Nerd's Eye View blog

How Advisors Can Get Client Referrals By Identifying “Active Promoters”

March 11, 2024 07:04 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Marketing

Referrals can play a vital role in the growth of financial advisory firms since finding prospective clients via referral requires virtually no hard-dollar costs, and it takes only a fraction of the time needed for other marketing channels like social media, blogging, and seminars. However, finding reliable sources of referrals can sometimes be challenging for advisors: Centers of Influence (COIs) like accountants and attorneys may not be as attuned to the advisor's services as the advisor's clients themselves, yet asking current clients for introductions to people in their networks can be awkward since not all clients are equally receptive to being asked to provide referrals (and clients who aren't inclined to offer referrals can even have a negative reaction to the request, potentially damaging the advisor-client relationship!).

In this guest post, Todd Fithian, co-founder and managing partner of The Legacy Companies LLC, discusses a systematic approach that advisors can take to ask clients for referrals. By first identifying clients who are receptive to the idea and who would most likely be viable referral sources, advisors can focus their efforts on those clients rather than devoting resources to clients who wouldn't want to be approached for a referral in the first place. By designing simple surveys to determine clients' Net Promoter Scores, advisors can divide their clients into groups of those who may be more (and less) likely to want to 'promote' (i.e., refer others to) the advisor. This can help the advisor decide who to ask for a referral and who to avoid the subject with – although for the latter group, scheduling a separate meeting to discuss potential issues that underlie the clients' reluctance may provide valuable insights about both the advisor's processes in general and any relationship concerns the client may have more specifically.

After identifying potential clients who might serve as good "active promoters", advisors can take the next step by asking clients whether they'd be willing to refer people in their networks who might benefit from the advisor's services. One way to do this is to invite the client to a Dedicated Introduction Meeting (DIM) where the advisor and client can review the client's personal or professional networks and pinpoint contacts who might align with the advisor's firm and benefit from working with the advisor. To this end, it's essential to provide the client with guidance by clarifying the advisor's ideal client profile (since prospective clients who align best with the advisor's value proposition will more likely become clients themselves), which will also help clients narrow the list of introductions to contacts who would be a good fit with the advisor.

Ultimately, the key point is that asking for client referrals shouldn't feel like it pushes any boundaries with uncomfortable requests; instead, it should feel more like a natural progression of the authentic relationship built between the advisor and the client. By developing a process centered around respect for the client's willingness to open up their network to the advisor – as well as their trust that the advisor could serve those potential clients well – advisors can make the process feel more natural for clients while effectively bringing in their ideal target prospects!

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (March 9-10)

March 8, 2024 01:58 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that RIA clients of an insurance broker providing Errors & Omissions (E&O) coverage saw a 213% increase in claims paid in 2023, attributed to significant jumps in suitability claims (likely stemming from the 2022 market downturn) and claims related to wire fraud. Which suggests that financial advisory firms could potentially mitigate their potential exposure to future exposures by reviewing asset allocations with clients more frequently (to ensure they understand and approve of the advisor’s recommendations) and by maintaining strong policies and procedures related to client wire transfers (and ensure firm staff is trained on them!) to prevent fraud.

Also in industry news this week:

A recent survey has found that a majority of prospective financial planning clients across all age brackets are open to working with a remote advisor, creating opportunities for advisors to grow their businesses and for clients to find the ‘best’ advisor for their needs, regardless of their location
A federal judge has ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act, which requires small business entities such as LLCs and corporations to report identifying information on their "beneficial owners", is unconstitutional, raising questions about whether businesses (including certain non-exempt financial advisory firms) will be required to comply with its requirements

From there, we have several articles on practice management:

Why many RIAs are experiencing high staff turnover and how a more deliberate approach when hiring could lead to more successful hires
The key behaviors that can help a newly promoted manager succeed, including the need to set and communicate clear goals and the ability to provide regular feedback to team members (without micromanaging)
How firms can avoid wrongful termination lawsuits, from establishing clear policies in employment agreements and employee handbooks to considering whether to offer departing employees a severance package

We also have a number of articles on investment planning:

Why the well-known (and frequently judged) “60/40” portfolio could have a bright future, despite the poor returns it experienced in 2022
While a diversified investment portfolio can offer significant risk-management benefits, it also tends to come with periods of underperformance that can be challenging for investors to withstand
Why U.S. stocks have dominated their international counterparts during the past decade and whether it still makes sense to have exposure to international equities

We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about decision-making:

Why research suggests that individuals make their best financial decisions in their early 50s and how advisors can support clients across the age spectrum based on their unique skills and weak points of view
Why it’s important to recognize that there often is no “Secret Option C” when it comes to make a challenging decision with 2 distinct options, and how advisors are well-positioned to help clients overcome the tendency to put off these tough choices
How a structured framework can help advisors make decisions when a seemingly unlimited number of options are available, from choosing a niche to deciding what to discuss when leveraging content marketing

Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!

