How To Develop A Growth Game Plan

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How To Develop A Growth Game Plan

November 24, 2015

by Kristen Luke

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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.

Growth. When you’re a financial planning or wealth management firm, how do you do it right? From implementing a precise, uniform sales process to creating an annual marketing strategy, you need something – a game plan – that shows how you should grow and when you’ve actually succeeded.

A growth plan starts with our Kaleido Scope™ tool. By filling out the 163 questions about your firm, you’ll get a numeric score between 0 and 100 (the average being 67). In addition, the color-coded areas will show you exactly where you need improvement and what you’re doing right.

Based on the Kaleido Scope™ score and overview, your growth plan will target the following six categories:

  • Management
  • Client service
  • Human capital
  • Sales and marketing
  • Operations
  • Finance

Once you’ve completed your Kaleido Scope™, here’s how to fill out your growth game plan worksheet:

Step 1: Your company information

In this step, you enter the basics. Your client relationships (how many you have), estimated assets under management (AUM) and number of employees.

Step 2: Your Kaleido Scope™ competency score

If you haven’t taken your Kaleido Scope™, now is the time. Once you have your score, enter it on the sheet, and add the last date it was taken. Your growth game plan worksheet is multiple-use. You can enter in your newest score and date at any time you see fit.

Step 3: Your vision statement

Many financial planners make the mistake of mixing up their vision and their mission. These concepts are completely different. Your vision statement, which you’ll enter on the growth game plan, is an internal statement of where you want to be as a firm. Most of the time, only your leadership and employees know your vision statement.

I recommend adding a vision statement with a three- to five-year time frame. For instance, if your vision is: “To grow to $1.1 million in AUM in 2020,” that’s your primary goal. Not having a vision statement is like expecting your employees to get in a car when they don’t know their destination. That’s scary. When you create your vision statement and share it with them, you’re letting them know where you’re going as a firm, dissolving their fears.

Step 4: Your core values

As a company, what’s your culture? How do you want your employees to act? If you place a high value on putting clients first or solving problems, add these important cultural values in this space.

Step 5: Your mission statement

What do you do as a company? Do you offer retirement plans specifically for pilots? Help high-net-worth individuals develop charitable giving plans? Be clear about what you do. Unlike your vision statement, your mission statement should be shared with your customers.

Step 6: Your client profiles

Who are your clients, specifically? In this space, add the profiles of the clients you serve – or want to serve. Here are some examples:

  • Private pilots who are age 25–80 at all stages in their careers
  • Commercial pilots who are age 25–40, have an income of $24K–$100K and need help accumulating assets
  • Retiring airline pilots who are 50–65+ and approaching retirement

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