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Every advisor wants to beat their annual sales and growth goals. But in my 30-plus years in the financial services industry most scramble to reach their goals instead of enjoying the end-of-year holiday season. I have employed a “five seasons” approach to the calendar with sales teams over the past couple of decades with great success. Using this approach will allow you to master your calendar and the spirit of each unique season, instead of allowing the calendar to master you.
Here are the five seasons, named according to their inherent rhythm and how they fit together:
The lead season (January 1st – April 15th), How you start sets the tone for the rest of the year. The first few months are often driven by thoughts of taxes and tax-related activities (retirement plan contributions, asset location and asset allocation adjustments). This is a great time of year to make significant progress on driving new business and growth activity. Nearly everyone is in a similar “get things done” mindset in an effort to make early progress on their goals. Don’t waste this season – maximize the number of new business meetings and focus on growth drivers (doing more with existing clients, client referrals, and top-tier COI referral sources).
Effort Season (April 16th – Memorial Day). Close out the first half strong! While Memorial Day is not technically the middle of the calendar year, it is the end of the second season. This six-week stretch is when you close as many of the open opportunities as you can. Memorial Day weekend serves as the official beginning of summer for everyone, thoughts turn to kids getting out of school and vacation plans. The opportunities that are not completed before Memorial Day can languish in the lazy days of summer, so make the most of your time while people are still in business mode!
Strategy Season (Memorial Day – Labor Day). The lazy days of summer! Not quite, but the pace of business in this period is noticeably slower for almost everyone in this season. Take advantage of this time to focus on things like product development, refreshing the website, process changes, and CRM upgrades. With the pace of business being less hurried in this part of the calendar, it is a great time to get these bigger projects completed with a minimum of client/new business impact.
Taking Care of Business Season (Labor Day – 2nd week of November). This 10-11 week season is the fastest-paced of all. Those opportunities not closed prior to Memorial Day – close them now! Do you work with retirement plans? Now is the time to get in front of plan sponsors as they are already beginning to think about next year. Help procrastinating clients take action now, before another entire year passes without them making progress toward their financial goals. Parents (and grandparents) are thinking about school – whether they have children moving away to school or younger children who have several more years before college. Meet them where their minds are. For those with college-age children, do they have a Health Care Power of Attorney for their children? They need it! For parents of younger children, how are they doing in funding their 529 accounts? Are grandparents contributing too? Close out your business year strong before...
Holiday Season (Thanksgiving week – New Year’s Eve). While some business does get done during this six-week season, you don’t want to be in the position of scrambling to meet your year’s goals. This season is the one to enjoy time with family, friends, and colleagues while showing your appreciation and thanks to all those people who made a positive impact on your business throughout the year. During the week of Thanksgiving, call every person who made a referral during the year and say, “Thank You.” Nothing more, just let them know you appreciate them. Use holiday parties to get to know clients and COIs on a more personal level while setting the stage for individual meetings to start the next year. When the holiday season is done well, the first two weeks on next year’s calendar will be nearly full before the ball drops in Times Square on December 31st!
Here’s your first resolution for 2018: structure your calendar according to the five seasons. If you approach each season according to its business rhythm you will find your year progressing more smoothly and successfully than years past. And just imagine what the holiday season will feel like with all of your sales and growth goals met for the year!
Drew Taylor is the founder of DTaylor Group, a strategic consulting firm and organic growth authority for wealth advisors and asset managers, helping them achieve their highest-potential growth resulting in stronger client relationships and greater revenues and profitability. He can be reached at [email protected]
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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
