Become a high-performing advisor by focusing on consistency

Advisors are busy. Very busy!

Not only are they navigating client meetings and requests, addressing administrative tasks, satisfying compliance requirements and running a team, but they’re doing all of this while trying to grow their practice. It seems that a new challenge is always popping up, demanding that advisors quickly pivot to solve the emergency of the day.

It’s no wonder that advisors often share with us that they always sense an element of chaos in their practice.

This begs the question: Why is it that some advisors appear to be stuck in survival mode, while others who experience the same headwinds as everyone else can run an efficient practice as they continue to grow?

The answer may surprise you.

The main difference we’ve observed between the practices experiencing chaos and those in calm waters comes down to one thing: consistency.

In this article, we’ll explore three main categories where advisors leverage consistency to help build future-proof, highly efficient practices.

Three ways high-performing advisors leverage consistency

1. Consistency in goal setting and strategy

High-performing advisors are not satisfied living moment to moment; instead, they focus on how their efforts each day will contribute to their greater business vision.

They have clear goals that are repeatable by the entire team, and they tend to hold weekly, quarterly and annual meetings that concentrate on strategy and efficiencies. This consistent, future-focused approach allows them to forecast:

• When they’ll need to hire a new team member (hint: they do this proactively, not when they’re already in crisis mode)
• What strategies will best help them achieve their goals for growth
• How to leverage technology to optimize workflows and ease the administrative workload

High-performing advisors dedicate time to work on their business, instead of solely in their business. They create the time and space to analyze, plan and refocus as a team.

2. Consistency in execution

High-performing advisors view efficiency in execution as a team sport, and fight for simplicity whenever possible. They prioritize consistency within both their day-to-day operations and when implementing their strategy. This is important because it creates the conditions for awareness about what’s working and what’s not, builds trust among clients within the client experience, and ensures systems are efficient and profitable.

These advisors adhere to the adage, “If it can’t be measured, it can’t be managed.” As a team, they block off time regularly in their calendar to analyze their results and ask questions such as:

• How efficient are our processes?
• Do our day-to-day activities drive us towards completing our goals?
• In what areas do we need to pivot or adapt?

They also commit to seeing their plans through – not discarding an idea or pivoting until it’s been adequately evaluated and tested.

3. Consistency in leadership

High-performing advisors recognize that consistency is required of them as individuals if they want to develop and lead a high-performing team. Today’s complex teams need much more hands-on management than what we’ve traditionally seen in advisory teams of the past.

Top-performing advisors embrace this call to leadership in a few key ways, including:

1. Delegating to their team to build trust, create capacity and expand competencies
2. Diligently scheduling strategy sessions to share the long-term business vision
3. Ensuring team performance is measured and managed on a consistent basis

These factors demonstrate strong, trustworthy leadership that helps to gain buy-in from team members.

Advisors seeking to run an efficient, highly referrable business that grows with intention would do well to hit “pause” long enough to work on their business – instead of in their business – by focusing on consistency in these three key areas.

Their teams, their clients and their legacy will certainly benefit from it.

For more information on how to build and run a high-performing team, please reach out to your CI Sales Team.