What Makes You an Exceptional Adviser?

Who’s interested in working with an average business coach?

Didn’t think so.

So, who is interested in working with Australia’s best business coach?

If you’re like most people, your next question is probably along the lines of, “What do you mean by best? How do you define that?”

“Best” means different things to different people. For some it’s about the most experienced. Others would look for clear, tangible outcomes. A large number would be keen to find the best option at a certain price point. I’d love to hire Anthony Robbins to work with me, but he’s too expensive to be the best for me.

The Best is a personal thing. However, I’m pretty confident that all us would agree that we’d prefer to work with those who are exceptional, well above average and absolutely top of their game when it comes to their chosen field of expertise.

So, what makes you an exceptional adviser?

This is an important question. I had the pleasure last month of reading Seth Godin’s book The Dip. It’s a great read that can be finished in under two hours, full of motivating insight into the path to success.

One concept struck a chord, that of aiming for nothing less than being the best.

If you’re serious about building a successful business, and I mean one that makes excellent profits AND creates the best possible outcomes for clients, what’s the point aiming for anything less than being exceptional?

The world rewards those who are exceptional disproportionately to those who are simply excellent, good or ok. It rewards them with the ability to influence the world around them with far greater impact.

So, what does it mean to be an exceptional adviser?

What would it mean to absolutely hit the highest echelons of this industry.

Here are some thoughts:

It would mean being more educated, qualified and informed that every one of your peers in the areas that matter to your clients.

It would mean having a business that is absolutely bulletproofed from the impact of the changing world around it and confident that it can fulfil the promise of being there today, tomorrow and twenty years into the future.

It would mean paying absolute attention to the changing needs of clients and reacting, or predicting, how to meet those needs before they manifest.

It would mean making changes to your business not in response to legislation, but in expectation of the road well ahead.

I also read a wonderful article a couple of weeks back, documenting an interview with Elon Musk ‘s first wife, Justine. I’d like to share that with you too.

She was asked online, “Will I become a billionaire if I am determined to be one and put in all the necessary work required?”

“No“, she said simply, “Determination isn’t enough”.

“You have to move your focus away from what you want and get deeply, intensely curious about what the world wants and needs”

“You have to ask yourself what you have the potential to offer that is so unique and compelling and helpful that no computer could replace you, no one could outsource you, no one could steal your product and make it better and then club you into oblivion. Then develop that potential.”

“You have to choose one thing and become a master of it. Choose a second thing and become a master of that. When you become a master of two worlds, you can bring them together in a way that will a) introduce hot ideas to each other, so they can have idea sex and make idea babies that no one has seen before and b) create a competitive advantage because you can move between worlds, speak both languages, connect the tribes, mash the elements to spark fresh creative insight until you wake up with the epiphany that changes your life.”

“The world doesn’t throw a billion dollars at a person because the person wants it or works so hard they feel they deserve it. The world does not care what you want or deserve. The world gives you money in exchange for something it perceives to be of equal or greater value: something that transforms an aspect of the culture, reworks a familiar story or introduces a new one, alters the way people think about the category and make use of it in daily life.”

Exceptional.