Commonwealth Financial Reports Top-Line Growth for Reps in Coaching Program

Commonwealth Financial Network announced Tuesday that representatives who participated in its inaugural Power in Practice business development coaching program saw their production increase significantly over those Commonwealth reps who did not participate in the program.

A comparison of the gross dealer concessions of two peer groups among the 40 participants found that advisors who generated between $200,000 and $475,000 in 2010 GDC saw their 2011 revenue increase an average of 24%. Those advisors participating in the program who had generated more than $475,000 in GDC in 2010 (including several million-dollar producers) increased their 2011 revenue by an average of 44%. 

The yearlong Power in Practice program, designed and led by Joni Youngwirth, Commonwealth’s managing principal of practice management, is meant to provide participants with a structure for setting their growth goals, the tactical steps necessary to achieve those goals and the accountability—especially to their peers in the program–to help ensure that the advisors take those steps. 

 “Our program was designed for the advisor who wants to evolve from a practice into a true business,” said Youngwirth in a prepared statement. “We saw real results because the advisors had to answer to one another.” 

In an interview earlier this month, Youngwirth (left) said the program includes three joint in-person workshops, six individual coaching sessions with Youngwirth, and ongoing peer conference calls. Youngwirth said Power in Practice started with the “notion of proactive practice management,” rather than advisors being reactive. It starts with understanding “what your goals are, what you are really trying to achieve.” While the formal program lasts for a year, it is meant to be “a building block that you can user each year” afterwards, Youngwirth said in the interview. 

The Power in Practice program will continue in 2012 with 40 new participants, Youngwirth said, with four in-person two-day workshops–three mandatory and one optional–plus a daylong conference near year’s end with the 2011 Power in Practice ‘alumni.’

Youngwirth is a regular contributor to Investment Advisor. Her most recent article explored ways to run a more efficient practice.