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This is The Perfect RIA, in case you didn’t know. Bringing you all the strategies to help your business grow. Are you happy? Are you satisfied? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? Sit back and listen in while you feel the beat. Another myth bites the dust…

Micah Shilanski: Welcome back to another Perfect RIA podcast. I am your co-host, Micah Shilanski, and with me, as usual, is the legendary Matthew Jarvis. How’s it going, Matthew?

Matthew Jarvis: It’s good, Micah. How about yourself, buddy?

Micah Shilanski: I’m doing good. Getting ready for the holidays, it’s our season of darkness. We’ve got a couple hours of light per day, so we try to cherish that when it comes into the northern lands. But other than that we’re doing great.

Matthew Jarvis: Well, since you do half of these podcasts from your basement with no windows, I can’t even tell. No, for those of you that haven’t been to Alaska, and I apologize if you’ve heard me tell this story before, I went and visited Micah one time up in Anchorage and we were working at his condo, and I keep thinking, “Why doesn’t he open the blinds? It’s 2:00 in the afternoon, the blinds are still drawn shut.” So I say, “Micah, do you mind if we open the blinds and let some light in?” He gets this big smile and said, “Yeah, go ahead and open the blinds. Let me know how much light comes in.”

Micah Shilanski: And just, you went over to the window, open them up, and nothing changed. It was about the same.

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah. It actually got darker, so.

Micah Shilanski: That vortex of light suction that happens, yeah. Well, while that is not only informative but helpful to build your practice, today we want to talk a little bit about, I’m sure it’s a pet peeve of Jarvis and I’s at some level, so we’ll get into that for some fun, but coaching programs that are out there. And we get a lot of questions that come out about, “What program should I do? What coach should I use? How should I do this and that?” And so we got some opinions that we’re going to throw out there on how you should look at this. Now, again, the way we try to dissect everything is kind of two-fold. Is one, does it meet the Perfect RIA standards, right? So is it delivering massive value to your clients? Is it helping you run a profitable practice? Are you taking off time to spend with your family? So that’s always the first lens that we’re going to do.

Then the second lens that kind of comes right behind that is, does it actually work? That’s going to be there. Hints the quote that’s out there, “Those who can’t do, teach.” And I think so many people said it but I think Woody Allen is who we’re attributing this to at this particular time. And that really comes out as Jarvis and I’s pet peeve that sometimes you’ll get in programs that these guys have no idea what the heck they’re talking about and really will guide you from a marketing program to a coaching program or whatever it is, when they don’t actually know what they’re talking about. At least, that’s been some of my experience that I’ve had to weed through. Jarvis, what about you?

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah, I’ve been on both sides of that. I’ve gone to coaching programs, and we’ll talk about those in a minute, that have been absolutely spectacular, have really transformed my practice.

Micah Shilanski: Yeah.

Matthew Jarvis: I’ve also thrown my money at a lot of really bad ones. And of course that old saying, those who can’t do teach, is not 100% universal but it’s a good rule of thumb to go off of. And on one extreme, you need to look at somebody, let’s say your Tom Brady, right? You’re the best quarterback probably that’s ever lived. There is no quarterback better than you that can give you advice. So I mean, if you’re the best of the best of the best, maybe you can’t find someone who’s done it better than you. But as a rule, I don’t want to learn from anybody that doesn’t have some element of what I want. For example, I work with some personal coaches one on one that are not financial advisors but there’s things that they have in their life or in their business that I want to duplicate in mine and so I might drill that in narrowly. But as a rule, I don’t want to take advice from anybody who isn’t doing what I want better than I’m doing it.

Micah Shilanski: Or, at least, do they have the knowledge? So maybe they can’t physically do it better than you, but they know how it should be done better, right? They’re still striving down that path. So again, one of the personal coaches I have in my life, actually a shooting coach, and one of the ways that he helps me, we’re getting to a point where we’re kind of equal or I’m starting to be a little faster on some of the things that I do. But he still holds me really accountable and he knows what’s supposed to happen. I’m just, can physically move faster, so I’m able to do some things that he can’t do, but he still has a ton of knowledge in that and he’s still doing the things that I want to be able to do. So, you’ve got to put those, it’s a little tongue in cheek, I think, but you’ve got to put that as a quick little test. Are you going down that right path? Or are you getting knowledge from someone else where we’ve always spent money on these programs before, including me, someone that has no idea what the they’re talking about, but they’ve created a program, they’ve sold it to you, and they’re really just full of BS.

