Why a Solo Retreat is Great for Annual Business Planning for Financial Advisors

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solo retreat for business planning for financial advisors

Why a Solo Retreat is Great for Annual Business Planning for Financial Advisors: Today let’s plan your biggest success as a financial advisor in all the years you have been in the business by A.Planning a solo retreat, and B.Learning strategies for income growth.

What are your plans for growth this year? Are you looking to add six figures or more to your financial planning practice revenue this year? Or are you stuck in a rut or standing in place? If you need to make progress with your client, asset, and skill growth this year, then this article is for you.

Let’s say you want to grow your income this year. How are you going to do that? What does your Business Plan say about where you’re headed? What’s your STRATEGY for growth? You can’t just wave a magic wand and hope for the best.

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You must become strategic about how you’re going to grow.

Being strategic, means focusing on YOUR PRACTICE.

I coach my clients to take an annual solo retreat in order to plan the next year!

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A. How to go on a retreat and plan your success, annually

I coach my clients to go on a retreat by themselves, to a fairly close location, within a few hours distance from your office, and spoil themselves while planning their best year possible.

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Here are my tips for planning your annual retreat:

  • Make the time: Many advisors go through their business life without intentionally planning their success. In order to do this, you must MAKE THE TIME to plan out your next year.
  • Location: Select a location that is beautiful because you deserve it! For example, if you lived in Arizona, you could go to Sedona and stay at the Enchantment Resort. They have a spa, several restaurants, a pool, a bar, beautiful views, delicious food, great service, etc.
  • October, November, or December: These are the best months to do your annual planning. It’s the end of the year, you know how you have performed for the current year, and you can write your Business Plan for the coming year.
  • Name your annual Business Plan: Each year, you should have a Business Plan and give it a year. So for this year, your plan will be titled “Business Plan 2025.” Next year, it will be “Business Plan 2026.” And so on.
  • What to bring: You will need your laptop and all your previous year’s plans, marketing strategies, business growth strategies, data regarding client acquisition, employee information, annual planners, your calendar, and whatever else goes into your planning.
  • Spread out your planning docs: Go ahead and lay all your documents on the floor, on the bed, wherever it works for you, so that you can see critical planning information.
  • Pamper yourself: For the next 24-48 hours, order room service. Order the best food, the best adult beverages, the best desserts. Really spoil yourself, because you, as the business owner, deserve it. As an advisor, you are a business owner who takes risks. Your business should repay you by treating you with the very best money can buy. So, get that bottle of champagne; order the lobster; go swimming at the swim up bar.
  • Train your mind to expect the best: You’ve worked diligently in your business, perhaps for many years or decades. For this retreat, give yourself the best.
  • What to do: Check your numbers. How have you performed in the current year? What are your Key Performance Indicators? Has revenue increased or decreased? Which business and marketing strategies had results? What do you need to stop doing? What do you need to start doing? What skills do you need to improve?
  • Write your Business Plan: Take all your materials, ideas, concepts, and thoughts, and put it together into a plan for the coming year.
  • Check with your Tax Advisor as the retreat may be tax deductible.

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Other important issues to focus on:

Create Goals

First, it makes sense to create goals for growth for the coming year. Figure out what you want to achieve. Successful people have goals and aspirations and they make time to set intentions. Goals are a type of intention.

Any time you want to take your business farther than you’ve gone before, it makes sense to analyze what you want to do. When you can break down your big goals into smaller achievable goals, you’re on the right track. If you can then assign a monetary strategy to achieve each smaller goal, you’ve hit the jackpot!

This is where two types of goals come into play: Big picture goals and achievable goals.financial planning income

Big picture goals for growth

Big picture goals are those that are a HUGE stretch. They are all about where you see your firm in five to ten years. Big income, big results. The book you want to write. The people you want to keep company with. The dream vacations and time off.

If your goal is to grow income 50% this year and in the past you’ve grown 5% year over year, then it’s unlikely you’ll reach that goal in ONE YEAR. Fifty percent growth is more likely a big picture goal for your firm.

Achievable goals for growth

These are goals that you can realistically achieve over the next one-year period. The blog post series you want to write. The number of new clients you want this year. The credentials and skills you want to acquire this year. The centers of influence you want to develop relationships with this year. The events you would like to hold this year.

Definition of Strategy

A strategy is a broad or general idea of how to achieve a particular goal. It is NOT the specifics. It is the planning for overall operations to achieve a distinct end result.

Definition of Tactic

A tactic is a SPECIFIC way to achieve a strategy. For example, in a Business Plan, a marketing tactic is a specific way to to achieve a marketing objective.

Now that we’ve cleared up the meaning of big goals, achievable goals, and the definition of strategy & tactics, let’s discuss strategies for growth. Here are 3 strategies to grow a financial firm:

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Resource: Try my Two Page Mini Business Plan for Financial Advisors if you want a Program that includes tools for Business Planning

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B. Strategies for Income Growth:

1.Sell more services to your existing clients

financial advisor income growth - sell more to existing clients

It takes a lot more effort to go out and market and sell to people who don’t know you because they are not already in a relationship with you. What additional financial services could you offer existing clients?