Kitces & Carl Ep 133: Should Advisors Market The Real (Self-Actualization?) Value Of Financial Planning, Or Just Do It?

March 7, 2024 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

For many financial advisors, the traditional way of doing business has generally been based on a transaction-based service model involving functional solutions to clients' practical problems. In more recent years, though, advisors have begun to focus on developing stronger and more meaningful relationships, recognizing the advantage of better understanding clients' values and priorities when it comes to solving for their long-term goals. And with this growing realization, many advisors are also recognizing the profound impact they have on their clients' lives beyond solving their everyday financial challenges. Which begs the question: Is there a missed opportunity for advisors to market themselves as providing value that transcends solving just their clients' functional goal-based needs and that addresses their emotional, social, and even aspirational needs as well?

In our 133rd episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards explore how many of the services provided by financial advisors often align with those outlined in consulting firm Bain & Company's "Elements of Value Pyramid", a 4-tier model representing different levels of inherent value delivered by products and services. Similar to psychologist Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs, the Elements of Value codify some of the less quantifiable concepts of what is important and valuable to clients – including those that are emotional, life-changing, and socially impactful – that are often naturally addressed (but not necessarily marketed as part of the services provided by the advisor) through the advisor's planning process, offering a potential framework for advisors to consider when deciding whether to market themselves as providing these 'higher' levels of value.

As a starting point, while clients often approach advisors with basic financial problems, there are often deeper concerns (and goals) associated with their initial requests. And when the advisor is able to gain an understanding of those underlying issues through active listening and engagement using carefully crafted questions, clients often benefit in ways that naturally address their higher-tier needs in the Elements of Value Pyramid. Which further elevates the advisor's value to encompass broader services that the client may not have even realized they wanted or needed in the first place, potentially increasing loyalty and trust within the relationship and even leading to growth of the advisor's business through increased referrals!

Advisors seeking to market these higher-tier services (e.g., providing hope and motivation, reducing anxiety, promoting wellness) may need to find a comfortable balance between explicitly communicating the intent to provide such services, versus relying on the client to recognize the added benefits as an organic by-product of the advisor's standard process. As while serving in a fiduciary capacity to create a comprehensive financial plan in the client's best interest can result in providing solutions that cascade into the emotional, life-changing, and even social-impact tiers of the Elements of Value Pyramid, sometimes without the client ever realizing they had needs in those areas.

Ultimately, while acknowledging a client's emotional and social needs hasn't historically been a large part of traditional financial planning, the concept of financial psychology has been gaining credence as an important aspect of financial planning. And by considering all the ways they can provide value to their clients (including the evaluation of 'higher-level' elements as outlined by Bain's Elements of Value Pyramid), advisors can be confident about marketing themselves as servicing these client needs in whatever capacity works best for them – whether it involves exploring simple questions about a client's desired future life or delving into the deeper levels of how the client perceives life-changing self-actualization or even self-transcendence!

The Problem Of High U.S. Equity Valuations And How Advisors Can Factor In Current Evaluations Risks

March 6, 2024 07:04 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Investments

Financial advisors often discuss how futile it is to try and predict what will happen in the stock market, and yet the reality is that a core component of creating a financial plan involves making a prediction for how markets will behave, at least in the long run. An assumed rate of return is needed, for example, to illustrate how much a client might need to save for retirement, how much savings they'll have when they do retire, and how long their savings will last after they stop working. Which means that advisors need some way to create a reasonable return assumption, even as just a starting 'average' scenario around which the advisor can build other scenarios to illustrate better or worse cases.

One way to predict future market returns is to use the past as a guide, with nearly 100 years of continuous market data since the 1920s covering a wide range of economic conditions showing that, for instance, the S&P 500 has had nearly a 10% average compounding return (7% above inflation) since 1926. And yet the problem with using that long-term average return is that investors generally don't have 100 years to invest – their time horizons are much shorter, usually spanning a few decades at most, and in those instances the conditions at the beginning of the time period (namely the market valuation compared to the underlying business and economic conditions at the time) can significantly impact the actual returns experienced over that period.

