My friend, mentor and coach, Doug Carter, says, “Businesses don’t grow, people do.” Your current team might be maxing out their productivity and may not have the capacity to take you any further than last year.
After the Milwaukee Bucks’ Nov. 14, 2009 NBA game against the Golden State Warriors, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings was scoreless in the first quarter. He then made history when he poured in 55 points in the next three quarters. The Journal Sentinel reported, “Jennings broke a Bucks rookie record for scoring (51 points) set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) during the 1969-70 season. And he was close to tying Michael Redd’s single-game franchise record of 57. He became only the third Bucks player to score 50 points in a game, joining Abdul-Jabbar and Redd. Jennings’ double-nickel performance marked the most points by an NBA rookie since Earl Monroe scored 56 on Feb. 13, 1968.”
How can you make history this year as a professional financial advisor?
If you have hit a Ceiling of Complexity,¹ causing you to plateau in your revenue growth and profitability, then adding new human resources might be what you need most. Don’t risk your financial solvency in bringing in such talent too soon, but make sure your cash flow can support them.
The first team member you should consider hiring is a Director of First Impressions.² This person will help you free up your time to spend it with the things that you are really paid to do: See people face-to-face and talk to people over the phone. That’s all! If you could spend every day talking to clients and prospects over the phone and in person, then I guarantee that your business will increase. Your Director of First Impressions will greet clients when they come in, provide hospitality to those clients, answer the phone and file for you. They will prepare paperwork for you and help you with all the service work that comes into the office. Their job is to make clients and prospects feel welcome and served in a way that they have never experienced before on a consistent basis.
Why do you hire other team members, anyway? The answer is quite clear: To help serve clients in a way that exceeds their expectations. If your goal is to offer outstanding service by treating others the way that you would like to be treated, then you will be on the path to have one of the premier boutique financial advisory firms in the United States.
The second hire you should consider making is a Relationship Marketing Specialist. This person is in charge of your schedule, client events and the marketing you need to promote your services and grow your business. Don’t forget to plan days each month without appointments so that you can learn about your business, work on your business or simply forget about your business for rejuvenation.
The third hire that you may want to make is a Client Business Specialist to help with the increasing administrative demands. And finally, the fourth hire you should consider making is an Associate Wealth Advisor3 to help you service your growing clientele in a way that they desire and deserve. You must spend time training this Associate Wealth Advisor to serve your clients in a way that exceeds their expectations. With this team of four Administrative Subject Matter Experts,4 your firm should be able to grow beyond $1 million in gross revenue.
Brent Welch, CFP, ChFC, CLU, started as a financial planner in 1984 and is founder and managing member of Welshire Capital, LLC, a firm specializing in private wealth management, retirement and estate planning. He is a past president of The International Forum, a past board member for the AALU, a 17-year MDRT member and an 8-year TOT member. You can reach him through his Web site at www.welshirecapital.com.
Footnotes:
1. Dan Sullivan, www.thestrategiccoach.com.
2. Ron Carson’s PEAK consulting,
www.joinPEAK.com.
3. Ibid.
4. Bill Bacharach, www.baivbfp.com.