Every time I log into my Netflix account, it tries to suggest programming the system thinks I might enjoy. It used to annoy me every time I logged Netflix tried to intrude with these suggestions, but over time I relaxed as I realized how accurate their predictions are. If the Netflix system says “suggestions for Mark,” those are the shows I tend to enjoy the most. But I must admit that I have been puzzled over the last couple of years seeing a show called “Downton Abbey” on the list of shows Netflix thinks I will really like. It just did not look like a show that I would enjoy. I mean it’s not an action flick, no explosions, no car chases; nothing that would appeal to my refined interests. I looked it up and Downton Abbey is about an aristocratic family in the early 1900s. When I saw that it was a PBS masterpiece theater production, that was further evidence that I would not find it interesting; again due to my uncultured preferences. So I ignored this Netflix suggestion for more than two years. Then over a span of two days three of my friends, in separate conversations, made the comment that they thought I would love the Downton Abbey TV series. So that weekend I gave-in and watched the pilot on Netflix.
It was great. The opening scene was this wealthy family morning the fact that they had lost a relative on the sinking of the Titanic. Surprising to me, the characters were interesting, the dialogue was clever and the topics were engaging. So I watched another episode. Well, long story short, I got hooked. The great thing about Netflix is it allows you to watch programming the way you want to. Unlike the television networks which dole-out one episode a week, when you get hooked on Netflix programming, you can blow a whole weekend watching an entire season. Which is what I did. So now here we are one month later and I've seen all three seasons of Downton Abbey.
After 2 or 3 episodes I realized why this program is so engaging to me… It’s the modeling of a serious service-model which caught my interest. The story takes place almost entirely in a British Castle called Downton Abbey. This place does not run itself. The aristocratic family effortlessly floats from one activity to the next, which creates the story line; they might go hunting one day, they might have a picnic the next, they might have a cricket match or a large dinner party, but regardless of what they’re doing every detail is flawlessly prepared for them well in advance.
So a large part of the story is following the lives of the service staff, a parallel story line with the various characters on the service team dealing with all their life issues and obstacles. This is what fascinates me the most. Having spent a full summer, my sophomore year in college, exploring castles throughout England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, I always wondered what life would be like living in one of these massive estates. Downton Abbey, gives the full flavor of that experience. All of these activities which seem so easy for the members of the aristocratic family, require a tremendous amount of preparation and attention to detail on the part of the staff. For example the cook, the cook's assistant, the butler, the under-butler, as well as the first and second footmen might prepare weeks in advance of a large dinner party. They have briefing meetings, they order-in all the supplies, literally block and stage every moment of the evening well in-advance.
By about the third episode I was more fascinated with how this deliverables team of household subject matter experts accomplished all these activities thereby making the lives of those people that they served very easy. Every financial advisor should watch Downton Abbey. There are some keys to understanding The Downton Abbey service-model, but in the end there’s one overriding principle that makes it work.
Keys to The Downton Abbey Service Model
- An Accepted Team Leader. There’s a Most Trusted Advisor; the team leader whom everyone respects. Carson the butler is the clear leader. The Deliverables Team Members certainly respect him, but the members of the Ideal Client community have equal respect for him.
- Process. There’s a specific way of doing everything; whether it’s planning a meal or “opening the house” in London for a trip by “his lordship and the family,” every activity is planned with tremendous precision and consistency according to a foreseeable process. There are obvious checklists for everything.
- High standards. Carson the butler, clearly communicates the high standards required; he creates clear expectations on the part of everyone on the Deliverables Team regarding what’s required of each.
- Accountability. While Carson the butler is a kind and somewhat patient man, a breach of standards never escapes his watchful eye nor his comment. Carson notices everything and holds everyone on the team accountable for following “the process” and to his high standards.
- Integrity. The members of the Downton Abbey service team refer to themselves being "in service." They say things like, "I think I will remain 'in service' until I die," meaning whether serving this family or another, they have chosen a life of service. Their dedication to the family they serve is apparent. If any outsider makes a disparaging comment about the family, or does anything against the family's interests any member of the service team will proactively stand-up for "the household" they serve. Many times with no knowledge by the wealthy family members, whether house maid or chauffeur, everyone on the team has the interests of the family at heart. As such, every member of the blue-blood family is aware of this professional integrity on the part their staff and appreciate that their team "has their backs" at all times.
