This is an article by Sue Viskovic, who is the Managing Director of Elixir Consulting, and author of the Adviser Pricing Models Research Report. As experts in the field of practice development, Elixir Consulting has been engaged by Præmium to provide regular articles to assist our clients with issues that affect their businesses. From time to time, Praemium clients will be provided special offers and opportunities from Elixir Consulting.
I have noticed something in my travels over the years. Advisers who regularly attend conferences both within and outside of their own dealer groups tend to have a more positive business outlook, are open to new ideas and are often better equipped to cope with changes that affect their business and the advice they provide to their clients.
On reflection, this is hardly surprising. The adviser who is not inclined to venture out of their own business and comfort zone tends to stay more introspective and miss out on opportunities to learn from others and share ideas in what is a constantly evolving and challenging industry. Ironically, it is in times of market and business stress, that advisers can gain the most from a conference, at a time they perceive they can least afford to attend.
Conference agendas have certainly evolved over the past decade or two. Today, most organisers take a very structured approach to identify relevant and timely issues, and seek out speakers who are educated, inspiring, and leaders in their field. The ratio of social to business sessions has changed since the heady early days, where the old "junket" has become a thing of the past. Of course, social time is important, for many it is the first time they've enjoyed a good night out in a long time (especially after such a long bear market!) - and some of the best networking and ideas come out after a few glasses of the local's finest.
Many dealer groups are prudently working with reduced conference budgets, and either conducting their conferences within Australia, or selecting International venues that make good use of exchange rates to keep down overall costs. Whilst joining with your peers and business partners within your network should be a compulsory addition to your business calendar, attending conferences outside your dealer can provide an expanded level of knowledge and opportunities to share ideas with a broader network of advisers. There are many great conferences put on by the FPA, the AFA, Kaplan, SPAA, the list goes on.
There is always a cost to attend a conference - between registration, travel, accommodation and time out of the business, so it is important to select your conference wisely and make sure that you get maximum return on your investment.
As a business owner, also consider sending your staff to conferences. Many quality businesses include the cost of conference attendance in their employee's salary packages, or budget for training and development. This is a great way of investing in your staff, not only will they feel special and valued in the business, but they will pick up a wealth of knowledge that can't necessarily be gained from reading a text book or articles.
There are ways that you can ensure that you maximise the return on your investment here too. Rather than all attending the same conference, send each staff member to a different event and get them to present a synopsis of their key learnings to the rest of your staff when they return, so that your whole team can benefit from a range of events. Alternatively, if you have a number of staff you may elect to send them together and make a good team bonding exercise from the event.
How to get the most from conferences
Everyone attending a conference should first identify the outcomes they seek to achieve from attending the event. These lists will vary greatly between delegates, but could include:
Take a good look at the conference program prior to attending and identify the speakers and sessions you need to attend. There are often concurrent sessions to suit a wide audience and it's important you put some fore-thought into which sessions will provide you with the most value.
If you find yourself in a session that turns out to be a disappointment, don't waste the opportunity. Use the time to reflect on your business and process some of the ideas and thoughts you have been gathering over your time so far, and write down notes of things you need to do when you get back to your business.
It's not often that we get time away from client phonecalls, appointments, staff issues etc and allow ourselves time to think and work on the business. Ensure that you have a notebook with you at all times, You will be surprised at just how many ideas and solutions you will create when you free your mind from activities and simply take time for reflection and big-picture thinking.
The trade stands/exhibition areas are not only a good source of giveaways and competition entries. Product and service providers contribute significantly to these events in order to reach a broad network of advisers and introduce them to their latest products and services, and these contributions help to keep your registration fees down.
I have seen many advisers knock back the opportunity to explore the stands and miss out on fantastic support and products that would help them improve the quality of advice and service their clients receive. It is easier to spend five or ten minutes at a stand to identify or dismiss a potential opportunity than to possibly waste an appointment with a BDM in your office - or worse, miss out altogether.
Too many advisers get back to their offices after a conference, are gung-ho for three days and then quickly get swallowed up in the day-to-day running of their business again, so that their flashes of genius and new ideas get buried under the client work along with them. Don't let your investment go to waste...when you get back to your office, make sure that you put in place detailed documented action plans to ensure that you can follow through and complete the new ideas you have created.
So the next time you tell yourself that you can't afford the time or money to attend a conference, think again...can you afford not to?
About Elixir Consulting:
Elixir Consulting is an Australian organisation specialising in practice development, providing independent advice and solutions to institutions and financial planning businesses in the Financial Services industry.
Delivery of solutions range from customised business analysis and coaching, to group training and development sessions on the unique issues faced by financial planners in business today.
For more information, visit http://www.elixirconsulting.com.au/ or email sue@elixirconsulting.com.au
Disclaimer: The information in this publication is of a general nature. It has been provided by Elixir Consulting and is reproduced with permission. The views expressed in this article are the views of its author and are not necessarily endorsed by Præmium Limited and its related bodies (‘Præmium') or any of their officers or staff. Praemium endeavours to provide accurate and timely information however, Praemium does not guarantee that the information in this publication is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No responsibility is accepted by Præmium for the accuracy of that information, and Præmium in no way takes any responsibility whatsoever for material contained on external websites referred to in this publication.