Getting the Most from Your Advisors

You may be using many types of advisors - including accountants, lawyers, business consultants, computer system technicians, trainers, financial planners, bankers, insurance professionals, marriage counselors, and therapists -- even psychics! But are they doing the job that you need them to be doing for you?

Some owners, for example, complain about the services they receive from their advisors, yet they continue to use those services without making an effort to demand more. Others feel satisfied with the services they receive, but are not aware that they are not getting the highest quality of services available from that advisor.

When your vehicle is not fixed properly, you wouldn’t hesitate to complain to the repair shop. If you get a bad haircut, you probably do not hesitate to tell the stylist that you are not happy with it, but many business owners settle for less from their advisors.

Given all the money you spend on advisors, it is important that you make sure that your advisors are a "good investment in services" rather than "overhead". How do you do this?

1. Tell your advisors your vision. It is important that your advisors know your vision for the business. Otherwise, they will likely be reactive rather than proactive. Many creative and conscientious advisors are not tuned in to the big picture. Therefore, they miss opportunities to make suggestions that would be very productive. Alternatively, they are not aware of the timing of certain issues, so they are playing catch up with the client. Worse yet, yet fail to coordinate their activities with other advisors on the team (typically between accountants and attorneys).

2. Insist that your advisors communicate and collaborate in your best interest - even if if means that they have to be brutally honest with you! 

3. Establish "deliverables", set realistic deadlines, and hold people accountable. Just as you would expect a building contractor to provide a blueprint of the work they were to perform, along with a project schedule, so should you ask your advisors to set out what services they are going to perform along with due dates (preferably in writing).

4. Be sure you live up to your end of the bargain. Most advisors start out wanting to deliver high quality services. However, clients often do not meet the very timetables they helped to establish. Then they expect the advisor to make up for the delay the client created. Even a two day delay by the client in providing requested information can create as much as a two week delay on the part of the advisor, because of other clients or tasks on the advisor's "docket". 

5. Pay your bills on time. Most people are in business to make a profit - just like you - and cannot pay their bills with promises. So, show them that you make them a priority, when they make you a priority. That is the sign of a good client.

6. Recognize excellent performance. Treat good advisors as you would good employees – everyone needs to be praised.

7. Refer clients to your advisors. If they do a good job – tell everyone you know!  From my experience, having built three businesses based upon word of mouth, there is nothing more satisfying (from a recognition standpoint) than having a potential client say, "Tom said I should speak with you about… He is said you really helped him out a great deal." This makes me want to try even harder to please Tom.

8. Give your advisor a 2-minute warning. Employers give their employees performance evaluations and usually follow some type of disciplinary process for unacceptable performance. Yet, owners usually wait until they are fed up with the services they receive from advisors. Sometimes, this is appropriate. But often, all that was needed was a "2-minute warning" to let the advisor know of their dissatisfaction. That will usually clear things up.

There are probably a dozen other issues to getting most from your advisors. However, in the final analysis, all the means I have described are only as good as the standards you set for yourself and your organization.

If you manage your advisors well, you will get far superior service and they will have a better client. It's a win/win situation, so don't be shy about it.

For more information about how Management Advisory Group can help your organization, please click here.