Do you have too many non-ideal clients that take up a more than 50% of your time? Yet these clients represent less than 20% of your annual revenue?
Take the test, do this simple time management exercise.
____ % percentage of time with ideal clients? Target 70% time and revenue____ % Percentage of time with ideal prospects and opportunities? Target 20% time and revenue____ % Percentage of time with non-ideal clients? Target less than 10% time and revenueDo you even have a clear definition of what an ideal client is and the annual revenue they generate?
Are you growing your practiceat 17% or more each year, for the last 5 years? How about 2019? Will you grow by 17% or more?
How are you being on target for 2019?
We know that Elite Financial Teams grow by 17% or more annually. If you have not read the book “ The 17% Solution/ Matt Oechsli/ 2009/ Wealth Management Press, 2009” it still holds true today for most financial advisors and their teams. According to Matt Oechsli” Most of what we read about financial teams focuses on the success stories, the top performers,
the paragons of leadership, business savvy, financial acumen, and salesmanship. But according to our criteria, only 17% of financial teams fall into this category. That 17% attracts more new affluent clients every year (per senior partner) with at least $1,000,000 in investable assets than their counterparts, solo or team. In addition, the elite teams succeed at retaining and upgrading their existing affluent clients by delivering the full array of wealth management services the affluent want. Our objective was to discover what separates the best from the rest.”
Stop the bad habits this year
As Albert Einstein said” Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I get it. I made the same mistakes year after year as a financial advisor for 20 years. But then something changed that made a dramatic shift in my thinking, and my business. I hired a coach and mentor to help me get out of my own way. I remember thinking, I have never done this so it’s uncomfortable to do something completely new. I went in with reservations and nervousness, not knowing what to really expect. But after the first discussion, it was clearly obvious that I made the right decision, and I did not over commit to anything I could not handle. I signed up for a simple one on one coaching program for 6 months. The cost was reasonable at $475 per month for an investment of $2850. Once I made the commitment, things started falling into place. I had a marketing plan, a vision, and a value promise. I could see becoming
the financial advisorto the wealthy. I had the conversations mastered which gave me the confidence I always wanted. I started spending more of my time with ideal clients and prospects and was held accountable by my coach.Related:
How to Offer More to Your Ideal Clients Clarity for my practice
I had a good vision and a plan for my practice but lacked the clarity in what I needed to get there. My coach helped me uncover blind spots I could not see. This opened up the doors to new opportunities that I could see, and I had a process to get there. No more winging it. I had a roadmap, a full tank of gas, but now I had a passenger, a coach, who was holding me accountable to get there faster. I was focused on ideal clients, ideal prospects and 90% of my time was spent on this. The results I was always looking for happened. I felt a sense of relief, less frustration in dealing with non-ideal clients and confidence knowing my days were spent with ideal people. The payoff came when I had more time for me, my family and my best clients and prospects. I had the processes in place that ultimately allowed me to sell my practice. Now I can help others with their vision and grow their practice.