Have you ever surveyed your clients to find out which services they would like you to provide? You might be surprised to find that your affluent clients would appreciate tax-planning services.

You might find that some of your clients would use real estate investment planning services.

Do your clients worry about their children being financially successful? What services can you offer clients to not only help their children, but also form a deeper bond with the likely beneficiaries of your existing assets?

Do you have business owner clients? What could you do for them that you are not doing now?

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2. Penetrate a new target market

financial advisor income growth - penetrate new market

Are you mainly working with individual clients who could be classified as “retirees”? Are you taking any new client who walks in the door? If so, you may need to penetrate other target markets.

Most people prefer not to work with a generalist. Think about it: if you were an entrepreneur, would you be more willing to hire an investment manager who handles finances for everyone with a pulse or someone who specializes in helping business owners?

Clients want to know if you’ve worked with someone who has their challenges. Business owners have plenty of challenges. They need to attract high-achieving employees to ensure their business reaches new heights. They need retirement planning education services and employer sponsored retirement plan management. They need to minimize taxable income, legally. They need to minimize many types of risk. How can you design a program that helps a new market with their biggest points of pain?

You can also go deep in an existing market. If you’re working with Generation X clients, how about adding Generation X business owners to your target market? Or even Generation X technology business owners. Look at your existing clients for examples of how you can go deeper.

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3.Implement new marketing tactics

financial advisor income growth - new marketing tactics

What new marketing tactics can help you achieve your strategic vision?

Let’s say you’ve decided to go deeper in an existing market. How can you reach that market? Where do people in this market congregate? Hang out with this market where they happen to be. There’s nothing better than being “right there” when people need you.

If you can be THE financial planner for the LGBTQ community, just think about how much easier it would be to get referrals.

If you can be THE financial planner for the Tech industry (a rich niche market by the way), think about how you could re-brand your firm!

If you can be THE financial planner for the single or married professionals, just think how it could change your business.

What networking groups and conferences can you attend where you can rub elbows with a new audience? Here’s a listing of possible conferences. What new marketing collateral do you need to bring with you? Do you need a new business card for this target market? (The answer is yes.) Do you have a landing page on your website that speaks to the challenges of this new market? Do you need a new website just for this market?

If you’re not sure about which Target Markets you could reach out to, read my series on Target Markets here.

When was the last time you put on your creative hat to brainstorm new marketing tactics? When was the last time you held a client appreciation event? When was the last time you stepped outside your comfort zone? What’s it going to take for you to raise the bar on your potential?

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Final thoughts:

It’s time to do it. Get intentional with your business. Plan it out. Create big picture goals and achievable goals. Break down your goals into smaller, achievable actions. Identify how you’re going to grow. Break out of inertia by taking action.

What are your plans for income growth this year?

Hi, I’m Suzanne. I coach financial advisors like you.

I can help YOU!

I have been working with Financial Advisors and Investment Managers on Business Development Coaching since 2004! I help you build a professional business where you are growing and becoming the person and firm you’ve always wanted.

Just imagine what you could accomplish!

If I’m offering this wonderful information, imagine what else I could help you achieve! Consider completing the Consultation Form to explore how we may work together.

Financial Advisor Leadership: Time Management – How to Be Productive

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Financial Advisor Leadership: Time Management - Boost your productivity

Financial Advisor Leadership: Time management is one of the most crucial skills you can develop. You are guiding the rest of your team, and they will only be able to meet various goals when the proper allocation of time and resources is achieved.

As a professional financial advisor career coach, leadership coach, and prosperity advisor, I frequently speak with those in the field struggling to differentiate when to focus on client emails, team building, or any number of other crucial tasks.

When you learn the benefits of managing your time best, you will see a direct impact on your positive productivity and firm efficiency. It is all about striking a balance so you and your team accomplish the most highly relevant tasks to keep your ship sailing smoothly.

In this article, we’ll review the basics of time management and the tips I’ve found most helpful in my professional career as a financial advisor.

How Does Time Management Relate to Financial Advisor Leadership?

Proper time management must be in place so that you can assign specific time slots to those tasks that benefit your practice the most. Not everything on your giant “to-do” list has to be completed today. There are priorities, and it is your role to assign them as you see fit.

Delegation and understanding your team’s capabilities are equally important to time management. You want to assign tasks to specific members, so your workload is also achievable. At the end of the day, you want what works best so you can serve your clients and meet their unique needs without sacrificing the leadership your team relies upon.

Remember, you are setting the example and business tone. The more people see you as being highly efficient and respecting their time-frames, the likelier that same attitude will be given to you.

Top Tips for Boosting Time Management

Here are some of the most important tips I’ve learned as a financial advisor. We can discuss many others during a coaching session, but this should give you enough perspective to rethink how you optimize your time with clients and team members.

#1 – Stay Positive

Being a financial advisor means making thousands of unique decisions every single day. You have to do everything from anticipating your firm’s complex challenges to convincing certain clients to take risks they may not be prepared for mentally or emotionally.

