The news of General Electric’s Dow demise is a lesson for 401k advisors—change is inevitable; how one reacts to it (in business and life) will be the determinant of success.
It’s something Daniel Boardman realized early on.
“What has worked well for us is to stay ahead of our competition by being a student of the industry,” Boardman, principal of Hickok & Boardman Retirement Solutions explains. “When daily valuation came out, we were ahead of our peers. When offering 3(21) fiduciary services was happening at the large plan level, we brought it down-market to the $5 million to $20 million plans. We are now pulling the trigger on 3(38) and 3(16) services and bringing these services to smaller end of the market.”
Not surprisingly, it was failure, and what he learned, that acted as a motivating factor to achieve elite advisor status.
“Everyone has had challenges and opportunities and I’m no different,” he adds. “Getting divorced and finding a new path as a single parent was one of my toughest. But with every great challenge comes change—and usually great outcomes.”
He lost his largest retirement plan client 15 years ago, something that “tore him up,” yet it also spurred him forward, specifically to evaluate the processes and procedures that in part led to the client to leave.
“The next year we more than made up for the loss with new business, and it all really took off after that.”
In addition to a resilient attitude, Boardman credits two other factors, his teammates and technology, for the firm’s high performance (which when one thinks about it, is all that anyone really needs).
“We use RPAG’s fiduciary monitoring system,” he says, when asked about the latter. “Our fund selection process and our quarterly monitoring is second to none. We use SalesForce as our CRM and run our entire business through this system, which keeps us organized and on track. We can access client information from anywhere.”
As for the former, his “teammates,” it’s a diverse and talented group of individuals with varying and complementing skillsets that allow for a “holistic approach to solving for a company’s retirement plan needs.”
There’s Shaun King, principal and director of retirement plan services. An expert in process implementation, King has a decade of experience working for a TPA and is lauded by Boardman for his communication skills and work ethic.
Melanie Brown, the firm’s financial consultant, holds CWS and AIF certifications and is committed to client education and financial wellness guidance. Brown’s 15 years of experience in the financial arena makes her impressive on paper, but it’s her relatability that resonates so well with companies and participants.
Operations manager, Drenna Jones is an ERISA whiz with 10 years of experience as a transition specialist for a recordkeeping and TPA firm. Rounding out the staff and ensuring everything is running smoothly both within the team and among its clients, is Krystal Ludorf, meeting scheduler, material gatherer and workflow manager extraordinaire.
“I don’t need to be a control freak since I do a great job of hiring people who are very conscientious,” says Boardman. “I have learned to delegate to people who do things that I shouldn’t be doing and can execute them better than I ever could.”
He credits Dan Sullivan’s Strategic Coach entrepreneurial mentorship program for helping him narrow his area of expertise, as well as bounce back from losing his aforementioned largest client.
“Sullivan’s philosophy is to figure out what your ‘unique ability’ is, then to spend your time on those core functions and delegate the rest,” he explains.
A model student, Boardman then made the decision to focus exclusively on retirement plans. Shortly thereafter, he lured King away from his TPA-employer and the two became business partners.
In addition to surrounding himself with talented teammates and carving out a singular focus, Boardman credits a constant quest for knowledge as another factor leading toward success.
“I listen to a lot of speakers. I take bits and pieces of what I hear and read and try to make myself and our company better. I attend a lot of national conferences, always looking for a few ideas to bring back and immediately incorporate.”
As for enjoyment and relaxation outside the office?
Tennis, mountain biking, kiteboarding, hockey, waterskiing, and he lives on a lake in the summer.
“Having a glass of wine while watching a sunset over the water is the best,” he concludes.
We’d say it’s well-earned.