How to Select a Professional Advisor

Do we need professional advisors? Yes, more than ever.   We may need different kinds of specialized advice at different times.  And we will have to be thoughtful about what, who, and when we make the selections.

Here some important criteria for choosing your professional advisors.

You may want and need:

1. A financial advisor.   The term makes it sound like they are all the same but that isn’t true.   Do research on the different types and approaches.   Ask your friends who they have used successfully.   Understand how you will pay and how they make their money.
2. A specialized personal advisor to talk about life and career.   Not for therapy.   A person who is a great financial advisor may be great at helping with funding and executing your evolving plans but probably isn’t the best person to decide with you your personal and professional life choices.
3. One or more specialized business advisors can help you establish priorities and create incremental plans and consistent adaptable progress for your organization’s future. Assume that professional advisors are probably struggling to stay ahead of the business change curves just as you and I are.    Look for their wisdom and specialization without assuming long-packaged, standard solutions will work.

A checklist of criteria for the selection of great professional advisors:

• Does he/she walk the talk? Are you reassured by the level of expertise, strategy, planning, execution, and adaptability the professional advisor has described through examples in his/her own professional and personal life? Don’t be afraid to ask tough questions and ask for specific examples to know you have solid answers.    Ask for current and past clients you can contact for their own experience.
• Does the professional have the professional credentials and affiliations that establish him/her as a good choice for you?
• Does the professional advisor have the academic credentials that establish him/her as a highly trained and educated professional in the field? How broadly and thoroughly trained/alert is this person?
• How well networked is this person? Does he/she have the ability and willingness to open some important networking and educational doors for you along the way?
• To what degree is this professional advisor a thought leader, well recognized and respected by his/her colleagues and competition? 
• What has this person done to contribute to the advancement of learning and practice in his/her area of expertise?
• How much time has this person spent in the workplace and not just as an advisor? What kinds of experiences and challenges did he or she face? If you want someone to be a great advisor for you, you probably want to choose someone whose work life isn’t limited to advising only. 
• What is this person’s history of success in working with clients? Remembering that the professional advisor must be judged on his/her use of the tools, insight, and information provided to clients (since he/she has no true control over outcomes).
• Do you and this person have enough pure, interpersonal chemistry? How well do you connect with this person? How honest can you be? How well does this person “get” you? How available are you to do your own work supported by this person?

Clients and Professional Advisors represent an increasingly important part of everyone’s networks.    Taking the time to understand the relationship into which you are entering is important.   It’s also important to understand that it isn’t automatically forever.   You are free to change your mind when appropriate.    It’s called Your Life for a reason.