Ah, to move, perchance to collect a big upfront check and live happily ever after. Or perchance to lose a bunch of clients in the transition and go out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Skeptics among you are already snickering at Sarch's audacity: Listen to a headhunter, you say, on whether we should move? That's like asking a Lexus dealer whether you should buy a Lexus or an Infinity.

I am a strong believer, however, in the rationality of the marketplace. If moving were right for everyone, turnover at the major firms would be 10 times what it actually is, and I would have retired a long time ago. Let's look at some of the criteria that sensible brokers use when making a career decision of this magnitude.

Can you make a compelling argument to your clients that this move is in their best interests?

Let's face it--your client's satisfaction is your livelihood. It's time to take a very hard look at your book and ask some tough questions. For example, how did you obtain that client in the first place? If he or she were inherited from a previous broker who left, then why were you able to retain him or her? Was it your wonderful smile? Or perhaps the client has had six brokers at your current firm during the last 20 years, and you're merely the latest butt in the seat?

The need for due diligence cannot be overstated. Any brokers seriously considering a transition have to look at specific products and services that they've got where they are and compare them to the new firm's capabilities. Pricing, technology and support are all crucial. Make yourself a checklist about what is important to your clients. Then methodically get your questions answered. Anticipate tradeoffs, because no match is perfect. Within the first few weeks, you will be meeting with your best clients, looking them in the eye and asking them to move with you. You had better be able to do that with conviction!

What is the problem that you are trying to solve, and is the new firm the solution?

If you have started down this road, the odds are that you have a wound, a problem with either your current firm or manager, your commute, your finances--something that's an impediment to your career or your growth as a professional. The process of interviewing with other firms is your search for the solution. This quest is hindered by the need for confidentiality (after-hours drinks in dark places), and by the fact that you still have to run a business, care for children, go on vacations, etc. Your prospective employer is going to want plenty of time for doing due diligence on your compliance record, your credit history, your favorite color and your child's school attendance, along with lots of other minutiae.

The point here is to allow enough time for the process to work while still maintaining your sanity and production. Doing your interviews--your search for the solution to your problem--at a time of great stress is a sure way to cut corners and make a mistake.

Also, is the transition package enough to ameliorate your risk and make up for what you're leaving behind?

This is relatively simple arithmetic. You have deferred compensation, maybe a future bonus that has some present value. You will undertake a risk that will be accompanied by stress and lots of paperwork. The deal should make it easier to sleep at night by covering a worst-case scenario for your business. The more likely one--if you're sure of bringing your clients with you--is that the deal will put a lot of extra money in your pocket.

Is your new prospective employer sharing your risk?

Remember that the transition package is your new employer's wager that you will be successful there. That's right--a wager, a bet, a gamble. The prospect that you could fail is almost as frightening to your new manager as it is to you. I will never suggest that a given manager is taking as big a risk in hiring you as you are in moving a book. Bear in mind, however, that every firm has consequences for failure. Many charge the manager the amortized part of your deal directly to the branch's bottom line. All firms will penalize a manager's career path if they make a bad hire. In the worst case, if it's a bad-enough mistake, the manager might lose his or her job. So your new manager is buying into your business, becoming a partner, in effect, for at least the length of the contract that comes with your money.