match your existing advisors against your list. If they fall short it doesn’t always mean you should get rid of them. It’s sometimes better to focus on fixing the things you’d like to improve on. Developing a successful relationship with your existing advisors could be a better solution.
But there can come a time when nothing seems to work. Your business may have grown and they haven’t kept up. Perhaps they won’t listen or they can’t talk in a way you understand. Sometimes, despite all your efforts, they have to go.
If it does come to this, make sure any decisions you make in this regard are well thought out. Don’t fall into the trap of making tactical or knee-jerk decisions.
We’re not saying that having a list of your criteria for an ideal professional advisor is fool-proof. But it’s better than grabbing the first advisor that comes along.
Appointing a professional advisor should be well considered. Check that they match up against what you’re looking for (and because you’ve got a list … this will be easy to work out).