What are you growing for?

Every advisor wants growth. But it can be more productive to think of growth as a means to an end, like succession, expansion or legacy—because each of those ends requires something different from you. 

If you articulate the purpose of your growth before you start implementing strategies to achieve it, then you can ensure your efforts will actually be in service of your ultimate goal. In this article, we’ve laid out the most common growth goals and the area of focus most crucial for each one:

Reaching a certain revenue level: As you pursue organic growth, you might be chasing a certain revenue sweet spot, where you have the work-life balance you want and a client base that is manageable within your current operational setup.

Strategic focus: Identify your ideal client, present yourself as a specialist and become increasingly entrenched in that market.

Expanding your business: You may seek not only to grow your client base, but also your staff and the scale of your practice. This might entail a shift in your day-to-day so that your primary responsibility becomes managing operations and/or focusing on a select few high-value clients. 

Strategic focus: Implement a client segmentation plan with appropriate in-house talent and a repeatable client process for each segment.

Positioning your practice for a sale: Many advisors intend to sell their practices to larger firms or financial institutions, either in the near term or long term. In this case, the practice itself becomes the product.

Strategic focus: Cement your internal and external brand around a core value proposition that is independent of you as an individual.

Making acquisitions: You may want to grow your business to a point where you can start acquiring smaller firms, which means positioning your firm around both your ideal client and your ideal acquisition. 

Strategic focus: Articulate your value proposition for both clients and potential acquisitions, and establish a strong practice philosophy that can easily serve as an overarching brand for acquisitions and future sub-brands.

Building a legacy: You may have a more intangible objective in mind, like making a mark on people’s lives, becoming an institution in your community, or effecting a change that can be carried on by a new generation.

Strategic focus: Define your singular vision and convey it clearly to new, existing and potential clients. 

You have a finite amount of time and resources to devote to marketing and growth objectives. If you have a clear understanding of the type of growth you’re pursuing, you can deploy those assets more effectively. Reach out to us if you’re unsure of how to define your growth goals or set out a plan to implement your strategic focus.