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah, that’s a good example there, Micah, right? If you’re hiring a coach for accountability, and they can show that they hold people accountable, that’s awesome, right?

Micah Shilanski: Yes.

Matthew Jarvis: They don’t actually need to have been a financial advisor or a better financial advisor than you if they can show a track record of accountability. But if they’re selling themselves saying, “Hey, I can show you how to bring in 100 new clients this year,” and you say, “Great. How many financial advisor clients have you ever brought in?” And they say, “Well, none.” Okay. I’m not really interested in that. So I just, and I hope we’re painting that distinction clearly enough.

Micah Shilanski: Yes.

Matthew Jarvis: It doesn’t mean … At some point you’re not going to be able to find people that are better than you. But just make sure that if they’re claiming to do something good, they better be able to walk that talk. They better be able to back that up.

Micah Shilanski: Well, and let me give you another example of my coach in finance, right? Joe Lucas, who’s my coach.

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah.

Micah Shilanski: And he’s never been a financial advisor, right? And so, but I don’t hold this against him because he doesn’t claim to be a financial advisor. He doesn’t claim in this site. He says, “Look, here’s the space that I run, and I run in a head space, I run in a personal development space, I run in accountability. These are the programs that I set up. And here’s my track record for doing that.” So I can completely respect that for how he operates those things, and he only works with financial advisors, so he has a lot of knowledge in that, but he’s not out there stating, let’s say, “Hey, I’ve been here before, I’ve been in your shoes, blah blah blah.”

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah.

Micah Shilanski: When he’s been either A, hasn’t, or totally unsuccessful in that endeavor. And that’s, I think, what we’re alluding to, are those wholesalers that, I don’t know, this has probably changed. It’s been years since I’ve met with a wholesaler. But when they used to call me and I’d say, “This is Micah,” “I was an advisor, so I’ve been in your shoes before.” Hold on a second. So you were an advisor and you failed, and now I’m supposed to listen to you? “No, no, no, I didn’t fail, I chose a different channel.” Going to a wholesaler? I’m not sure that’s an upgrade. Sorry.

Matthew Jarvis: Yep. Yep. No, I’m with you. So if you are not yet in a coaching program or don’t yet have a coach picked out for 2020, and I will actually confess, I do have a personal coach. I’m working with Adam Silverstein, who was on our podcast episode a few episodes ago. But I don’t have a group coaching program picked out for next year, so I’m actually walking through this process that we’re going to outline for myself for 2020. But it’s a process that we want to have you walk through, as you’re considering programs, as you’re considering how you’re going to do personal development next year. So, Micah, where would you start this off at? So an advisor’s saying, “Hey, I want to improve, I see the top advisors are always getting better.” How would you have them start that process?

Micah Shilanski: The first thing is a little introspective, right? You have to know yourself. What type of program are you going to excel in? And are you going to take those people’s advice. Right? Because if you find someone who’s maybe a rockstar, they’re doing a great job, but you’re never going to listen to them, you’re just going to show up and heckle them and not believe what they’re saying, why are you wasting your time and money? So the first thing is, you need to find out what type of programs work for you. Can you do it 100% online? Does it have to be a live event, right? Do you need to travel to go to those things? What type of person are you going to respect to listen to their opinion? You need to start asking those introspective questions first, because that’s going to lead you down, that’s the first test that you’re going to have, to say, is that program for you?

I don’t excel at, me personally, programs with hundreds of other people in them, right? I want smaller group dynamics. So, for me, if I had a coaching program that had 200 people in it, probably not interested. That’s more of a conference for me. That just doesn’t work for my thing. I want a smaller group that’s going to be there. So I would shy away from a giant program, for my learning style. That would be there. I like in person versus online. So again, these are the things that I’m going to look for to go to for me for a coaching program, versus other ones that are out there.

Matthew Jarvis: I think that’s really valid. That, know yourself. It’s almost like that old Kung Fu adage, right? When the student is ready, the master will appear. You need to make sure, as a student, you’re ready. I would just add, Micah, to a couple points you made. How frequently do you want to talk to your coach? Or coaching program.

