Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

This can be a real dilemma for advisors because, naturally, we instinctively want to help people. But at the same time, we’ve got to realize anybody takes up our time and focus and concentration, no matter how small of a balance they might be bringing to us.

So it can be a challenge to care for them and want to allocate time to them, and yet, they’re unprofitable. You know, in the back of your mind, you need to be building a profitable business as soon as you can.

A great way around this, obviously, is to be segmenting your book. Segment it “A”s to “D”s, for instance, based firstly upon AUM (Assets Under Management), but then drill down further than that into profitability. You have to know how profitable all your clients are for you. That makes it a little easier to allocate time toward “A” clients who are going to have more complexities than your “C” and “D” part of your book, who oftentimes won’t have nearly the sophistication or the issues that your wealthier clients do.

Everybody gets the same degree and depth of empathy. It’s important to remember that. You show the same degree and depth of empathy to a $15,000 IRA rollover as you do to a $2.5 million dollar family. But not everybody gets the same amount of time and focus. They simply can’t have it all if they’re a smaller-balance client.

This is where, upon segmenting your book (especially based upon profitability), you can then see when you need to bring on a junior advisor and transition these people to them.

Some companies say look at your book, segment your book and then carve off your “C”s and “D”s to a call center, or just give them away to somebody and focus on your “A”s and “B”s. I struggle with that personally because the reality is your “D” clients, your “C” clients are often your first clients when you started, who really trusted you fully when you really didn’t know too much about the industry. You really didn’t have a lot of experience to offer them, but they loved you, they worked with you and they hung in there with you. As your business has grown, these people who were “A” clients are now “C” and “D” clients. So just saying, “Carve them off and move them to a call center, is something I struggle with.

So,

1. Not everybody gets the same amount of your time. You’re running your business, and there’s no need to feel guilty about this.


2. Everybody does get the same degree and depth of empathy. You care for all of your clients exactly the same.


3. Budget your time. Your time needs to be allocated more towards the more profitable clients, and you need to expect to spend more time focused on them. When you are talking to a not-so-profitable client, you need to hold yourself, discipline yourself, to allocate a smaller amount of time and keep to it.

Your clients will love you for it. They’re going to be none the wiser about you’re seeing them and how you need to allocate your time accordingly. At the end of the day, when you show them how much you care for them, they’re all going to come out of meeting with you feeling like you’ve totally focused on them.

I look forward to bringing you another Distraction-Proof Advisor idea next week.