Ironstone has the privilege to work with phenomenal advisory teams across the country, and we want to share their stories to provide you with motivation for change or validation of your hard work.
J Singleton Financial, an advisory practice in Jackson, Wyoming, is a team of industry professionals with almost 100 years of financial planning experience. In this article, they provide key insights on how they implemented practice management strategies and the results they’ve achieved.
What challenges were you experiencing prior to working with Ironstone?
Staffing dynamics & team coordination were very challenging and made it difficult to implement processes. Without processes, this can potentially begin to impact client relationships.
What practice management steps is your firm taking to improve your practice?
We just recently lost one of our employees, who did a great job of keeping the team organized. As a result, we have all taken on new duties and responsibilities, which in retrospect has turned out to be a very positive change as we are all learning new things and becoming more unified as a whole.
We’re actively analyzing our book of business to see if current investment strategies are in the best interest of the client and reaching out to that client to schedule a meeting to revisit & potentially convert their current investment strategy
We are also exploring segmentation & continued process development for better efficiency.
What was successfully implemented via your efforts with Ironstone?
- Assigning our client database to a specific Client Associate
- Preparation of paperwork & client reporting packages prior to client meetings
- Quarterly reviews with Judy
- Understanding we all have different personalities and work differently…adapting & learning to identify all of our strengths and weaknesses (i.e. Meyers Briggs)
- Proactive client communication
How has the time invested to create processes and systems for your firm been beneficial (internally and for clients)?
We believe it has been beneficial internally because it creates a unified system among the team so that when a team member is absent it is easy to pick up where they left off. Morale has been lifted and we have much more open communication among team members.
Time management is much better, and since we’re more goal oriented we are seeing increased results in obtaining our goals.
As for clients, the meetings are organized and structured and allow our clients to have confidence in not only Judy, but the team behind her. Our value proposition is definitely more refined.
What results have you experienced from your relationship with Ironstone?
The main benefit has been a significant increase in structure & organization for the practice, and addressing the challenges we were facing in an organized manner.
We’ve gained new insights on:
- How to introduce and implement new systems in the workforce
- How to prepare for an employee/ employer review
- Being less fearful of losing clients that are not a good fit
- Gaining a more firm identity
- Concrete strategies and consistent communication for better deliverables
- Going paperless as an office
- Delivering meetings paperless and online (via Go To Meeting)
Stay tuned for next quarter to hear more powerful stories from the field of Ironstone Implementers. If you’d like to learn more about J Singleton Financial, please visit their website.
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