THE FINNOVATOR

Continuing our theme of 2022 in looking deeper into the technology solutions available to advice firms in 2022, my guest in this Masterclass is someone who will be known to many of you.
 
To say Dan has quite a pedigree in financial services would be an understatement. He's held a number of roles at a variety of well-known financial institutions, but the tech journey begins in 2004 with a tool those of you may recall called OLICC.
 
For the last decade-and-a-bit though his passion has been split between supporting growth in training organisations with Weworkbook, and helping advisers achieve greater efficiency with Worksorted.
 
If you know the latter name but not the tool itself, what you need to know is it's one of a number of software tools seeking to solve the operational challenges faced by advice businesses in a slightly different way to others.
 
In this Masterclass, we'll dive deep into:
the story behind Worksorted
provide insight into the issues it's focused on helping practices address
the tech stack it works best with
 
If you've wondered what's out there but struggled to get to the heart of whether Worksorted is right for you, lend me an hour and I'll give you back the insight you need.
 
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In the second of our relaunched Finnovation Masterclass series, I'm joined by Ashley Mahadeea of Advice Intelligence.  
 
Advice Intelligence is one of what I'd call one of the bigger fringe players in the practice technology space. Growing but not yet where the team is aiming to take it.  
 
In the tech world though, Advice Intelligence has all the markings of a future star: well-funded, great team and a clear vision of a software solution that can do it all in a way that is looking to the future rather than the past.  
 
If you're the kind of practice whose value is aligned with how much more effectively you can help clients make faster progress, then your ethos will be aligned with their approach.  
 
If you see the future of client engagement as being portal-centric, ditto.  
 
In this session, Ash and I will dive into:
the genesis of the Advice Intelligence platform,  
the specific practice issues they've set sight on solving,  
who AI is built for and the kind of business model someone seeking their solution will be looking for.  
 
If you've ever wanted to look beyond the tech you know, peer into the team behind the name and understand whether AI is something to consider at a deeper value, ethos and business model level, join Ash and me as we go deep.
 
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In the very first of our relaunched Finnovation Masterclass series, I'm joined by Taylor Bindon of MOAS.  
 
When it comes to financial planning software there are many tools that start with the aim and claim to be able to do it all. Interestingly, there are few that start with the eventual aim to be able to do it all but the initial intention to do a few things brilliantly.  
 
I first met Taylor personally once he and his team had successfully implemented MOAS into one of my client's business to bring down the total time required to deliver Review documentation to just over an hour. Their next goal is to get it under.  
 
This approach to growing a tech solution - by focusing on the most doable problems first - is something that flies to the heart of why tech companies grow fast and often outmanoeuvre better-funded competitors, and why I want to share with you the story (and keep an eye on what's coming next).  
 
For those of you challenged to get Statements of Advice out or find a way of making them look like something other than a legal contract, what they're doing now may not be as interesting as what comes next.  
 
In this session, Taylor and I will be discussing a range of areas of their growth path, including how MOAS came about:
- The team behind it and why their complimentary skillset is so important for any tech success story
- The specific problems they took aim and how they've solved them
- The kind of practice who would benefit from their solution and why MOAS does and doesn't replace/ compliment.
 
This is a chance to see into something very new outside of what most of us know within practice technology.
 
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I'd like to invite you to join Daryl La'Brooy (Hillross St Kilda) and me for a Masterclass session all about how to do a pricing transition most effectively.
 
I've had the great pleasure of working with Daryl, Kirsten, Steven & the team these past months and this is a story I really wanted to share with you.
 
If you have yet to meet Daryl, let me be the first to introduce you to someone who as well as being a very switched on business owner, published author and someone I could talk with for hours, is also a very fine adviser indeed.
When we first met, the conversation followed a very familiar path that's become common these past years.
 
Whilst diagnosing the many opportunities for us to work together to improve, optimise and fix certain areas of the business, one key issue shone like a beacon.
 
Pricing.
 
In this Masterclass, we're going to dive deep into how Daryl and the team approached their transition from a very specific angle.
 
One of a number of impressive talents Daryl has is his ability to identify very clearly the value that advice provided has added to clients.
We're talking about the kind of "you-started-here-and-now-you're-here" analysis that he's able to do, in detail, at the drop of a hat.
 
It's proven very helpful when talking fees with clients and standing firm on value (not that it's been much of an issue most of the time), and just one small part of how after six months of working on his transition he's already successfully closed 50% of what was identified as a quarter of a million-dollar profit gap.
 
