(#1 & 2 were in the previous issue - soon to be posted on our website)
#3: A Client Upgrade List. In addition to a must-call list and a must-do list, you need to create a client upgrade list. This is a listing of clients whose full potential for business has yet to be mined.
The client upgrade list for an advisor in his or her first year in the industry will look different from the same list prepared by a veteran advisor with 20 years under his or her belt. One thing they both have in common, however, is that everybody has hidden opportunities in their book of business.
Organize a consolidated list of 20 clients that you are convinced you could do more business with over the next 12 months. Put them on your client upgrade list. If you need to make an appointment with yourself in order to create the list, do it. Identify the client relationships that you want to transform into A-list clients and create your client upgrade list right now.
You now have three simple, yet very powerful, lists to use in your business. They are simple and work well. Too many advisors complicate their practices with redundancy, buried under layers of management and ideas that needlessly muddy the waters of productivity. One of the commitments you must make for the coming year is to streamline things and go the extra mile to exe cute with excellence everything you do. Leave planning a course strewn with junk and garbage to someone else.
The Game Plan
Now that you have these lists, I will outline strategies that should guarantee your success in the coming year. I believe in the adage, “Improve yourself and improve your business.” It is so true in this industry. If you think about it, you are 90% responsible for your success. The better you become as a professional, as a person, the better your economics are going to be in this business. Economic development follows right after personal development and professional development.
In January, I want you to commit to personal and profession al development. Ask yourself what are some key skill sets you need to improve upon in order to accomplish your goals over the coming twelve months. Write down three things that you want to improve upon next year that will have a dramatic impact on your business. Is it time management? Sales skills? Is it getting organized? Whatever it is for you, write down three things that you can commit to.
Then, to help launch the year in the right direction, block out at least a half hour every day. This can be in the morning, over lunch or after hours, and will be the time you will spend getting better, improving yourself. Whether that means listening to a tape, reading a book or participating in an online course depends on you. Whatever you decide, spend a half hour each day working on your skill sets.
The next area you should focus on is your technology. How, for example, are you doing with your contact manager? Many advisors I know use such programs as Goldmine, ACT! or something their firm provides. Inevitably though, 95% of those who own contact management software don’t really know how to use it to its fullest potential.
It’s important to master your contact management software and learn it inside out. It could be one of the few pieces of soft ware that will actually make you money in the coming year, yet so many advisors only tap 5-10% of its potential. Mastering your technology is vitally important.
Also critical to how well you do over the next 12 months is your physical fitness level. Holidays are notorious for giving you excuses to pile on the weight. Between Thanksgiving and New Year the average American gains between 5-10 pounds. Think about your energy levels there. How is your waistline looking, or your stomach feeling?
If you haven’t done so by now, it is absolutely crucial that you
commit to some level of physical fitness. This business thrives on energy and you’ll need to have a lot of it throughout the year.
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