Jim Barnash, Stride Consulting Inc.

Hello. My name is Jim Barnash. I’m a CFP and former president of the FPA. I sold my practice in 2001 and now run a consulting firm called Stride Consulting Inc. We focus on helping advisors realize sustainable business models geared for where the industry is headed.

Financial planners need to closely examine their value proposition for their business. What model they are in doesn’t matter. But if the main value proposition and revenue source is asset management, good luck with that! The vast majority of financial planners aren’t asset managers, they are asset gatherers; but they have led their clients to believe that asset management is the most important service they as planners provide.

Instead what financial planners should be focusing on is the only offering of value and differentiation they have -- their personal advice! A financial planner’s advice is born from the personal experiences they have learned through life, their personal beliefs and values, their experience with client situations from the past and the knowledge they have accumulated over the years. This is the value proposition they should be creating.

Financial planners need to change the client experience and they can do so without becoming therapists. Adding a few new offerings such as mind maps, behavioral financial advice, real time financial plans with client involvement; these will change how their clients experience the planner and the services. Clients will share this experience with friends, family and colleagues. The wonderful feelings they came away with will begin a flow of referrals to their practices.

I will be at the FPA Business Solutions Conference March 1-3 2010 in Dallas where I – as well as a host of other subject matter experts and leading lights – will be focusing on delivering Practice Management Solutions to the attendees. So if you’re interested in digging in to the tactical and the practical – the art and science of Practice Management is what we’ll be focusing on at FPA Business Solutions 2010.

Learn more about me and my firm at www.strideus.com