It's a great case study to understand for anyone who wants to get into the nitty-gritty of how a successful transition can be done with intensity, as well as the value of advice over time as explained by someone who is absolutely clear on it.
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/
 
 

For most practice owners, technology presents a challenge to be overcome.   Maybe it’s about wanting to nail your processes, but not being able to get your workflow threads set up the way you wish they could be.   You’d love to be able to generate presentation-ready advice documents but you end up having to edit everything first.   Perhaps the goal is email automation, but the system just won’t bend to your will.  On a recent Leveraged Advice Firm program training session all about systems the commonly heard complaints about software came up, yet one person had a different story to tell, which is why I wanted to spend some time unpacking what allowed Rowland Financial to make their technology work FOR them.   Apart from a commitment as a team to finding the solution, part of the reason is that Debbie French not only has been given the opportunity to apply her software skills and systems thinking but that their attitude to leveraging tech is measuredly different, resulting in some extraordinary results.   Direct Dragan dictation of file notes directly in the CRM, automated outbound emails to book Reviews and a fully operational workflow tracking system is just the tip of the iceberg. If practice efficiency is your interest, this is a story you may want to eavesdrop on.   Debbie and I covered:
• the specifics of what she and the team at Rowfin do differently,
• what they’ve been able to build and
• how you can change your relationship with your practice’s technology for the good.
 
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Michael Lawes is someone with whom I share a common passion for coaching advisers. Whenever we get together, we can spent 40 mins or more of the meeting talking about our latest great reads, or what's working best, and find ourselves almost forgetting the reason we were meeting altogether.
As National Manager of Business Coaching at Affinia he leads a team that firmly believe that a significant part of the role of a Licensee is to work with practices on the business of advice, as well as all the other elements that make up the modern Licensee offering.
In this session, we tag teamed to dive deep on what a sustainable service offering looks like as we move into the next phase of advice business, and how practices can make the transition with more confidence.
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

At some point in time, every advice firm reaches a point where the next stage in its development requires someone to be focused on growing the operational "muscles", which is why I wanted to share this with you.
Angela Laughlin of BBB Partners is that person and it's no exaggeration to say is one of the most effective Practice Managers I've worked with. 
In this episode of The Finnovator, she shared the lessons she's learnt about managing a practice and taking it to the next level. If you run a practice, this advice is what you'll appreciate having heard.
 
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With a lot of firms back on a growth footing, I wanted to share a very relevant, topical and recent conversation with someone who knows a lot about finding, hiring and retaining the very best people; Alisdair Barr
Alisdair is the founder and driving force behind Strider. His mission over these past years has been helping advisers to help more clients by solving the resource constraints that hold them back. He's done this by helping to master the art of finding great people and, through the right mentoring and training, turning them into superstar team members.
This is a topic close to my heart, as the search for the perfect, fully-formed staff member - the Unicorn - is often something that ends up being a search without end, and ironically the slower route.
In this session, we unpacked:
what he's learned about finding, hiring and developing the right staff,
the mistakes made along the way
and some valuable insight into how to ensure your business can get the best out of your people and grow to become a force for providing great advice to more people.
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

If the name Fox & Hare isn't familiar to it, you must have been truly "head down, bum up" in 2019.
In what seemed like an extraordinarily short period of time Jessica Brady & Glenn Hare caught the attention of the industry and their target market with a mastery of messaging, mission, and branding that drew in prospects and maybe even put more than a few noses out of joint.
At this Masterclass though we'll be covering very different ground.
We'll be exploring - if you'll excuse the band analogy - what happens when your first album is a hit and it's time to write the second, including:
How to manage/ keep up with the demands of rapid growth,
How to find and manage the staff needed and learn fast,
How they've set the business up to deliver on a proposition that got traction fast,
How they've approached investing for growth.
...and more.
 
As you know, Masterclasses are about unpacking the story, wherever it may take us.  If you're a business that's seen growth and wondering what the next phase looks like, or you're interested in hearing about how to deal with a business that is changing fast in an already fast-changing environment, this is one not to miss.
 
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If you REALLY want to know how to 10x the impact you can have on your clients financial decisions, read on. This is one story you need to hear.
In 2013, I was not feeling great. I weighed too much, my diet was terrible and my relationship with exercise was at an all-time low.
In a flash of destiny, I signed Rachel and I up for a one-month deal with Original Bootcamp in Coogee.
Little did I know how influential this decision would be.
The catalyst for one of the most significant transformations in my life was two people; Jim "Chief" & Emilie “Gunny" Brabon. These two are legends in the fitness industry, thought-leading "sweatpant millionaires", two of Australia's leading Ultra Marathon runners and Under Armour ambassadors.
What's this got to do with advice, you ask? Here's what.
They worked out the formula for getting better results via a community than anyone ever could 1:1.
Join me for this and you will learn:
How they went from selling programs for Fitness First to having 40 locations nationwide.What they know about group mentality that others simply don't get, and how it fuelled their scaling Bootcamp fast to 40 branches nationwide (and can do the same for your client base)The marketing secrets that allow them to have utterly personal and warm relationships with every member of their community, even as it grew into the thousands through their online 8 Weeks To Wow program.
...and that's just for starters. If you want to create an advice firm that's built on the principle of getting your clients a result, you need to be able to influence at a deep level their behaviour.
If you want to create a firm that does this at a scale that enables you to have impact AND grow a profitable business, you need to understand the dynamics of a community.
If you're going to do this, learning from the best is a shortcut that works. In Chief and Gunny, trust me, there is no-one better.
 
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