2019 IA25 RIA/Advisory Winners

Advisors should think about "what you do in terms of the client experience and deliver it" accordingly, Duran says, pointing to firms that excel at this, like Starbucks, Apple and Southwest Airlines.

"Value is perception, not reality," he said. "Price is fact. Value is perception 100%. And it's driven by how [that value] is delivered, how it's explained to you and how it's experienced."

When your clients ask themselves if your work as an advisor is worth the fee, they reflect on the client experience. Their view? "They must feel it's worth it, which is what great brands understand."

Recently the level of assets by those using United Capital's white-label wealth management platform, FinLife Partners, hit $22.5 billion.

Sheryl Garrett — founder of the Garrett Planning Network, a nationwide network of fee-only, hourly-based financial planners for individuals of greatly varied backgrounds and means, and co-founder of RIA Garrett Investment Advisors — inspires by example.

High school teacher Jennifer Lazarus, for instance, read an article about Garrett's approach to financial planning and was sold on it; she started her own firm in 2005 in Durham, North Carolina.

And Garrett stands up for her beliefs. She spoke out against the SEC's Regulation Best Interest last summer: "This [Reg BI] is just regulation gone wrong." Her view is that adhering to a fiduciary standard "has not hurt me [from] a business standpoint," but she argues that the industry needs "a true fiduciary standard" (not a bureaucratic one).

IA columnist Angie Herbers — managing director and senior consultant at Herbers & Company — has worked on human capital, leadership and management strategies for 1,000-plus advisory firms. To help them, she doesn't shy away from the tough issues of practice management that can limit business growth.

"The real problems of transitioning to an ensemble come from the owner advisor," she explained in a recent ThinkAdvisor blog. "What some solo firm owners don't realize when they start adding other professionals is that their role as owner changes — dramatically. Failing to prepare for, and be comfortable with, those changes can lead to serious problems."

Herbers' advice always combines tough love and TLC. "It's important to remember that although your job may have changed, the business still needs you as the owner," she added." Your role is more important than it ever was, now."