The Shilller Cyclically Adjusted Price-to-Earnings (CAPE 10) Ratio is one example that takes into account current market valuations versus company earnings, generally predicting that the higher the valuation at the beginning of a period the lower the expected return for that period. Which, at today's current high valuations, suggests that, for instance, the S&P 500 might 'only' return just over 5% over the next 10 years (as opposed to the 10% that it has averaged over the last nearly 100 years). Additionally, when breaking down current conditions even further to factor in the impact of the returns on cash, dividend yields, expected tax rates, and corporate leverage, U.S. equities could have a very difficult time trying to match or exceed the average returns of the past (and would need a tech bubble-like increase in valuations to come near the market's performance of the last decade)!

The key point is that when projecting future market returns, simply using historical averages without factoring in current evaluations risks painting an overly optimistic return scenario that could lead to under-saving for retirement (which could be exacerbated by a combination of higher life expectancies, increasing long-term care costs, and governmental funding difficulties around Social Security and Medicare). The good news, however, is that there are ways for advisors to address the current issue of high U.S. equity valuations, including diversification with international stocks (which have much lower valuations) to help mitigate the risk of the S&P 500 failing to repeat its past performance in the future, the use of value stocks, and alternative investments.

#FA Success Ep 375: Running 20+ Client Meetings Per Week By Systematizing The Meeting Prep And Follow-Up Process, With Rob Schultz

March 5, 2024 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 375th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Rob Schultz. Rob is the Senior Partner of NWF Advisory, a hybrid firm based in Los Angeles, California, where he oversees nearly $500M in assets under management for 200 client households.

What's unique about Rob, though, is how he's systematized his meeting process, from his meeting prep down to a standardized agenda flow that allows him to dig into client-specific details while also maintaining an efficient meeting process… which has allowed him to scale up to over 20 client meetings every week… and still keep his sanity and energy levels up so that this is sustainable to him as he builds his firm.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Rob sets the agenda for his 20+ meetings per week with his clients using a structured flow that always touches on the same key areas for every client, the way he leverages his paraplanner to prep a stack of client meetings so that he can knock through a week's worth of meeting preparation in just a few hours every Monday morning, and the way Rob leverages the built-in audio transcription features in Microsoft Word itself to quickly wrap up his post-meeting notes at the end of each day.

We also talk about Rob's journey from getting an undergrad in Kinesiology and starting med school to moving into accounting and then ultimately becoming a financial planner through the program at UCLA (because financial planning was the perfect blend of helping people the way he wanted to in medicine, and working with numbers the way he did in accounting), the way Rob has been able to grow by executing a series of "succession plans" where he buys out and takes over the practices of retiring advisors, and the way Rob has been able to scale up his efficiency further by getting more systematized with his investments, especially the rise in recent years of outsourced TAMP providers and the availability of ETF model portfolios.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Rob shares the impact it had when a mentor pointed out how he could be the smartest advisor out there, but if he couldn't make enough money to last, he wasn't going to be able to help anyone, how much Rob has realized that soft skills are required to get his clients into a mindset where they are on a good path and can use any extra money they have to make their own lives better, and how getting to the point where Rob was actually able to say "No" to prospective clients who he knew deep down really weren't a good fit – but Rob finally felt he had the freedom to act on that reality – became the breakthrough that added greatly to his own mental health as a financial advisor .

So, whether you're interested in learning about how to grow your firm through succession plans, how much soft skills and client mindset are just as important as the knowledge you have as an advisor, or how to effectively manage an overwhelming amount of client meetings with ease, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Rob Schultz.

The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech (March 2024)

March 4, 2024 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

Welcome to the March 2024 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors!

This month's edition kicks off with the news that advisor lead generation platform Datalign Advisory reached nearly $15B in referred client assets (and almost $3B in actually-converted assets) in just its 2nd year of business, as advisor demand for paid leads continues to rise (especially with Datalign's flat-fee one-advisor-per-lead model)… though arguably the greater significance is simply that new advisor lead gen platforms have still been able to find new channels to market to in order to create an ongoing flow of leads (while raising the question of how much further the category can grow before the competing platforms start to saturate the consumer marketplace?).

