OUR IDEAL CLIENT

We believe we have the greatest set of clients in the world. And, we have tested this idea by boldly saying “we have the greatest clients in the world” among our colleagues. We very rarely have colleagues suggest that they may have better clients. There are reasons for this.

If you ask most financial advisors to describe the clients they want to attract, they will respond with a minimum amount of money available for investment. One million dollars is common, with little attention to the kind of people who are good clients. Resource Advisory Services does not have a minimum level of investment assets or net worth. Instead, the client relationships we want are with people who understand our phrase – There is more to money than money.®. Five guiding principles seem important for our excellent client relationships.

1. Desire to accumulate and/or enjoy wealth - It would be easy to say that everyone has this desire. Unfortunately this is just not true. Some people do not seem to care whether they accumulate wealth. Their spending habits tell us this. Some people do not seem inclined to enjoy wealth, or use it in positive ways. There is a very real difference between displaying wealth through spending and enjoying wealth for the ways it can improve lifestyles we touch.
   
   If a client does not have significant wealth, we definitely should see a verifiable desire to accumulate wealth. This is the foundation for our work with them. We focus on helping these clients realize that desire. For clients who have significant wealth, we should see a desire to enjoy it by using it wisely. Our most satisfying work is improving clients’ lives by showing them they have plenty for their goals. They can find better balance in the ways they enjoy wealth.
   
   
2. Ability to accumulate and/or enjoy wealth – In addition to the desire to build and enjoy wealth, finding the ability is important. These are two different issues. If a client does not have a true desire to accomplish financial goals, beyond talking about them, there is little anyone can do to help. If a client has a strong desire to make money more positive in their life, we can help discover and facilitate abilities. Very few are totally without some ability to build and enjoy wealth.
   
   
3. Desire to organize financial affairs into our net worth management style – One of the things we do best is organize our clients’ financial information into a comprehensive report each quarter. This is our cornerstone for communication as comprehensive financial advisors. It is the way we help clients see progress and adapt to changing circumstances, as well as the context for advising. Virtually all the excellent clients have become actively engaged in meaningful communications around our reporting disciplines. This is important to excellent client relationships.
   
   
4. Willingness and ability to pay for our services – We intentionally make the costs of our services clear in our relationships. The costs are not hidden in marketing for organizations that sell financial products. The style of our service is labor intensive. The skills require considerable knowledge, creativity, judgment, and wisdom. In order to be effective, we need quality resources, such as educational enrichment, equipment, and office space. The more of these resources we can acquire, the greater services we can provide our clients. As a group, our clients pay for our resources. We want to work in relationships where we believe every client sees a bargain in their contributions for these resources.
   
   
5. A clear way we can improve the lifestyle of our client - We gladly accept a fiduciary responsibility to our clients. We put their interest ahead of our own. We are most interested in improving clients’ lifestyles. Therefore, this attribute ranks with more importance than the others in ideal client relationships. We should be able to write a meaningful paragraph that begins – “We can improve your life by……..”

We often use these five items as a checklist to think about the people we serve and meet. We need not concern ourselves with finding that all these are present at the beginning of relationships. We should think about whether we believe we can eventually develop them in client relationships.