As a business owner, every decision you make has an effect on your firm’s bottom line. For starters, we want to address your firm’s basic needs, like having an internal sales department.
Often times, independent financial advisors find themselves so busy that they don’t have enough time in their day to address the basic needs of their business, like sales and marketing. Here are some of the most common missteps we see from busy owners:
- “Too busy” to delegate important tasks and they often don’t get the attention they deserve
- Not enough time to nurture prospects and grow current clients
- Are do-it-yourselfers when it comes to sales and marketing, but lack the background or time
- Rely on Insurance Organizations to be sophisticated advertising agencies
- Rely on outside marketing “generalists” who don’t understand the nuances of the financial industry
Focusing on your internal sales infrastructure can be cumbersome. It requires time, money, and discipline to create and execute a plan. At Simplicity Lone Beacon Media we help our clients create efficient sales organizations that deliver measurable results. We have vast experience in operating successful sales organizations, both small and large. Most importantly, we focus on helping you build a great sales organization so you can get back to being an advisor. In the end, we know that the sales responsibilities and strategies usually fall on your shoulders and as a result, time management and prioritization become major factors. Rather than try to tackle all things at once, firms need to organize their efforts more effectively.
That’s why we start by identifying your goals and objectives before making any recommendations. A ready-to-implement strategy will be presented only after we define the benefits and opportunities to your firm. You will clearly see the difference in our consultative approach.
Next, it is crucial that you have separate, mandatory sales strategy meetings. This will allow your firm to squarely focus on an agenda that includes actionable items designed to increase your revenue. Every business is fueled by new revenue and the ones that take better control of their sales organization have an upper hand. Even small firms can benefit from a sustainable sales strategy by devoting an hour per week focused on revenue generation.
For firms determined to improve their focus on sales, it is helpful to remember that it takes discipline to execute a plan. Even if you only take on one new initiative per quarter, it is important that you clearly articulate the goals to your team, and put someone in charge to measure and manage your progress.