From there, the latest highlights also feature a number of other interesting advisor technology announcements, including:

Salesforce Financial Services Cloud highlights a new pre-built multi-custodial data feeds solution in its AppExchange, dubbed Attune and powered by BridgeFT, as the CRM provider seems to come 'downmarket' into mid-sized independent advisory firms that want Salesforce's depth but don't have the internal resources to fully customize it from scratch.
SEI invests $10M into TIFIN to support its development of new AI tools for wealth management, in a model that could both help SEI navigate the infamous "Innovator's Dilemma" of being a large incumbent trying to innovate, and could represent a model that helps to fund more early- and mid-stage AdvisorTech startups (especially as the VC/PE funding environment continues to slow)

Read the analysis about these announcements in this month's column, and a discussion of more trends in advisor technology, including:

Nebo Wealth partners with Advyzon's Investment Management (AIM) platform to 'TAMPify' its software, which models, illustrates, and optimizes a Liability-Driven-Investing style of portfolio design, customized for each individual retiree client… but until now left advisors on their own to figure out how to scalably implement when each client's portfolio was different.
Fabric Risk is acquired by MSCI as adoption continues to be sluggish for advisors building truly personalized-to-each-client portfolios, given both the operational difficulties of implementing, and the simple reality that pursuing such an approach can mean a material change to the advisor's existing investment story with clients (which is often a disruption that advisors would just prefer not to deal with!)
A new AdvisorTech category for "Prospecting" appears on the AdvisorTech Map, as a slew of new startups including Catchlight, AIdentified, FINNY, Wealthawk, and Equilar bring AI (or at least, advanced analytics) to help scrub advisors' lists of leads and figure out which ones are really Qualified prospects that advisors will get the best ROI on their time by pursuing.

And be certain to read to the end, where we have provided an update to our popular "Financial AdvisorTech Solutions Map" (and also added the changes to our AdvisorTech Directory) as well!

*And for #AdvisorTech companies who want to submit their tech announcements for consideration in future issues, please submit to [email protected]!

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (March 2-3)

March 1, 2024 02:00 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that the Biden administration could seek to release the final version of the Department of Labor (DoL)'s proposed "Retirement Security Rule" this year, potentially with a January 1 effective date, to ensure it goes into effect before a potential change in administration. Nevertheless, given the contentious nature of the proposal as it currently stands (with the brokerage and insurance industries levying heavy criticism of the rule), its ultimate fate (including whether its scope might be narrowed) is likely to be determined in the courts.

Also in industry news this week:

Financial scams involving social media and digital assets are on the rise, according to NASAA's annual enforcement report, and advisors can play a valuable role in helping their clients avoid becoming victims
A report suggests that firms with intentional, integrated tech stacks as well as those that are able to establish strong brand identities will be better positioned to succeed in the years ahead

From there, we have several articles on practice management:

A lawsuit alleges that several wealth management companies established an anti-competitive "no-poach" agreement that limited opportunities for their employees to change firms
A separate lawsuit is challenging a firm's non-compete agreement, alleging that it goes too far in restricting employees' professional activities if they decide to pursue other opportunities
How firms and their advisors can create mutually fair non-solicit agreements that reflect the 'skin in the game' contributed by each party

We also have a number of articles on retirement:

Why the Federal government might decide that the benefits of tax-advantaged retirement accounts do not outweigh the costs, potentially putting 401(k)s and other plans in the crosshairs
Proposed legislation would mandate that most companies with more than 10 employees provide defined-contribution retirement plans, potentially expanding the pool of employees with access to tax-advantaged accounts
How advisors can support younger clients by putting the challenges facing the Social Security system into context and showing them how potential changes would affect their financial plans

We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about money psychology:

Why the traits that can help entrepreneurs succeed in business can lead to challenges elsewhere in their financial lives, and how financial advisors can help them evaluate their options
Why 'frugality' is not just a matter of spending as little as possible, but rather living in a way that allows an individual to spend time on their most important priorities
31 money lessons 1 author has learned over the course of his career, from the importance of putting one's income and wealth into perspective to the benefits of living generously

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

Using Reflection Questions To Help Prospects Find Clarity And Focus On A Shared Planning Vision

February 28, 2024 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Client Trust & Communication

Initial outreach to a financial advicer rarely (if ever) results from a prospective client waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because they just figured out that they're in desperate need of a comprehensive financial plan. Rather, prospects often reach out to set an initial appointment only when they realize they have a specific pain point that they need an advicer's help with. It's during that first meeting that an advicer has an opportunity not only to demonstrate how they can help the prospect solve whatever problem they may be experiencing but also to gain valuable insight into the prospects themselves so that they can begin laying the foundation for what could evolve into a long-lasting professional relationship. Apart from spending time during the first meeting only to gather facts about the prospect, advicers can also utilize a variety of techniques to focus on who the prospect is, start building rapport, begin to establish a meaningful connection, and even set the stage for emotional buy-in.

