In the flurry of activity and discussion around accountants becoming licensed to give financial advice, many people seem to have forgotten that a license is just the first step. After that, you need systems and processes, and then, horror of horrors, you need to promote your new service. Because there is exactly zero point in getting a license to give financial advice if you don’t actually deliver that advice to anyone.

An SMSF practitioner running a business has to deal with a variety of issues with different people. What process can be used for determining the best strategy for these situations?

Communication is the key to guiding panicked SMSF clients through unpredictable political changes and economic events. There’s a lot going on right now. It’s end of financial year, there’s an election going on, the accountants' exemption finishes on 30 June, there’s a raft of changes on the way for super, and the markets are being entirely unhelpful.

Like you, we were expecting some tinkering with super in the Federal budget.  But we didn’t quite get what we expected! Whether it’s Labor or Liberal in power after July 2, I think it’s safe to say that the super party has just come to an abrupt halt. When RBLs were abolished in 2007, it seemed as through the super party was going to go on forever.

There are plenty of lists focused on how to do marketing successfully, but what mistakes do SMSF firms need to steer clear of to help ensure their marketing strategy is effective?

Here are six easy to make mistakes that will stop your marketing from being as successful as it could be.

What’s your business’s strategy when it comes to self managed super. And I don’t mean “well we always try to get our clients to use a corporate trustee.”

What I mean is, what’s your BUSINESS strategy. For instance: Which segments of the market are you concentrating on? Are there enough of these people to make you a decent income? What are you offering them? And how are you attracting them? 

Keeping staff out of the loop with what’s happening in the business could actually be damaging for the productivity and efficiency of your practice. Here’s a question for you: how much should you tell your staff about what’s going on in your business?

Say you decided to sell your business. When is the right time to tell the staff? After it’s sold? Once you have a serious buyer? Or, how about, when you start thinking about selling? Now, you might think that is too early. But I disagree.