- “I’ll take care of it M’Lord.” There is a subtle but easily identifiable theme that drives this service-model. There’s a mindset on the part of everyone on the team that none of the people they are serving should have to lift a finger to do anything that could, instead, be done by the team. It’s a "given" that everyone on the team is proactively looking for ways to make life easier for those they are serving. They’re not angry about it, they are happy when they find things to do which makes life easier; they generally don’t complain about being “overworked and underpaid,” and any bickering about the work generally has to do with “ego and turf issues” among the team members. There’s a scene where Matthew, the heir to the Downton Abbey estate, is putting on his own cuff links while nearby his valet, Mosely, is disturbed because he genuinely wishes “his lordship” would allow him to do his job. This proactive willingness to seek out ways to make life easier for those being served is the key to the whole success of The Downton Abbey Service Model.
Which brings me to the single overriding success principle to The Downton Abbey Service Model. Service is an attitude not a process.
Service Is An Attitude Not a Process
Having documented processes is important, they ensure tremendous consistency. Likewise, your processes support your high standards, and your culture of accountability. But service is not a process; "service" is an attitude within an individual. Being "of service" comes from within. I work with a lot of financial advisory offices around the world, and the people that we deal with in nearly every one of them clearly display this attitude of being “willing to serve.”
Can this attitude of service be trained or are we born with it?
It my quarter century in the Financial Services industry I’ve noticed that there are some people who do not have a “willingness to serve.” Unfortunately, as technically competent as they may be, without being "willing to serve," I think there’re in the wrong business. Can you build a profitable business model if you do not have a willingness to serve? Absolutely. But for the high level of service, compensation, which Comprehensive Financial Services demands, a “willingness to serve” is required. If you're struggling with someone on your team who does not genuinely and proactively do things to make every one of your Ideal Client's lives a little easier, then it's time to consider a replacement. However, so long as a willingness to serve is present in an individual all the rest can be trained. Having documented processes is one form of training, but nothing matches modeling. I don’t think it’s an accident that in the Downton Abbey Service Model before someone becomes the butler (the Most Trusted Advisor), one must first be a 2nd Footman, then a 1st Footman, then an “Under Butler.” It’s by working up the chain over time that an individual who merely has a “willingness to serve” is transformed into a best in class Deliverables Team Member and leader.
Isn’t this the service-model old fashioned and unprofitable?
In short, no. It’s what’s missing in our industry. I’m not saying that every client wants this, what I am saying is that there are enough clients who want this, and can’t find it anywhere at any price, for you to be able to build a highly successful, highly differentiated business model. You'll have almost no competition. We’re talking about a client who knows that they’ll never have to go to their lawyer or accountant without you being present, or talk to their insurance agent without you providing all the information in advance, in short there are enough Potential Ideal Clients out there for you to build a business which will drive and support your own ideal vision of your life. I’ll take it further, let’s say you didn’t have any processes or any client deliverables in place. Further, let’s say you’re new to the business and don’t really know what you are doing. If you adopted The Downton Abbey Service Model, and just started doing everything for your ideal clients related to their personal financial affairs you "make a living." If, as a new advisor you took the responsibility for someone's financial affairs "upon yourself" so that you filled out all the paperwork, you made appointments for them, you reached-out to their financial professionals, pushed for regular meetings, required agendas from them in advance, anticipated every detail well ahead of time, and flawlessly followed-up on every detail... I’m telling you that’s a valuable service. With no experience I believe you could charge a substantial fee just to make a client’s financial life as a effortless as possible for them. Imagine then, if, in addition to that service-model, you also had an annual checklist of 143 deliverables all structured around a process coordinating the team’s efforts so that everything "gets done" & nothing fall through the cracks? Before thinking how much that service would be worth to a client, think for a moment how nonexistent that model is in our industry right now. You'll be in a category of one.