Micah Shilanski: Right.

Matthew Jarvis: Do you want to talk to them every week? Is this something you want to go to twice a year? Part of that’s even just knowing, how long can you sit at an event? So if I go to a live event, I’ve got a day, day and a half max for me, and then I’m just the heckler in the back row and I finally learned to just leave. But if it was a four day event, that’s not a good fit for me. I’m just not going to last that long. So, know yourself, know that you’re ready to follow advice, and know where it is that you learn best, Micah, to your point.

Micah Shilanski: Right. And with that, then you’ve got to go from knowing yourself. Then you’ve got to go to vetting the provider. Right? And with vetting the provider, you’ve got to go through and you’ve got to look and say, do they have proven results, or is this all talk that’s going to be inside of there? And I’m really good. I want numbers. I want results. Give me ranges. If I hire you, I can expect X, or X to Y is fine. But I’m not running for a popularity contest, and I don’t want more likes or more votes. I want revenue coming in. I want clients. Whatever I’m going for, I want to boil it down to some type of KPI or OKR that I can track to say, “Is this working or not?” And so I want to know from them, what are they doing in order to be there. What’s their track record with success? And who have they worked for, or worked with in this area, that has been very successful that I can talk to?

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah. And on that, ideally I’d like to see that they’ve been successful in their own practice. Again, if we’re talking specific to financial advisors.

Micah Shilanski: Yes.

Matthew Jarvis: But to our earlier rant, if that’s not their background, then Micah, to your point, great. Give me the names of two or three. I know they’re going to cherry pick, and that’s fine. Two or three people that have gone through your program that have seen success. And I just want to give them a call and talk to them. I’d be glad to pay for an hour of their time, right? I’m going to make a substantial investment to join your program.

Micah Shilanski: Right.

Matthew Jarvis: I want to do my background, my due diligence there. And of course, pull their ADV.

Micah Shilanski: Because … And one of the things, if you don’t have it, Jarvis has it on his …

Matthew Jarvis: I’ve got it, I was actually looking up one this morning, so.

Micah Shilanski: And I’m sure he’s serious, by the way. This isn’t a joke.

Matthew Jarvis: No, I was really. I stumbled across an advisor’s website. They had three financial advisors and one team member relationship manager. And I thought, “Oh, that’s not a good ratio.” So I pulled their ADV. $60 million between the three advisors. I’m thinking, no, you need one advisor, three admins. And this might work. And the $60 million, but.

Micah Shilanski: Correct.

Matthew Jarvis: And it might work.

Micah Shilanski: Yeah.

Matthew Jarvis: Might work.

Micah Shilanski: So with that, one of the things that I want to know with coaches is, do they follow their own advice, right? So this is kind of a good one that’s here as well. So, what questions are they asking you? And I like to turn those questions around and get their personal answers. If I’m opening up my personal life, I want to know about yours. Right? Are you personally following the things you’re doing? And if you’re not, why in the heck should I follow them? So are you really living the things that you’re talking about? That’s really important to me.

Matthew Jarvis: It is. And I want to just, this is maybe a bit of a sidebar. This vetting, and we have a lot more to go, might seem like a lot to do. And you might say, “Well, hey, it’s only X thousand dollars. That’s not really a big deal.” But it’s, and maybe the money is a big deal for you, maybe it’s not. But you’re committing not just the money but the time to go. And then the opportunity cost to say, wait, if I’m going to spend 2020 in XYZ program and I get to the end of 2020 and it hasn’t improved my life or my practice, that year is gone forever. I can’t get that back. So to invest a few hours to vet out a program, that’s time well spent.

Micah Shilanski: It is. I mean, you’ve really got to define everything from success. Whether in spending a few hours up front, whether it’s hiring an employee, whether it’s learning how to delegate, whether it’s a coaching program, whatever it is, that time up front is going to pay so much dividends in the future by making sure you’re in the place that you need to be.

Matthew Jarvis: Part of the vetting is also getting an idea of the curriculum. What are they going to focus on? So Micah mentioned Coach Joe Lucas who we’ve had on the podcast a couple of times. In fact, Micah and Joe are going to be doing something together next year, which we’re really excited to learn more about.

Micah Shilanski: Yeah.

