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Submitted by: <\/b>Tatiana Coulter (Tats)
\nBusiness name: <\/b>Monarch Advisory Group
\nLicensee: <\/b>Securitor
\nNo. staff: <\/b>1
\nAverage premium per client: <\/b>$7,000<\/p>\n
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Getting started<\/b><\/p>\n
One of the first recommendations Tats received, from friend and Financial Planning Association CEO, Mark Rantall, was to develop a \u2018white paper\u2019 on how her advice business could look. In writing the paper, she talked to other advisers to get an understanding of their business models and advice processes, and did significant research into the type of licensee that would fit best with her goals.<\/p>\n
The planning process took nearly 20 months. During that time, Tats signed-up with licensee Securitor, designed a brand, produced marketing materials and, most importantly, organised finance for the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving the finance in place before you start is really important,\u201d she says. \u201cIt means you\u2019re not anxiously waiting for your first client to sign-up just so you can pay your bills. In the first few weeks I would have appointments where I could tell the person wasn\u2019t ready to sign-up. Having the finance in place meant I didn\u2019t have to rush them through the advice process, and could spend the time on the education side of things. You want to get clients across the line, but you also don\u2019t want to come across as too pushy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Establishing a Board of Advice<\/b><\/p>\n
During the initial planning phase, Tats engaged a number of industry peers, seeking their advice on her business model, and how to go about attracting clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really think of it initially as a Board of Advice (BoA). I thought I would launch my concepts to my friends and peers as a way of letting them know what I was doing, and get their input on branding, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are now seven BoA members, who meet every six months to discuss the business and how Tats is tracking against her plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey keep me accountable. We talk about how the business is evolving, how I\u2019ve been tracking against the initiatives we discussed six months earlier, and then we run through the business development ideas that I\u2019m going to implement over the next six months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been times when I\u2019ve put forward an idea and the BoA has advised against it. I may not give up on the idea straight away, but if there are red flags, I know I need to do some more research.\u201d<\/p>\n
Repositioning for growth<\/b><\/p>\n
Five months after establishing the business, and having attracted mostly friends as clients, Tats decided to reposition her business.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn all honesty, I probably went about it a little bit the wrong way at the start, because I was really focused on building an \u2018insurance only\u2019 business. But I was losing out on potential clients, who said they were looking for someone to help them out with everything, not just their insurances.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided to reposition myself as a holistic financial planner, with a specialisation in insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tatiana also moved into an office with two mortgage brokers, who have subsequently become a significant source of referrals.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a successful referral partnership really comes down to trust. I had worked with one of the brokers in a previous role, so we knew about each other\u2019s work ethic and the way we were with clients. We both knew there was no risk in partnering. And now that we share office space, the introductions can be really seamless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referrals are also flowing from the local chapter of Business Networking International (BNI). According to its website, BNI provides a structured system of giving and receiving business through the establishment of a \u2018formal\u2019 relationship with dozens of other qualified business professionals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are 34 in the group at the moment. There\u2019s an accountant, lawyers, but there\u2019s also a builder, a dentist, a florist, a hairdresser \u2013 it\u2019s so broad.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe meet weekly, and everyone has a job they need to do for each meeting. It is time consuming, but the formula works. My last five clients have come through that channel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Generating leads through marketing<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cIf everyone\u2019s going right, I want to go left,\u201d says Tats of her approach to marketing. For example, Monarch Advisory Group sponsors one of the players in the newly-formed Greater Western Sydney (GWS) AFL club, the Giants. When the player is introduced onto the field, or if they score a goal, the Monarch logo appears on the big screen at the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they\u2019re an up and coming team the club really values the sponsorship and support. They\u2019re really proactive; I\u2019ve got direct access to the players and CEO, Dave Matthews. I\u2019ve even met Kevin Sheedy (the coach) a couple of times. They\u2019re not too big for their boots. They really appreciate you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tats also joined the prestigious GWS Members \u2018Captains Club\u2019, which is aimed at attracting high-net worth individuals to support the club.<\/p>\n
If everyone\u2019s going right, I want to go left<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cThe tipping point for joining was actually that there were no other females in the Club. Because you\u2019re the first female, they tend to promote you a bit, as well. They say: \u2018You\u2019ve got to help Tats. She\u2019s just started her business and she\u2019s the first female Captain\u2019s Club member. She\u2019s supporting us, so why not get behind her as well\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
To communicate regularly with her clients, Tats uses social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s doing exactly what we set out to do, which was showcase my personality. When I started the business, I was worried that I may have to change, to become really serious and technically-focused. But one of my friends pointed out that people who seek out a professional service buy the person. So if people don\u2019t \u2018buy me\u2019, they\u2019re not going to want to be clients. That was probably the best advice I received. People can Google the technical stuff; I focus on sharing anecdotes and real stories, because my clients can relate to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ongoing support<\/b><\/p>\n
Tats attributes much of her success to the support of other financial planners.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough Securitor I have met some other advisers, all older gentlemen, and they\u2019ve just been fantastic. They offer as much help and support as you could want. I\u2019ve sat with them for hours, talking about issues and challenges that I\u2019m struggling with in my business. I also have two planners who I met when I was a BDM, who I know I can call any time for their support or advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy recommendation to others wanting to start up their own business is to begin talking to people as early as possible. Not only will they have ideas and advice for you, but it also means they\u2019re already thinking about whether they have any leads they can send your way, well ahead of your first day of business.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn day one, you need to focus. You don\u2019t want to be worried about your website, your business cards or setting up your office. Set yourself up first, so you can focus on getting the clients in the door from day one.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In this practice development case study, new risk specialist adviser, Tatiana Coulter, shares how she started her practice from scratch. She talks about the marketing and lead generation strategies she employed to grow her client base, and offers tips for other advisers starting out in their own businesses. [hr] At a glance Submitted by: Tatiana […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4477,4261],"tags":[4649,4551,4484,5764,4549,5765,5768,4550,4483],"class_list":["post-24224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-marketing","category-marketing-sales","tag-advisory-boards","tag-business-networking-international","tag-generating-leads","tag-marketing","tag-monarch-advisory-group","tag-referrals","tag-sales","tag-securitor","tag-social-media-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/case-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/case-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/case-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/case-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/case-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/case-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24224\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/case-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/case-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/case-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}