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Would you put your name on a list and then wait a year to eat at a great restaurant?
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Well, you would if you wanted to eat at Erin French’s The Lost Kitchen. People would put their name on a waitlist for up to a year because they knew the quality of food and the standard of service was excellent.

When we had our swim school, back in New Zealand, we had a waitlist of people wanting to bring their children to us. We were full; we had six instructors going at once, and we were completely full. Instead of going to a swim school down the road, people would prefer to put their child’s name on a waitlist to get in and see us. Why? Because we provided excellent service and excellent tuition.

We ate at a pizza restaurant two weeks ago and watched as a line formed outside the restaurant. It was interesting watching the wait staff not even look at the line forming out the door. As we were ordering I mentioned to the, “Hey, you must be good because you’ve got a line forming out the door.” They didn’t even glance at it because they were focused on us; they were focused on the people they were serving.

What does this have to do with you as an advisor? There’s a finite number of clients you can serve well. So many advisors I speak with get on that more-more-more treadmill without even realizing their service and standards are dropping, and they’re getting fatigued! There’s a set number of clients you can serve exceptionally well, and you should take pride in that, just like hair salons take pride in being full, just like dentists take pride in not being able to take a new person. It speaks to their quality of service, it makes them more desirable, and they can then increase their pricing.

So take pride in doing this as an advisor. How do you do that?

1. Know your number. You’ve got to know how many clients you can handle.


2. Decide next step. When you reach that number, you’ve got a decision to make. It doesn’t mean you stop bringing on new clients, but you do have a decision to make: How are you going to continue servicing them such that you don’t absolutely fatigue yourself?


3. Write down a strategy. If it’s employing a new staff member to take some of the capacity, write that down as a priority. If it’s simply closing your doors and taking pride in saying we’re full, say that. Take pride in saying that. Service your existing clients thoroughly. You’re going to enjoy being able to increase your prices, but most importantly, it’s going to keep you fresh.

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