Matthew Jarvis: But Joe spends a lot of great time dealing with head trash and head space. And so that’s perfect if you need help with head trash and head space. But if you’re going to Joe’s program, and this is, again, no disrespect to Joe, because you want to learn how to do advanced tax strategies, you’re in the wrong place. That’s not his cup of tea. You’re going to be really disappointed if that’s, if you showed up thinking, “Wow, I’m going to get 15 CFP credits and learn how to file a tax return.” That’s the wrong path.

Micah Shilanski: Right. Right. So knowing what that’s going to be. I also want to get them to define, coaches or programs that I do, define in their terms what success is, okay? So we both say success, but we both say growth. Well I have my imagination of what that is. You have your imagination of what that is. We’re both not agreeing on the definition of terms here. So, really important to define the terms. So if we say it’s going to be successful, if we say we expect this, get them into detail to clarify what is success, right? What does that mean? What are they envisioning at the end of your relationship, six months into your relationship, whatever that is? That’s a very important thing to make sure it matches what you think success should be.

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah, and I would let them go first. So tell them about your practice.

Micah Shilanski: Right.

Matthew Jarvis: And then say, “Hey, what do you think success would look like?” Because there’s this risk that if you lead off and say, “Hey, I want to join your practice because I want to go from $200000 a year to $20 million,” they’re going to say, “Great, we could probably do that for you.” So, let them lead off.

Micah Shilanski: This is funny, when I’m teaching classes for federal employees and they’re like, “Well, how do find an estate planning attorney,” that’s exactly the same thing I bring up. I said, “Well, what you don’t do is randomly call someone and say, ‘Hey, do you do estate planning?’” Their answer is, “Yes,” right? Because they think they know how to draft a will. So you don’t lead with the answer. Same thing here, right? Lead with an open ended question and see if it is the way you want to do it. Now, what I would do, so you don’t get a good person on the phone that tweaks your answers, and we’re going to do is we’re going to put this in a nice little workflow or a quiz that’s going to be out there for you guys. And we’ll get that out some time. And go and answer this for yourself. Then go through the program and answer this. Don’t answer it with them, right? Because you want to define what your goals are, you want to define what the things of success are first. Then go and ask the people. And if it doesn’t match, bounce, go to the next program. Right? But don’t change your answers to be what theirs need to be.

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah. One of my more skeptical things that I would throw in there when I’m vetting is, if their systems are so great, why aren’t they using it themselves? And this one really comes up for me any time advisors ask me about lead generation services. They say, “Oh, I heard about this lead service.” Great. If the leads are so good, why aren’t they converting them? Why are they selling them to you? So again, I don’t want you to feel that we’re against all coaching programs. Micah and I are not. We both are always in coaching programs. We’re big advocates of one. TVR’s going to have some more coaching stuff coming out next year. But you just, you have to be really critical of these programs. They promise good things, and some of them deliver in spades, and a lot of them don’t.

Micah Shilanski: But you’ve got to be critical of every vendor that you use.

Matthew Jarvis: That’s true.

Micah Shilanski: Right? So this is a thing, and today we’re just picking on coaching programs just to go through a little bit more details on this. But I would apply this same skepticism to almost all vendor decisions that I’m making.

Matthew Jarvis: Yes.

Micah Shilanski: Because I want to make sure it’s a good relationship. Because me nor the coach that I hire want me to be unhappy in six months. Right? And if we’re setting off on that wrong path that’s going to be there, I’m the pain in the butt that’s not just going to go away, I’m going to let everybody know I’m going away. And why I’m going away. And how this was a fail, right? All right, not that dramatic. But no one wants that at the end of six months. So we’ve got to make sure we’re setting this up for success. So, Jarvis, I’m going to take what you said, and if their systems are so great, why aren’t they using it? But are their systems designed for your practice? That’s another question that I would throw in there as well. Because if I got someone who’s a pure insurance shop, they’re doing seven, eight million dollars a year in GDC and they’re pumping everything into annuities and they have this onboarding system, that’s not for me. That’s not what I do. I’m not interested in that. Yes, they might have some cool marketing ideas, but that’s not my same shop. I’m a true financial planner, I’m not an insurance shop.

So I’m not interested in those types of things. So if their systems are great and working, will they work for you, for your firm, of where you want to be?

