Financial Planning Supplier Directory

  Since commencing with Sue from Elixir Consulting in November 2006 we have tripled our revenue to the end of 2010, through a time when a major global financial crisis was unfolding. Sue was able to keep us focused on what was important to our business and help us to increase our revenue whilst also providing us with the processes and skills required to maintain client relationships despite a major economic downturn.   

Michael Carmody – Adviser & Equity Owner of Byfields Financial Planning, Ascot, WA

  As a 30 year "veteran" of of financial Services, I thought there wasn't a great deal I could gain from an external consultant to my practice. I could not have been more wrong! Without a doubt this is the most professional, focused, and efficient a business that I have worked in over my three decades as a financial adviser, most of it due to the efforts of Sue and her uncanny ability to help advisers focus on the core issues and address them in an efficient and timely manner.



Any adviser, irrespective of situation or experience, would benefit from utilising the Services of Elixir.   

Wayne Leggett, Co-Principal, Paramount Wealth Management, South Perth, WA

 

  Never one to be daunted by attempting the impossible, Gary Jenkins has shown over time the insightful skills that make him such a formidable business coach that he is. Leading and mentoring not only for the believer but also for the “seeker”, displaying a sophisticated understanding of people, human behaviour, and the value of relationships in building a sustainable business along with the convincing case why all business owners simply need a business coach. I know of no better way to understand the issue of a better business than to engage Gary’s ways and just follow the pathway which unfolds.   

Jason Panozzo-Tile, Director – ROPAN Financial Planning, Traralgon, Victoria

 

  The consulting work Stewart completed with us while he was at Hillross was fantastic and has enabled great enhancement and transformation of our financial planning business. As a result of his guidance in setting a business vision and putting together a plan for the business we want, we increased our profit from previously being a break-even firm to last year achieving a profit equal to 15% of gross revenue. We have increased our income, reduced our expenses, outsourced non-key activities and our advisers now spend most of their time on face to face meetings, either maintaining ideal client relationships or gaining new ideal clients. We have greater confidence in articulating the value we offer to clients and have created a better work environment by focusing on the activities that we do best and spending more time on the activities that clients value. Stewart has our thanks for his insights, guidance and tools to enable this transformation.   

Tim Gray, Net Worth Financial Planners, Wollongong, NSW

 

  Having reaped the benefits of 4 years of Frank’s excellent counsel, I would highly recommend that if you are serious about positioning your practice for future success you tap into Frank’s wealth of experience and successful track record to kick-start the process.   

Nicholas Sheather B.Comm., CFP, JPDirector, Financial Adviser and Director of

Supersolve Financial Services, Crows Nest, NSW

 

  Our business has employed Gary Jenkins as an external consultant for the last two years.



We have used a lot of consultants, we have a lot of meetings, we had the processes. What was missing was the tougher questions and bringing each issue to a resolution rather than avoiding it.



Gary’s strong background in the Financial Planning industry means he knows what really drives the success and profit of a business. Whilst the innate knowledge of what makes a great financial planning business was valuable it was also his relentless focus on monitoring the results and activity of each individual that then changed our behaviours for the better. Bedding down new skills, building new muscles etc



Another observation was that he took the time to understand the direction we wanted for us and the business rather than just being focussed on growth and profit.



In summary a breath of fresh air.    

Mike Bennett, Director, Sovereign Bridge Capital Group, West Perth, WA

  

  I’d recommend Stewart to any business looking to take themselves to that next level. We engaged Stewart when seeking to move to a corporatised business model during 2008. Stewart engaged us in step-by-step planning, beginning with all business owners reaching agreement on collective goals and objectives, culminating in the appointment of a General Manager; a key milestone for BKO. From this flowed a structured review of our internal processes, client value proposition, service offer, pricing and the way we manage, develop and retain our staff. This has enabled us to be much better positioned to achieve sustainable growth.   

Tanya Gertschmann, Director and General Manager of The BKO Group, Milton, Qld

 

  We first engaged Gary in 2006 as we felt our business had plateau’d.  It’s amazing what a fresh set of eyes can see that we couldn’t, namely that we were undervaluing our Services.



With Gary’s help over time we were able to define our value proposition which gave us the confidence to charge what we were really worth, and importantly back it up with the client communication process Gary had implemented.



The following year our revenue was up by 40% and importantly we better understood the things our clients valued.



A great return on our investment.   

Ross Deeath, Director, Davidsons fps, Geelong, Victoria

 

  Sue Viskovic has assisted us over a number of years with the shaping and direction of our practice.



