The ball in Times Square will soon be dropping, closing the book on 2023 and ushering in a brand-new year. It also means it’s time for financial advisors intent on improving their practices to get their new year’s resolutions on the record.
A raging bull market hides a lot of errors, both forced and unforced, over the course of a year. When a client sees his or her account balances surge higher in their year-end statement, they tend to forgive the bouts of sloppy service or poor communication that otherwise may have irked them enough into moving their business.
Stated differently, inertia is a powerful force when the S&P 500 is up almost 25%. Such returns generally give clients little incentive to hassle with all that paperwork necessary to shift their accounts to the competitors that have been whispering in their ears since last January.
Those type of outsized gains, however, don’t come along every year, which is why the best financial advisors consistently seek to improve their operations. And what better time to start that process than New Year's Day.
Laurie Humphrey, financial advisor at Granite Financial, part of Osaic, has a pair of resolutions for 2024, one for her clients and one for her practice.
“I resolve to incorporate values-based planning more consistently into my practice,” said Humphrey. “Helping my clients to stay aligned in their values in times of uncertainty was an important part of 2023 due to market volatility and I anticipate that refocusing on those values will be of importance as we enter an election year.”
As for her practice, Humphrey is challenging herself to “streamline processes to help with staff efficiencies through better use of available technology.”
Christina Nash, founding partner and financial advisor at Knox Grove Financial, part of Osaic, is also promising to better her technology practices in the new year, saying, “Our New Year’s resolution for 2024 is to leverage AI to improve our practice management to further enhance our overall client experience.”
Along similar lines, Daniel Lash, certified financial planner at VLP financial advisors, says he is focusing on bettering his business through the use of technology, primarily by utilizing his Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS) on a weekly basis throughout the firm.
“EOS is a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools that help us get what want we from our business through regular meetings which are designed to hold the leadership team accountable for the goals set for the business, including growth, and goals that each employee sets for themselves regularly throughout the year,” said Lash.
Furthermore, Lash intends to hone the use of his firm’s online marketing program for 401(k) plans which directly contacts trustees and administrators to “outline our value proposition as 401(k) fiduciaries, employee educators and advisors.”
Fine-tuning marketing processes to increase accountability is also on the mind of Kara Brockmeier, financial advisor at Premier Financial Partners, who says she has already mapped out her 2024 marketing strategy for client events, market update webinars, client gifts and more.
She adds that she is also in the process of “transitioning operational roles and have established metrics, along with the potential for bonuses based on the achievement of those metrics.”
Speaking of metrics, Reese Harper, CEO of Elements and founder of Dentist Advisors, has three goals targeting three controllable KPIs that drive practice health starting with new client percentage growth year-over-year of 25% in terms of households added. Next, Harper is gunning for an organic growth rate of 15% and finally new consultations increasing 25% year-over-year.
“I’m also focusing on net revenue retention,” said Harper. “Through impeccable service, your revenues from existing clients either maintain or increase, even if you lose a small percentage of client, net of market performance.”
Dr. Preston Cherry, founder and president of Concurrent Financial Planning, says he will be using J.D. Power’s research to benchmark his clients’ financial experience.
“I want my clients to use a bullhorn about the advancement of their life and finances because they feel truly understood, served and informed. To achieve that in my practice, I intend to focus on comprehensive and effective financial advice by ensuring I understand my client’s values and aspirations that direct their finances,” said Cherry.
Mike Parry, director of Wealth Planning at Liberty Wealth Advisors, a Prime Capital Investment Advisors Company, says his focus for practice management and business development for 2024 will be on building out his social media presence.
“Using the tools available in FMG, our website provider, I'll be utilizing the automated marketing opportunities for greater exposure with existing and potential clients," said Parry.
Finally, Scott Bishop, managing partner at Presidio Wealth Partners, says his new year’s resolution is to not only use technology to get closer to clients, but have more in-person meetings as well.
“I want to sit down with my clients and truly get a sense of how they have truly felt as the markets have been up and down like a rollercoaster since the start of the COVID pandemic,” said Bishop. “I think it is a great discussion with them to really get a handle on their risk tolerance and overall portfolio allocation.”
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