Matthew Jarvis: I would say related to that, very related to that is, who else is going to be in the room? So to your point, Micah, if it’s going to be a room full of, I don’t know, let’s just pick insurance salesmen for one thing. Great, those are interesting guys and gals, they have interesting things to say. But that’s not the kind of practice I have. Same would be true of, hey, this is going to be a group of people that are in their first three years of practice. I’m not interesting in being in that group. At the same time, if this is going to be a group of $10 billion RA firms, I might be curious, but that’s probably not going to help me transform my practice. So I want there to be people like me, ideally one step above me, in that group.

Micah Shilanski: Yeah. Yeah. You’re going to need a little bit of a mix, but ideally, always someone above you that you can aim for and go this. I want to also go with, what level of one on one or one on whatever level that you’re going to have? So one of the things, in a coaching program I bought this last year that went south rather quickly was I bought it, it was good, it was at a conference, sounded great. I was at a round table, and they said, “Here’s going to be your coach. This is what we’re going to do.” There was eight people there. They said, “Yep, you’re all going to be part of the same group.” Awesome. Signed up for it.

Well, we did our first call in a set of eight people, there was 60 people on the line. I said, “Who the hell are these 60 people?” They’re like, “Well, it’s everyone part of your program.” I said, there was freaking eight people at the table and the coaches were one of them. I was like, how are all these people here? And it was a total misconception on my end, because I got to take responsibility for this. It was a misconception of what they meant by level and program. They plugged those people at the table into the existing coaching program that was going on. We had a bunch of people that were on that call, and their one hour call ended up going on for three or four hours. I bounced after 20 minutes because there’s no way in Q I was going to get any of my questions answered whatsoever.

So I was pissed. And there was 15 grand gone, because they don’t do any refunds or guarantee any type of deliverable that’s there. So, not very thrilled with that program that took place. So make sure you get that very clearly defined. Again, this is my fail, my expense, right? But make sure for you, understand what that level is going to be. If they have a group call, what does that mean? Does it mean you’re actually going to be able to answer a question? Is it going to be random law? Is there 80 people on the line? Is there three people on the line? Make sure you’re clear on your expectations so that you can be successful.

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah. Now, with all of these kind of critical angles we’re taking at these programs, if you, this probably goes back to know yourself, so I apologize, I should have had this earlier in our thing. If you’re not going to do group coaching, right? Or a coaching program. If you’re looking down at this and saying, “Well, this, this, this, all these things, these are all reasons I’m not going to do it,” what are you going to do instead?

Micah Shilanski: Yes.

Matthew Jarvis: So it’s important to keep in mind, there is no perfect program out there.

Micah Shilanski: Right.

Matthew Jarvis: Other than the Perfect RIA podcast.

Micah Shilanski: Clearly by the name definition, it’s perfect.

Matthew Jarvis: There is no perfect program. You’re going to have to make compromises, right? The goal with this screening process is to be intentional with your compromises.

Micah Shilanski: Right.

Matthew Jarvis: But kind of keep in mind, hey, if I don’t find a program I like, what am I going to do instead? Which is what I’m at right now. I’m saying, boy, I’m not signed up for anything in 2020 other than my personal coach. If I’m too critical of all these things, I won’t end up with anything and I’ll let that year go by without that opportunity for personal development.

Micah Shilanski: And I’m, I think, Jarvis, you and I might disagree with that. With this statement. I would go back and say, everybody needs a coaching program. Everybody needs to have someone out there that’s going to push you to the next level. And it can be different for everybody. But I’ve never seen a case where someone doesn’t need a coach that’s going to be there. And again, if you take the top professionals in our industry and any industry that’s out there, sports especially, they all not only have one but sometimes have multiple coaches to help them become the best them they can be. So again, this is to clarify what the right program is, and maybe it’s taking a slightly negative spin on it. But you still need to have a program. So what is the best one that’s going to help you succeed with that?

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah, I 100% agree. In fact, I always tell advisors, and I tell myself this as well, because everything you and I talk about on the podcast we’re doing in our own lives. You really need to have three things for personal development, I think. One is a personal coach of some kind. Now, Micah, you talk to your coach just once a month. I talk to mine every other week. So the frequency can vary. But you need someone that you can talk to one on one for accountability, to provide perspective, to help you clear out head trash. So a personal coach. I’m a firm believer, you need to be in some kind of group coaching program. Something where you’re getting together with other advisors of your caliber that are committed to be there. So industry conferences don’t fill that void for me because it’s too easy to come. You say, “I paid my $300 to be there.” Not a high enough bar. And then the third prong of that is you need to be in some kind of mastermind. Those are a lot of work to set up, those are probably the hardest of the three to set up.

