The 8 Most Productive Things You Can Do For Your Business

By: Erin Tamberella

Date: 4/10/09

While other advisors are just hoping to maintain the status quo, you can position your business for an extraordinary 2009. Yes, I said extraordinary 2009. Follow these steps and exceed everyone’s expectations, including your own this year.

1. Make a mental shift. From a performance standpoint, the markets have leveled the playing field for everyone. It is your attitude that will give you the competitive edge in 2009. Do your best to avoid the, “I just want to hold onto what I have and hope to stay even” attitude of 2008. Mentally and emotionally commit to putting 2008 behind you and view 2009 as the pivotal year in your career. Easier said than done you say? The following mental shift steps virtually guarantee a more productive 2009.

Dream big. Merely holding onto your existing clients and hoping to keep your production at its current level is not dreaming big. Consider this. If a magic genie told you that for the next year, he was granting you a scenario where prospects wanted to talk, were willing to talk and wanted change, you’d probably view it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. Well, guess what? That’s precisely the scenario you have now, and in all likelihood will have through most of the next year.

I understand that 2008 was the most difficult year you’ll probably ever experience in your career. My intent is not in any way to minimize your pain. However, the glass can be half empty or half full. It’s completely up to you. Now is the time to dream bigger not smaller in terms of new assets and the revenue will follow.

People have very short memories. When the market begins to show signs of improvement, they will be much less likely to talk than they are now. In a normal year, if you typically target a 20% increase in net new assets, shoot for 25% or even 30% in 2009. It doesn’t cost a penny to dream big. Don’t shortchange yourself.

Plan big. 2009 will be a year where having a highly structured plan and working that plan on a daily basis will be more important than ever. Why? Your plan will insulate you from the news, markets and office distractions that can sabotage your efforts. Your plan will keep your focus where it belongs–on your business.

Have a plan for your existing clients. This should include a structured phone, e-mail and face-to-face contact schedule for each tier of client. Make a real commitment to working it for the full year. No excuses. Hold yourself accountable or hire a coach to do it for you. Accountability is the key to commitment and accountability is precisely where most advisors fall short in reaching their full potential. In addition to a client plan, have a prospecting plan that is realistic and doable. See steps 6 and 7 below. A “back to basics approach” to prospecting will serve you well in 2009. These two steps will give you a solid start.

Work big. There is no doubt that 2009 will tempt you with a multitude of “good” reasons to become distracted. Keep those to a minimum by having your plan and working it regardless of what is going on around you. This will be critical not only to your success but to your survival in 2009. Have a client and prospect campaign running at all times throughout the year.

It is your job to stay informed but do not allow yourself to get emotionally involved with the markets or the news. Your one and only job in 2009 is to work your plan. You will be a better advisor to clients and prospects and much more at peace if you focus solely on your activity. Develop a system for tracking your activity on a daily basis. Commit to a to-do list every day before you leave the office for the next day. Track that day’s activity as part of the next day’s to-do list. Measure your daily, weekly and monthly success by proactive activity levels only.

Keep your expectations in line with reality. Yes people want to talk, yes they are willing to talk and yes they do want change. That still does not mean prospects will be knocking down the door to talk to you. If prospects don’t want to meet with you immediately, don’t become discouraged. The primary objective is to warm prospects up with each additional contact. Your ultimate goal is to move cold prospects to warm, warm prospects to hot and hot prospects to clients. If they say no–no problem. They simply go back into the long-term drip process for a warmer contact next time. E-mail: erin@executivetransformations.com for a copy of an effective Prospecting Flow Chart that you can follow easily.

Having a workable system and keeping expectations in line with reality will remove much of the emotional component from the prospecting process. Instead of experiencing the emotional highs and lows that are inherent in the prospecting, it becomes strictly a matter of methodically working them through your system (something over which you have complete control). The primary goal of your system is to have prospects become warmer with each additional contact, not to have some prospecting magic bullet. There is no such thing. Remember, expectations in line with reality at all times in 2009.

2. Segment your book using my quick and easy point system. This approach not only quantifies assets and revenue but also the important intangibles necessary for a comprehensive segmentation of your book. In 2009, it will be critical that you are very clear on precisely who’s who in your book and allocate your time accordingly. Advisors are always surprised by what they discover about their book during this process. E-mail: erin@executivetransformations.com for the 3 Easy Steps to Superior Client Service article on segmenting your book.

3. Get rid of the lower end of your book. Decide on your parameters for assets, revenue or points and get rid of the non-productive end of your book. You’ve heard it many times before. The lower end of your book takes up valuable time for very little money. Consider your time the currency of your business. Spend it wisely. Another factor to consider if you’re hesitant about purging the lower end of your book is the liability factor. These clients have lost money like everyone else but probably don’t get a high level of service from you. Therefore, they represent a huge liability to you in this kind of market.

4. Develop a client and prospect e-mail distribution list. This allows you to touch clients and prospects regularly even if you can’t always call. E-mail distribution lists are also an essential component of any long-term drip process. I suggest you formulate at least two separate lists initially. It’s easier than trying to separate the lists later. E-mailing the same information to clients and prospects may not always be appropriate.

5. Develop a systematic long-term drip process for prospects and stick to it. A long-term drip in 2009 should consist of a monthly e-mail and a phone call every six weeks. Make it a habit to set these two recurring activities for all new prospects. If possible, set your drip e-mail to be sent on the second Monday of every month. This will coincide with the arrival of statements each month.

Remember, assets will be won and lost in the client contact/service arena in 2009. Your long-term drip process gives prospects a taste of what your client service will look like. Your long-term drip process, if executed consistently, is in many cases better than the level of service they are receiving from their current advisor. When you have a consistent long-term drip process, it becomes a matter of whether you’re going to get them now or later but eventually you will get them. Be consistent in everything you do. It’s the standard of all great businesses.

6. Develop a 10 Most Wanted List of prospects. These are the people you’d most like to have as clients in this year. These can be people you know, people you’ve talked to before and never became clients or people you just know of. Formulate a 12 month strategy for landing these prospects in 2009. If they are front and center throughout the year and this is coupled with a well-thought out prospecting/drip program, it’s been my experience as an advisor, manager and coach that you will land roughly half of them. I guarantee these people are not receiving the volume of calls and/or correspondence from advisors that they receive in a more typical market. E-mail: erin@executivetransformations.com for my Transitioning from Social Contact to Business Prospect article for a drip process that can be tailored to special prospects.

7. Formulate a comprehensive warm list of people who would recognize your name if you sent a letter to them. These could be people you know, you write a check to regularly and/or people in your existing prospect database. Send my Crisis Prospect Letter to them. E-mail: erin@executivetransformations.com for a copy of the letter. Use the Crisis Prospect Follow-Up Script to follow up for an appointment. If they say yes, great. If they say no, they go into your long-term drip process. This letter combined with a consistent long-term drip system is having tremendous success in setting appointments and bringing in substantial assets right now!

8. Brush up on your firm’s financial planning program. Run a financial plan on yourself to become better acquainted with it. Put together a list of clients who you will target for financial plans in 2009. This is a great way to take client’s attention off of the short-term and refocus them on the long-term. It also forges a stronger bond between you and your client. It will more than likely uncover additional assets and it can open the door for estate planning conversations. Make it your goal to land one or two estate planning cases in 2009. These can easily add an additional $100K to your gross production for the year.

Contrary to what the media would have you believe, life as you know it is not gone forever. I’ve said it many times before. Careers are made in markets just like these. Forge a new beginning for your business in 2009. Choose to be a contrarian. Choose to thrive and not just survive in 2009.