Page 42 - Investment Advisor June 2021

Most often, overall performance is
influenced by retention and expan-
sion. It is logical for firms to think
about expansion first, but retention
is more important. Learn to keep
the clients you have, and keep them
happy, before you can move on to
bringing in more clients. The same
goes for employees.
Again, this is no different than invest-
ing. Who earns more over the long term:
the day trader with a bunch of turnover,
or the buy-and-hold investor? Retention
is about building and improving on what Most often, overall performance
you already have, not trying to buy more.
Additionally, if any advisory firm gets is influenced by retention and
focused solely on expansion (adding
more clients and employees), then they expansion. It is logical for firms
aren’t paying enough attention to what
is already there to help you save enough to think about expansion first, but
time to do more.
Let’s take a look at these drivers of retention is more important. Learn
revenue, profits and valuation and what to keep the clients you have.
you can do today to improve them. The
answers might surprise you.
all advisors follow. Every advisor oper- a prospective client? The answer is
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR CLIENT ates the same way. sales training.
REFERRAL RATE Growth problems occur and capacity
Moving the client referral rate is about gets limited when different people in HOW TO INCREASE LEAD FLOW
innovating and improving your client the same firm operate as if they were Lead flow is last because if you have
experience. The better you serve clients, on their own. You must get everyone poor referral rates, limited capacity and
the less complacent you become. And operating under the same process to a bad close ratio, then what’s the point
the more you become front and center in improve the speed of everything else of adding more leads? You should not
your clients’ minds for all things finan- you do — from training new advisors to invest money in marketing programs
cial, the more new clients they refer. serving clients. that can generate high lead flow if your
To do that, you increase your com- What does our firm need to do to business isn’t ready to accept such leads.
munications that add benefit to their get everyone operating the same way? What does your firm need to do to
lives. This isn’t about a blog post on Again, the answer is training — training increase lead flow? The answer is mar-
your website. Increased client commu- the advisor. keting training.
nication is better communication, and If you’ve understood my point, train-
it begins with educating your client on HOW TO INCREASE CLOSE RATES ing is how you can maximize revenue,
your client experience process. Increasing your close rate is about clos- profits and valuation. The fastest-grow-
What one action can we take today to ing more prospects and closing them ing firms do not layer on marketing
improve client communication? Usually, faster. If it takes you two months to win programs when things are going poorly.
the answer is training the client. one new client, think about the dra- They add them when they are winning.
matic difference it would make if it took To get good at any performance, be it
HOW TO INCREASE ADVISOR you only one month to close instead. sports, investing, or growing a business,
CAPACITY Many firms have good close ratios, but you train and train, and keep doing it to
This is about your operations. I have their time to close is the real hindrance. win more.
no doubt that the fastest-growing firms A long sale cycle significantly hurts
are one-firm, one-process organizations. profit margins. Angie Herbers is an independent consultant to
That means you have one cohesive ser- What does our firm need to do to the advisory industry. She can be reached at Adobe Stock
vice model within the organization that decrease the time it takes to close [email protected].

40 INVESTMENT ADVISOR JUNE 2021 | ThinkAdvisor.com