Micah Shilanski: Yeah.

Matthew Jarvis: But you need those three. So a personal coach, some kind of group coaching thing, and then a mastermind.

Micah Shilanski: I agree. And it’s always pushing, you’re always drawing from these other things, you’re always making it better across the board. And if you think your mastermind sucks, if you think your group coaching program that you signed up for sucks, anything like that, then it’s your fault, right? Then you’re making it suck. So you either need to get out of it or you need to take the ownership and improve it. Because the quality of what you put into it also dictates the quality that you come out of it.

Matthew Jarvis: Totally.

Micah Shilanski: So you really got to be committed to these things to make them successful.

Matthew Jarvis: Do you know, a small thing on that, Micah, that I’ve discovered about myself is the amount I get out of a program depends on where I sit in the room. If I sit in the back of the room, just to me, if I sit in the back of the room with you, I’m just going to … no. If I sit in the back of the room, I’m going to just look at my phone, I’m going to heckle, I’m going to keep score on who’s asking the most questions, I’m going to do all sorts of dumb things. But if I sit to the front of the room, I’m going to pay attention. That’s just my dynamic. So one of the ways I gauge myself in a coaching program is if I find myself sitting in the back of the room, it’s time for me to find a new program. Because I’m not engaged.

Micah Shilanski: Oh my gosh, I always sit in the back of the room. Always.

Matthew Jarvis: I know.

Micah Shilanski: Yeah. I know, right?

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah. I saw a picture of you in a group coaching program the other day, I was going to forward it to you because you were in the back of the room.

Micah Shilanski: So that’s a good question is, for me, I’ll have to think about that. Do I want to, it makes me uncomfortable to move up in there closer to the front of the room. Notice how I said closer, so that means one table up from the back. But yeah. Good question.

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah. And maybe if the seat in the room isn’t your thing, if I’m going to this event, how will I know at the end of it that I was engaged? Right? That I made my contribution, Micah, to your point. I’m expecting them to deliver, but am I coming to the table ready to learn?

Micah Shilanski: And Kelly, my wife, is really good at keeping me on task at this. Because she’s very supportive of me going to events, doing coaching, all of those things, no pushback whatsoever. But if I go and she’s like, “How’s the event?” And I was like, “Oh, it’s okay. So what are the kids up to? Duh duh duh duh duh,” and I don’t talk about the event, she’s like, “Why are you there?” She’s like, “If you’re not excited,” because for me, if I’m not excited about it, then I’m not going to talk about it. Who cares? And so she’s like, “If you’re not excited about it or coming up with ideas or wanting to brainstorm business opportunities or blah blah blah at the end of your day, why are you taking that time away from family? Because you’re not excited about it.” So she is very good at helping keeping me accountable for the events that I go to, and making sure it’s worth taking the time away from the family and the office to go to those events.

Matthew Jarvis: That’s a good way to keep a pulse on that. I really like that.

Micah Shilanski: Yeah.

Matthew Jarvis: The only other thing I had on my list, Micah, and I’d be curious if you had anything else on your list, is just going through, make sure you have a good understanding of logistical stuff. Where are they going to meet? Where in the country? Is that going to fit in your schedule? How are you going to get there? How much is it going to cost? All those things are just good to have a pulse on. I see advisors get surprised by that and say, “Oh, wait. The conference is in Chicago? I didn’t realize that.” You need to know these things ahead of time.

Micah Shilanski: Conference is in Alaska? We’re not really connected to the lower 48? Yes. That’s kind of what happens.

Matthew Jarvis: It’s not next to Hawaii? Because it’s on the map.

Micah Shilanski: Oh, I know, right? And it’s so small, too. All right.

Matthew Jarvis: It’s so small.

