Getting acquainted

Getting Acquainted Questions

As you get to know a prospective partner, take the time to consider whether his/her talents and skills can help you:

• Expand your product and service capabilities
• Insulate your clientele from competitive pressures from banking, brokerage, insurance, and online competitors
• Allow you and your partners to spend 60% to 70% of your days doing those things for which you have extraordinary talents, skills, and passions
• Firewall your rainmakers (those team members responsible for finding new business) to get out into the community (by working more closely with their top clientele and appropriate boards and service organizations) and help them drive the top-line growth of your practice

And finally, ask yourself whether this prospective partnership and its comprehensive expertise can potentially help provide the work/life balance that may allow you to build a meaningful and sustainable long-term career.

The questions below are designed to be answered individually prior to meeting each other. Then, you are encouraged to sit down and share the answers with each other, looking for philosophical congruence and tactical complements.

1. Why did you choose this profession?
2. What niche markets have you developed and why?
3. Why are you considering forming a team or adding a new team member?
4. If you could wave a wand, what are the three to five things that you most enjoy that have the greatest impact on your practice's overall growth and productivity?
5. What is your new business development strategy?
6. How many referrals do you receive per month?
7. How might this team/person help you enhance and expand your ability to provide a more comprehensive level of advice and service?
8. How might this team/person impact your overall work/life balance?
9. What are your greatest personal challenges to being a good team member?
10. What are the structural business challenges that currently inhibit your growth and/or service levels?