Is everyone on your team singing from the same songsheet?

Recently, my wife and I attended a concert at Massey Hall featuring an exciting new indy band from Seattle. With six members, the band was a bit bigger than typical. As you would expect, the lead singer was a big charismatic presence on the stage. One song in though and it was obvious this group had been playing together for several years. In music lingo, they were tight.

Watching this group perform reminded me of one of the high performing advisory practices in my branch. Their actions are tightly choreographed, every team member knows what the other is doing and they are working towards the same goal. The lead advisor leaves little to chance, just like the lead singer of our new favorite band.

Just as a band goes over their playlist before stepping on stage, this advisory team reviews client presentations in advance so each team member knows what's expected of them and when. Like the band, they are all singing from the same songsheet. The importance of this type of team coordination was reinforced by an anecdote one of our external partners recently shared with me.

In the scenario, an advisory team was pitching a family for their wealth management business. During the meeting, the matriarch excused herself for a few moments. As she walked past the advisor's sales assistant, she stopped to chat. After learning the assistant had been working with the advisor for a number of years, she asked the following question: "What will you do with my money?" Unfortunately, the assistant didn't answer the question the same way the advisor had earlier. Long story short, the team didn't win the mandate because they weren't singing from the same songsheet.

If asked by one of your prospective clients, do you think your sales assistant or associate would have the same answer to this question as you: "What are you going to do with my money?"