In a discovery meeting, advicers have a short period of time to gain a deeper understanding about the prospect and establish a connection that will motivate them to become a client. And by asking good questions during that initial meeting, an advicer can learn about a prospect's main concerns and what sort of advice they need. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by asking questions that encourage the prospect to pause and reflect more deeply on the issue at hand. Such 'reflection' questions ask an individual to reflect on whatever information they've just offered in order to find personal meaning in what they've shared and why it's important to them. They are particularly effective in building rapport, because the simple act of asking reflection questions shows that the advicer has been listening closely and is interested in the prospect as a person, not just a potential client.

At a basic level, reflection questions are often framed as "this or that" statements which offer 2 ideas for the prospect to consider. Part of an advicer's job is helping prospective clients gain clarity around their goals, and it often takes several meetings for those goals to become well-defined. However, "this or that" questions can help break down daunting issues (like what a fulfilling retirement might look like for the prospect) by offering just 2 scenarios that they might consider as viable options for what their future might look like, with the caveat that alternatives are always available if neither felt 'right'.

Alternatively, advisers can introduce reflection questions using the phrase, "it seems" as a way to rephrase and summarize something a prospect said in order to elicit additional thoughts. The "it seems" framework is particularly useful when prospects need help prioritizing multiple goals. For instance, an advicer might observe that "it seems that saving for your child's education is important, but it also seems that you're concerned about whether or not you'll be ready for to retire when you want." Notably, such reflection questions aren't meant to tell the prospect which issue is more important, but rather, are meant to help the prospect identify their own reasons for how they should prioritize their goals.

Ultimately, the key point is that reflection questions can be used to help prospects identify the actions they can take to make progress toward their goals, narrow down which of their goals will be the most impactful, and offer prospects the motivation to stick with their financial plan. Finding the motivation to move forward is challenging when the path is unclear, and reflection questions can help prospects find clarity around their values and goals, which can also help them appreciate the value that a financial advicer brings to the table as a valued partner in their journey towards their long-term goals!

#FA Success Ep 374: Turning Your Marketing Loss Leader Into A Positive Revenue Diversifier By Getting Clear About The Value, With Dianne Nolin

February 27, 2024 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 374th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Dianne Nolin. Dianne is the Managing Partner of Argent Bridge Advisors, a hybrid advisory firm based in Vienna, Virginia, that oversees $500 million in assets under management for 350 client households.

What's unique about Dianne, though, is how she has been able to both expand the marketing of her firm, and its profitability, by taking the divorce financial planning work that has been a loss leader service of the business for years, and turning it into a positive revenue diversifier, by getting clear on the value that Dianne's divorce clients really were already receiving, and getting more focused about actually charging for all of the time that she and her team were spending with and behalf of their clients.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Dianne became conscious of the service offerings of the firm, the impact it has had on clients over the years, and how that realization has allowed Argent Bridge to start to more accurately bill for the actual time spent with each and every client, how sticking with a client through their divorce and transitioning into a post-divorce financial planning offering has become a core growth pipeline for Argent Bridge to establish new client relationships, and how staying focused their coaching with, advocating for, and providing services to the divorce community, has increased their referability in the divorce niche, further accelerating the growth of their pipeline to create more long-term post-divorce AUM clients as well.

We also talk about Dianne's transition from a firm that had no formality to partnership or a path to ownership to establishing one for herself in which every partner has a seat at the table and a say in every one of the so-called "50-year" long-term decisions facing the firm, Dianne's realization that if you get clear on your value and can communicate it clearly to both new or even existing clients, they don't mind paying for it, even if they haven't been before, and how, through the growth of her career, Dianne came to the realization that she didn't have to know it all, she just needed to know who to go to for the answers that her clients were seeking.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Dianne shares how it was sitting down with a new, young client, and discovering she knew far more than the client – and far more than she realized – that she finally allowed herself to believe it, how Dianne has focused more on client relationships and really knowing each client personally than trying to know the most about the industry's products (and instead just making sure she knew the people to ask if she needed product answers), and how Dianne ultimately discovered that building her own advisory business wasn't as complicated as she'd anticipated it being, due to the team she'd already built around her, that came with her when she was ready to get started on her own.