So here’s my call to action
The Downton Abbey Service Model is not for everyone; providing this type of "beyond compare" service is only for the most committed advisors. Trust me when I say these levels of service don't "just happen." If you choose to fill this service-void in the marketplace, it will be up to you as Trusted Advisor and team leader to articulate, model and enforce. It will require great vigilance to maintain, but the rewards will be equally beyond compare. In the end, The Downton Abbey Service Model simply requires the right attitude among your team members, so on that score the cost of this model is zero. However, if you go this path, in order to create a culture around these high standards, encourage others on the team to shadow you. You are the only one who can set the standards by example. Your team will emulate whatever level of service they see in you. We don’t really have an apprenticeship model in our industry, so have newer support people shadow you. Shadowing you is the next best thing to an apprenticeship program, especially whenever problems arise or mistakes have been made. By having newer team members shadow you during critical situations, you will demonstrate and share these high standards in a way that is almost impossible to train in any other way.
Over the years every new member of my salaried staff shadowed me for their first two weeks on the job. When asked "why," it was explained that we have a tremendous number of documented processes, but the purpose of "shadowing Mark" is to understand the values behind those processes. After the first two weeks, whenever we had a serious problem arise related to a client, we encouraged new members of the team to shadow me as we resolved "the issue." This creates an internal culture around the the commitment we have to those we serve.
Very seldom do I recommend things for you to do in your free time, but in this case I do recommend Downton Abbey. Watch & learn.
A tradition we have on The Trusted Advisor Toolkit™ weekly
webinar
series is to share tech tools that help members build a comprehensive
financial firm that runs with the precision of a Swiss watch.
Lets say you’re having The Implementation Meeting™ with a new client, your first meeting since agreeing to work together, and they want to discuss something not on today's agenda. Let's propose they want to discuss their estate plan, for example, but that’s not on the agenda until a
future meeting. Should you go ahead and discuss it now or make
them wait? Perhaps you’ve even been caught unprepared and don’t all their current estate planning documents yet.
How can you be prepared for requests like this?
Nobody wants to think about dying. As a result, many
people put off thinking about what will happen to their assets and who will
care for them if they are unable to do so any longer. Trusted Financial
Advisors need to help their clients get their entire financial house in order –
including estate planning.
You’ve
been working in the financial industry for some time and yet you’ve only just recently
begun to offer fully comprehensive services to the ideal clients within
your community. One decision facing you is whether you’re going to let
some non-ideal clients go or if you’re going to move them over to your
ideal client community.
As Mr. and Mrs. Smith leave the conference room, you
return to your office with a sigh. You gave them a long list of necessary
client documents when they left the meeting this morning, but you just know
that very few of those items will be sent to you. It seems like most clients
don’t even look at the
list. They’ll probably just place it on the kitchen counter and it will be
swept away with the morning paper.
As
the phone conversation with the financial advisor ends, you sit back at your
desk in bewilderment. You’re trying very hard to implement
new communication processes, however the advisor wants you to be even more
specific in your communication with clients.
Don’t you like to check your
progress by comparing where you are today to where you were when you began
implementing steps to attaining your goals? It’s only reasonable that a client
will want to see what their returns have been with you since the inception of
your relationship with them as their trusted financial advisor. Put
yourself in their shoes. Wouldn’t you want to know this information if you
were the client?
Every week members of The Trusted Advisor Toolkit™ get to
listen to and participate in weekly webinars that greatly accelerate
implementing this practice management platform. One feature that has been very
beneficial is called, “This Week in Tech.” I let you know about tools that both
financial advisors and members of your team can use to make your job easier.
Have you
ever had a client who wants to pick
and choose which financial services he wants from you? He
resembles a picky eater who wants a family style buffet rather than a preset
7-course meal beautifully presented with complimentary flavors and textures.
Recently we had a similar situation mentioned at one of our webinars.
Check out the solutions we came up with as listed below and see how you would
answer the question posed.
It’s a big responsibility and trust for financial
advisor to handle your client’s confidential financial information. When you begin a relationship with a new
client, there are disclosures and agreements that your client needs to sign.
You can’t just slap something together on a yellow legal pad and expect it to
be adequate. What’s the most professional and easiest way to create
a system for getting this done?
Many times your clients will have professionals working
for them who are outside of your financial firm. They may have their own
insurance agent or an estate planning expert that they’ve dealt with for years,
or an accountant who coordinates their business and personal matters.