We work to a business plan that requires us to keep abreast of current trends within the financial planning profession and to be aware of any developments that may affect the way that we do business. Sue is one of our major lifelines to the profession with her extensive knowledge of practices, procedures and current developments taking place within the planning profession. Sue also creates in us an awareness of what steps we need to consider taking in order to maintain our professional integrity.



As a fee for service practice, we rely heavily on Sue to keep us on track with respect to the quantum and the nature of the fees that we charge. It is important for us to know how practices like ours are being paid for their Services. Each year we also need to review how much it is costing us to deliver our Services. Sue greatly assists in this area, giving us the comfort of knowing that we are making a profit from servicing each of our clients.



Sue has been of tremendous help to us over the years, making sure that not only are we optimizing our business returns but also that we are staying ahead of the game.   

Ian Davies, CFP, CA Financial Planning Specialist, Wealthcorp Financial Advisers, Osborne Park, WA

 

  Sue does not come with any prescriptive mandated system that you must do. She explains the alternatives and helps you to develop what will work in your individual business and gets agreement from all your key staff as well as you the business principal.



Sue is more than a coach she helps you when you want to talk about something sensitive about the business to someone who knows your business but is not apart of it such as a key staff member may be. There are times when business principals find captaining their ship can be a lonely job and having someone to contact to communicate about the issue can be really helpful.



I have been in the Financial Planning and before that Life Insurance Industry for 25 years. I have attended many conferences, been to many educational and training courses, participate in formal education and none to date has been as thorough and personalised to my particular situation as what Sue offers with her Elixir Consulting group. I recommend this business coaching group to you if you are considering this for your business.   

Peter Stewart, Managing Director, Benchmark Consultants, Kalamunda, WA

 

  Sue's understanding of the Financial Services industry is second to none and she has opened our eyes to a whole new world of business efficiencies and better experiences for our clients.



To sit down for a day with Sue and work through a business planning session is essential to every business. Sue walked us through the session in a logical, clear and professional format and her comprehensive knowledge of the financial planning industry makes her service a complete

package.  

Neil Hancy, Director of Financial Planning, Abbott Solutions Financial Planning, Mt Lawley, WA

 

  Elixir has held us accountable to the business development and marketing activities that might otherwise be ignored or surreptitiously consigned to the too-hard basket. Without the help of Elixir we might now be losing the uphill battle to establish and effectively deliver a meaningful and valuable service to our existing clients as well as looking for new business.   

Greg Meyers, Financial Adviser, Royal Cornell Financial Services, Perth, WA

 

  Being in our fourth year of a start up business, every year we attempted a business planning session that never seemed to end with defined targets. After our two day planning session with Sue we became more confident and focused on what were now our new objectives that were agreed upon and would be monitored regularly.



Elixir has provided the blueprint of what our business needs to move forward.



We are excited about what the future will be, we now have the support to become the financial planning practice we always wanted to be and are committed to making it a reality.   

Paula Parsons, Financial Adviser and Director, Bright Wealth, Maroubra, NSW

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Presentation Testimonials

 

  Sign Sue (Viskovic) up for future conferences... Insightful and challenging presentation   

Delegate, Praemium Business Solutions Conference February 2010

 

  Very professional and on the ball regarding practices; Great ideas and explanations on difficult issues   

Delegate, Premium Wealth Management Conference December 2009

 

  I have been in the Financial Services industry for a number of years in Senior Position and for the last ten years in Financial Planning. I have been researching Fee For Service, Client Value Propositions and best practice for some time now and was still struggling with a best practice process to implement this into my business.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate in a session run by Sue with a small group of independent planners recently. I must say that I came away from this session not only more enlightened but extremely excited about where to start.

I purchased Sue’s recent book titled “Pricing Advice” and could not wait to read it. I could not put it down as it provided me with the answers to questions I had been searching without result for some time now.

As a planner we receive so much information at a “big picture” level however there is very little about the “doing”. I am pleased I bought two of these publications and I am now waiting on all of my colleagues to read the material and so far I am getting the same feedback from those that have.

As I have said I have been in the Financial Services Industry for a number of years and have attended a number of elite forums with inspiring speakers and few have given me the urgency and the how to act and Sue would be one of them.

I can only suggest that you spend the time to invest in what is the future in Financial Planning and align yourself with an industry expert such as Sue.   