You must stay proactive and positive through this process. Trying to get to all of these decisions as they crop up will not lead to efficiency. Prioritization must be your mantra. Allocate time only to those issues you know must be addressed and remain positive so people see you are managing confidently.

#2 – Introduce Strategic Efficiency

Every minute of your work time should be focused on goal achievement. Even if you’re meeting with a team member looking for skill development opportunities, you are improving your team’s ability to achieve more down the road.

As you consider your daily activities, don’t move from topic to topic like a dog hoping for a treat. Focus your attention where needed most and streamline all activities to maximize your productivity equally. This way, you always remain aligned with long-term goals that benefit the firm the most.

#3 – Manage Communication First

Anyone working in financial advising is well aware of how much of a “time suck” answering endless emails and client inquiries can be. If you want to infuse time management into your practice, you must develop a strategic and structured plan for addressing emails, texts, leads, and other daily communication.

For example, author Tim Ferriss of the 4-Hour Work Week only answers emails for 20 minutes at the beginning and ending of a day. While the beauty of technology has done wonders for global communication, it doesn’t mean you must be tethered to every notification coming your way.

I recommend you integrate a calendar, CRM software, and other marketing efficiencies to manage all communication. Also, hire a social media director or assistant, as that will save you a lot of time down the road.

#4 – Document Everything

This is more of a two-part tip for financial advisor leadership and time management. Productivity is easier to achieve when you have solid organization. All documents floating through your office should be flagged appropriately for dates, client names, and other information relevant to your searches. That will ensure you can quickly locate crucial information when needed most.

The second part of this tip is to use a template for all your documents. Having a package ready to send through a digital PDF or physical format saves you a ton of time when dealing with clients. You want your onboarding and communication processes to be streamlined with templated paperwork that everyone on your team understands.

#5 – Use Time Blocking

You’ve probably noticed a theme in this article about prioritizing items in your time management goals. Time blocking helps with this task. Setting aside 10, 20, or 30-minute blocks for dealing with specific tasks and then moving on once that time is up.

An excellent example of this process is the Pomodoro technique. The basic idea is to set a timer for 25-30 minutes to focus on a single task, then break for 5 minutes and rinse and repeat as needed. You can do the same thing, but from task to task. Maybe 25 minutes for updating one client and then a tiny break until you spend another 25 minutes addressing any employee requests for the month.

Breaking up your tasks into blocks also helps with achievement. You’ll get a confidence boost that the ship is moving forward because you’ll see incremental improvements as you finish each block. Bigger tasks suddenly become much more attainable through segmentation using time blocks.

#6 – Stick to Effective Meetings

I will say this very clearly so everyone can hear it: never hold a meeting that can be achieved through a 5-minute phone call or simple email. Meetings waste so much time because they can quickly lose focus on the primary goals or get sidetracked by other subjects unrelated to the task at hand.

That being said, as a financial advisor, you must meet with clients. In these cases, stick to an agenda focused on specific goals, set a strict time limit, and be disciplined about meeting times. Ensure your team knows to respect each other’s time by attending the meeting at the correct time and not late.

#7 – Universal Notifications

A CRM or other financial advising software is crucial to your success. It allows you to take notes directly to client files so the information you need to act on is readily available in the most convenient location.

Trying to write out handwritten reminders or set up endless alerts on your smartphone will not end well. Details will likely be lost, or you’ll lose a frame of reference for the notification. Have a universal system of notifying yourself of any adjustments, notes, or reminders. A CRM has built-in follow-ups and deadlines to help you manage your time best.

#8 – Automate with Technology

One of the most significant benefits of technology is automation. Boosting productivity for financial advisors helps with software where you can schedule automated marketing campaigns, auto-responding email messages, and other streamlined tasks.

The goal is to reduce the workload on repetitive and mundane tasks. This will free up the time your team has to address more unique needs and business concerns. A popular option is to have a generative AI chatbot to answer client questions through your website or an immersive FAQ page. Another would be an email sequence for new leads you capture through your website intake form.

#9 – Integrate Remote Everything

Don’t be surprised when clients, team members, and partners request remote access to files and meetings. Working in a virtual environment is way more common now that we live in a post-Covid world.

Integrate remote access to everything you need to operate your financial advising firm. It will help you manage all the details you need as well as digitally delegate to your trusted team members so you can manage your time better when not in the office.

Final Thoughts

Time management is an integral part of financial advisor leadership. You must find a way to implement strategies to maximize productivity and efficiency as you lead your team.

Remember that a small change to your processes can lead to significant changes. Something as simple as having an autoresponder to general emails may not feel like much when you save 15 minutes daily. But if you spread that out to 50 weeks, that’s over 62 hours of saved time.

There are so many ways to ensure you get the most out of your time, so test what methods work best for the style and personality of your team. Set the tone and invite your clients to share in the journey. You may be surprised how many have faced similar challenges in their careers and can offer exceptional insights.

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Financial Advisor Leadership: Why Communication Skills are Critical

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Lifestyle Practice for Financial Advisors: 5 Essential Ingredients

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