Micah Shilanski: So yeah. I think these are all great things. So, of course, this podcast is all about action items and things that we can take to improve. We went through a lot of things. Now, we are going to work with our team and get this put together. It may not be available at this airing of the podcast, but we will make sure we get it sent out and we’ll turn this into a nice little decision tree. We’ll clean up what Jarvis and I talked about here. But I would say, number one, make a commitment to get into a coach or coaching program. And if you don’t like the one you’re in, get a different one. And I like Jarvis’s approach of that three tiered system, right? You’ve got a personal coach, you’ve got a group coach, you’ve got a mastermind. Where are you at with that? And make a commitment in 2020 to make those a reality.

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah. And it will take work for all three of those, right? I run our mastermind that Micah and I are in, and it’s a lot of work for me and my team. It was work to find people, it was work to put it together, but it’s invaluable. Invaluable.

Micah Shilanski: And Jarvis said it correctly. It’s a lot of work for him and his team. I do show up, so it is work for me as well.

Matthew Jarvis: All I can hope for.

Micah Shilanski: Your team creates work. I got an email from your team today. “Hey, can we get an agenda? A printed agenda? Tell Micah to show up with his MX black card.”

Matthew Jarvis: That’s right.

Micah Shilanski: On action items, my second action item would be, I would reach out to advisors that you know either personally or not who have the next level of success from you. So please don’t email Ron Carson, he’s 1000 levels above you. Unless you’re Ron Carson listening, in which case, hey Ron. But email, reach out to an advisor you know and ask them which coaching program they’ve benefited from most. Or least, if you’re considering one. So I always like to reach out to other people on that.

Matthew Jarvis: Right. One thing that I’ll throw in here as well, this is something that you can delegate. So often advisors think that they have to go find their own thing. Especially, use your own, create ours, a sheet of how to go find these programs. Delegate this out to your team and tell them to come up with the top three recommendations for a program. Say, “I’m looking for an individual coach to do this.” Have your team interview those individual coaches. Have them come up with who they think would be beneficial. And I like this for a couple of reasons. One, it gets your team buy-in because your coach is going to recommend something, your mastermind, whatever it is, is going to recommend something, which will be a change to your team environment that’s going to be there. If they help select that person by going through this process, boom. We got some team buy in already, because they chose the person that’s recommending these changes. So, and it frees up your time. So I like engaging your team with finding these individuals.

Micah Shilanski: I really like that. I would also, as an action item, and this is a shameless plug, keep an eye out or an ear out in January when we’ll be making some official announcements about some TPR live events, an enhanced version of the podcast, some opportunities for one on one coaching. So we’ve got some exciting things coming out in January. Please be sure to apply this same level of critical thinking to us, if only because we like a good fight. So.

Matthew Jarvis: Amen.

Micah Shilanski: And if you haven’t, not to put too much on you, but if you haven’t done it, jump on our website, fill out the TPR quiz. So tprdev0.wpengine.com, there’s a quiz to rate your practice. The reason this is good is kind of twofold. Is number one, is this is going to go through and rate a lot of the things how Jarvis and I rate our practices. And you’re going to see how you stack up. And it’s not so much to show the difference. It’s to show where you can make such improvements at. What are the big areas that you could make dramatic improvements at? And then we’re coming out with more based on those responses, the second reason to do it. This is how we’re creating a lot of our podcast content for 2020, is what are areas that advisors need to improve on? And awesome, now we’ve got this quiz that’s there. Now we can turn around and help deliver massive value to you, our listeners, by listening to this content, listening to those gaps, and helping create things that you can implement in your practice so that you can have the perfect RIA.

Matthew Jarvis: Yeah. Now the last thing on the list, and boy, it’s going to be a long list, the official TPR nation t-shirts are now available.

Micah Shilanski: That’s right.

Matthew Jarvis: So, give us a five star review on whatever podcast service you use. Tag us on social media showing a copy of your review. If you’ve already given us a review, thank you. Pull that review out, take a picture of it, tag us on social media, The Perfect RIA, and we will get a Perfect RIA t-shirt out to you. And if that’s not really your thing, either way we’re going to send you our respective lists of things that we’ve delegated so that you can use that for inspiration and doing additional delegation in your own life.

Micah Shilanski: And until next time, happy planning!

Matthew Jarvis: Happy planning.

Hold on before we go. Something that you need to know. This isn’t tax, legal, or investment advice. That isn’t our intent. Information designed to change lives. Financial planning can make you thrive. Start today. Don’t think twice. Be a better husband, father, mother, and wife. The Perfect RIA. The Perfect RIA.