Annette McGrath ADFP, Magnitude

 

  Engaging Sue Viskovic as our expert speaker has been greatly appreciated by our clients. The advisers felt that her style of presentation, expertise and passion to assist advisers in transitioning their fee models is unrivalled in our industry   

Kristine Wade, National Sales Manager, Zurich Investments

 

  In 15 years in the industry I have not seen a response from a round of PD days as I have seen with these. Sue can clearly articulate her research and offers practical hands-on solutions. Sue has experience across the industry from product manufacturing and distribution through to General management of a financial planning business as well as being an adviser herself. She understands the core of business sustainability and profitability which many of these types of firms do not. I would recommend any financial Services business from manufacturers of financial instruments through to dealer group to get in touch with Sue for an immediate meeting. How refreshing!!!   

Chris Dalton, National Sales Manager, Next Financial Limited

 

  Brilliant. Give me more. She 'gets' it! Magnificent presenter.   

Delegate, Genesys PD Days, November 2009

 

  Dynamic speaker, kept audience interest, probably due in part that it was about money/profitability.   

Delegate, Genesys PD Days, November 2009

 

  Sue provided a presentation on Adviser Pricing models to the FPA Small Principals Conference in March 2009 and the feedback we received has been excellent.  The comments referred to the professional manner in which Sue presented, and the high quality of information contained in her presentation.



Conference participants noted that Sue’s presentation gave cause for many in the room to reassess the way they have been approaching pricing and the processes that can be undertaken to effect change, including those tough client conversations that will need to be started.   

Julie Berry, Managing Director, Berry Financial Services

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Consulting Testimonials

 

  Sue shares Hillross' vision of providing advice and service which is valued by clients. Elixir Consulting has constructively challenged our advisers to consider their value propositions and service propositions to meet changing client expectations. In gaining better insight into the costs of serving their valued clients using Elixir's research, our advisers continue to have solid foundations for professional, sustainable and successful advice businesses in a new era for financial advice.   

Paul Franks, Head of Adviser Network, Hillross

 

  I have great admiration for Sue Viskovic, Elixir Consulting founder, and principal author of several studies on pricing financial advice. Her work in practice development has been of great benefit to many planners around Australia and as Elixir Consulting expands that looks set to continue growing. Elixir's recent work on pricing financial advice is outstanding and has captured the attention of many advisers. I would encourage all advisers to read these reports to understand more fully how they can secure their revenue and add value to their business in the longer term. I am a firm believer that to add value to any practice you need to work more on your business and less in your business. Elixir Consulting delivers the know-how to do this. They understand the business end of the advice industry better than anyone and would be my number one choice to outsource this important role to.   

Warren Gibson, Director, Sales and Marketing, Praemium Australia Pty. Ltd.

 

  Sue’s knowledge base extends from experience as a qualified CFP and so she understands the real world of applying fees not just the theoretical world of practice management applied by many consultants.   

Ian Knox, Managing Director, Paragem Partners

 

  Before we engaged Elixir and Sue - I was doubtful that practice development would make a difference to an Adviser's business. I was pleasantly surprised that the quiet professionalism of Sue applied diligently to a select number of engaged planners has worked its magic! Both on a "one-to-one" basis and in large group setting Sue's passion and dedication shine through. The "alchemy" we all seek in dealer management is increased planner effectiveness - Elixir Consulting has delivered in spades.   

Daniel Parry, General Manager, Sentry Group Australia, National Dealer Group, East Perth, WA

 

  Stewart worked with our group (which had grown rather ‘organically’ from a single small office into a national group with five separate offices) at a time when small differences within and between each office were starting to create problems.



Stewart guided us through setting a new ‘national’ vision for the group, by defining who our ideal clients were; articulating our Client Value Proposition (CVP); appropriately segmenting our client base; designing our service offers; and pricing our services.



Stewart’s ability to demonstrate the importance of addressing these issues and the potential value to the business ensured that business owners were committed to the project. Amongst Stewart’s strengths are his enthusiasm, his ability to see issues from all points of view, his skill in finding interesting and engaging ways to articulate issues or illustrate potential solutions, and his ability to keep projects on track.



I have no doubt that Stewart is able to add value to any business.    

Su Enston, National Practice Development Manager, FMD Group

 

  I’d definitely recommend others to use Lana. She has a real skill in identifying things that need to be changed, she’ll determine how to change them, and then assist staff to actually make those changes in a positive way. She absolutely cares about people and has a very nice consultative manner with both staff and clients.   

Annette McGrath, Magnitude Financial Planning, Beenleigh, Qld