Ben Mossman
“A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.”
–Brian Tracy
In a perfect world, financial advisors spend ample amounts of time meticulously putting together their
business plans with actionable items and they are EXCITED about it. In the real world, that is not always
the case. Some advisors don’t take the time to do this because;
- they are “too busy” to think about it
- they believe that their business has grown without doing it, why start now?
- they don’t know how
…or, I’ve heard this twice in the last week…
- THEY ARE BURNED OUT OF THE PROCESS
That last reason got me thinking about a different way to approach business planning, that for some,
may be better than what they are doing now anyway.
It’s difficult to avoid numbers and metrics when putting together a strategic business plan, but I find that
most advisors chase numbers that may not be leading to the growth of the VALUE of their business in
the way that they think. For financial advisors in the independent space, business decisions and goals
should always be within the context of what actually drives the value of my business up, not just a
random smattering of supporting metrics.
So, what if you shift your focus in your business plan slightly to leading indicators that drive value? For
example…
- Instead of…
-
- I want to grow Revenue this year by x%… SHIFT TO … I want to add 15 Households above my profitability line
- Instead of…
-
- I want to meet with all of my clients quarterly… SHIFT TO … I am going to execute a client service model aligned with my clients’ needs and automate it
- Instead of…
-
- I want to grow AUM by x% … SHIFT TO … I am going to move my operating profit margin up by 5%
Sure, revenue and AUM growth can contribute to a higher valuation of your business, but valuation experts will tell you that it goes much deeper than that. The alternative goals outlined above are designed not only to drive more revenue, but do it in a more efficient way that also serves to increase the value of your business.
If that isn’t on your mind as a business owner, it probably should be.
