Is Your Brand Setting You Up for Succession?
As you build and grow your practice, the product is you—your expertise, your relationships and the trust you instill in each client. But eventually you’ll start looking down the road to semi-retirement or a full succession, and at some point the product can’t be you anymore.
If your practice is going to be marketable and transferable to the professionals who succeed you, then you need to imprint your way of thinking onto the structure and culture of your business. That’s why brand building is such a crucial part of succession planning.
No one else is going to be able to do things exactly as you do them, but the more you document your methods, the more repeatable your process becomes. In other words, the secret sauce needs to be in your processes and procedures, and this typically begins with implementing:
- a core brand story that articulates your professional worldview,
- a service offering that is tailored to the needs of your natural market,
- and a client process that reflects your unique approach to wealth advice.
While your practice’s value should be external to you, we’re not recommending that you hide your personality, either. It’s still important to prioritize transparency and individuality, because clients want to know that the advice they’re getting is rooted in both expertise and a personal investment in their well-being.
Building a succession-friendly brand simply shows potential new hires that they are coming into a system that works, helps clients build confidence that their experience won’t be upended when you leave, and, in the meantime, supports your goals for growth and retention.
