Many advisers will be using January as a time to revisit their business plans, and The BD Ladder founder Ben Paul says that this time, advisers won’t be putting today’s date on last year’s plan - instead, they’ll be taking an extra hard look at what needs to be adapted and changed.
With the financial services landscape, client needs, and the wider economy in a drastically different position than they were at the start of 2020, Paul says the best way to draft an effective business plan is to start completely from scratch.
He says advisers should also look at what they had planned at the start of 2020 that didn’t eventuate, and to set achievable goals that they can commit to.
Read more: Does your brokerage have a business plan?
“Advisers are all looking at plans for the year ahead and what they’re going to do, and this year, people are starting to think that maybe rehashing last year’s plan isn’t the way to go,” Paul said.
“They need to start afresh, look at the market, and look at what the clients in their sector would be interested in and engage with, and then plan anew from that.”
“I’ve found one of the keys to this is not to look at last year’s plan, but to start with a blank bit of paper,” he explained.
“It can seem scarier and it will take longer, but if you just put today’s date on to last year’s plan, you’ll end up in the same place that you were last year - with a list of things you hoped you’d do with the optimism of January, but didn’t actually get around to at all. So then the question becomes why you would do them this year, if you didn’t do them last year.”
Paul says that getting the most out of a business plan is all about executing it properly, and about building habits that will become a natural part of an adviser’s routine.
“Ultimately you could have the best plan in the world, but if you haven’t got the time or resources to execute it, then it’s not going to work,” he said.
“So start with the things you actually have the time and resources to commit to, and then build your plan around that.
“Put it in your email calendar and lock it in - make it an unmovable appointment, so that every week you’re doing your prospecting, lead generation, client follow up, etc. Once you’ve formed that habit, it’ll become part of your everyday working existence, and that’s when you’ll see progress.”