So whether you're interested in learning about how to properly communicate your value to clients who don't mind paying for it, transitioning to a firm with a clear path to ownership and a seat at the table for every partner, or how belief in the things you know will always make you the expert in the eyes of your clients, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Dianne Nolin

KPIs To Track Your Advisor Marketing And Figure Out What’s Actually Working (Or Not)

February 26, 2024 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Marketing

In the early days of the financial advice industry, an advisor's options for generating new business were somewhat limited. Cold calls, country club memberships, Chamber of Commerce networking, and referrals (from clients or centers of influence) were staples for growth, and determining how successful those sales-centric efforts were was rather straightforward. Over the years, though, as the focus of the profession evolved from being almost exclusively transaction-based sales to having a focus on building long-term relationships, so too did growth shift from sales-based approaches to more long-term trust-building marketing tactics. The good and bad news of this shift has been the emergence of a near-dizzying array of growth tactics, including blogging, webinars, social media, podcasts, paid search, lead-generation services, and (of course) good old-fashioned cold-calling and networking (to name just a few!). And when they're so different from each other, the challenge can quickly become figuring out which are really working the best (especially when some take more time, and others cost more upfront in hard dollars). Fortunately, by tracking key marketing KPIs and sales metrics, advicers can measure their business development efforts and not only learn which tactics are most effective, but also how to iterate over time to make them even more marketing-efficient and scale the growth of their business!

An advicer's business development activity can be measured across 2 main phases: the Marketing Activities that generate new leads and prospects, and the Sales Process that converts those prospects into new clients. As a first step, the most important is to gather data around whatever activity it is that the advicer is doing to attract new prospects (such as the number of podcasts produced, webinars hosted, blog posts published, networking meetings attended, or cold calls made). From there, advicers can determine if the activity is actually having any effect by measuring the number of Prospect Inquiries, or how many people reach out to learn more about what the advicer offers. Along the way, advicers can track their website traffic, which is a good proxy for whether their brand awareness is growing as a result of their marketing activities, as measured (in Google Analytics 4) by Users Per Month. Finally, advicers should track how much they're spending (in total) on their efforts, both from an actual hard-dollar cost, and the time that's spent on the activity itself, in order to understand if their tactics are improving over time and which tactic is outperforming another.

Once an advicer has generated new inquiries, the next step is to determine how well they are converting new prospects into new clients. Key data points around the prospects themselves that advicers should record along the Prospect Pipeline include the date that the prospect first reached out, how that prospect first learned about the advicer, if the prospect is actually 'qualified' (i.e., they're a good fit for and can afford the advicer's services), and how much revenue the prospect can be expected to bring to the practice. From there, tracking the dates of each meeting in the Sales Process and the date that the prospect signed the paperwork to become a client can help identify potential bottlenecks or issues in the Sales Process itself. Finally, advicers can also record the amount of revenue the client ended up committing in order to track and measure their growth.

The real opportunity in gathering all this data is learning which channels and activities an advicer should be focusing their time and dollars on, and determining what key metrics they should try to improve. Specifically, advicers can take this raw data and turn them into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will help them become more efficient and effective. These KPIs include the total amount of time spent generating each new prospect, the percentage of those prospects that were actually "qualified", and how many of those qualified prospects became clients, along with the number of days between when a prospect first reached out and when they signed on as a client, the average revenue generated by each new client, and the total new revenue opportunity of all the prospects currently in the Sales Pipeline. Finally, advicers can arrive at the grandaddy of all marketing and sales KPIs, the Client Acquisition Cost (CAC), which measures the all-in cost of what it takes for an advicer to get a new client. By calculating the amount of time and dollars spent on marketing and dividing that by total new clients, advicers can determine if their sales and marketing efforts are truly contributing to the growth of their practices.

Ultimately, given how important it is for nearly all advicers to generate new business, gathering the raw data from their marketing and sales efforts and then calculating the key metrics resulting from those processes is a crucial step towards effectively growing their practices. Importantly, though, advicers can't improve their business development efforts if they don't first measure them. By doing so, it becomes possible to determine what's working (and what's not!), and learn where the advicer's time and money are best spent as they build and scale their ideal financial planning practices!