3 Types of Advisors You Need on Your Team

What You Need to Know

Finders are your business development people; their job is to find prospects.
Minders are people-focused and can ensure clients are always being taken care of.
Grinders are diligently working behind the scenes to ensure the Minder can effectively do his or her job.

To regain any momentum you might have lost so far in 2022, focus your year-end and 2023 efforts on making sure you have your teammates in the correct roles within your firm. Having the right person in the wrong role (or the “wrong seat”) substantially detracts from any efficiencies and scale you have achieved. 

In our work with firms across the U.S., we see top candidates not be able to deliver top-tier results because, sometimes, they are in the wrong spot. In this piece, we look at the various activities that new financial planners can do for you (and the respective roles), so you can ensure your people are operating at their highest and best level. 

Originally coined by David Maister in his book “Managing the Professional Service Firm,” classifying individuals as “finders, minders and grinders” is a great way to identify new financial advisors into the various skill groups that your firm may need.

Here is an overview of each type.

1. Finders

These are your business development people; their job is to find prospects. Consider this a front-stage role. These people usually show up as high “I” for Influence on the DISC personality profile model — which stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness — and/or as “WOO,” for “winning others over” on the Strengthsfinder personality assessments. 

This is the type of person who has never met a stranger that stays a stranger and would likely be upset if they went to a networking event and didn’t meet most of the people there! They are at their best use when they can meet a lot of people, sell a product or service and then turn them over to someone else in the firm to deliver on what was promised. 

2. Minders

These are your client relationship people who are people-focused and can be mindful that clients are always being taken care of. This can also be referred to as a front-stage role. These types can show up as high “S” for Steadiness on the DISC profile and/or for “Communication” on the Strengthsfinder personality assessments. 

This person enjoys being the main point of contact for clients, loves the aspect of coordinating all client planning activities, brings together all of the resources necessary to ensure a positive outcome and takes the lead as the quarterback of the client situation.