Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Hosted by Financial Advisor Coach, Ray Sclafani, "Building The Billion Dollar Business" is the ultimate podcast for financial advisors seeking to elevate their practice. Each episode features deep dives into actionable advice and exclusive interviews with top professionals in the financial services industry. Tune in to unlock your potential and build a successful, enduring financial advisory practice.
Ray Sclafani (00:00.142)
Welcome to Building the Billion Dollar Business, the podcast where we dive deep into the strategies, insights, and stories behind the world's most successful financial advisors and introduce content and actionable ideas to fuel your growth. Together, we'll unlock the methods, tactics, and mindset shifts that set the top 1 % apart from the rest. I'm Ray Sclafani, and I'll be your host. There's a personal truth that I hold.
that applies to individuals and teams alike. That is all behavior is truth. In other words, what you do, not what you say, is the most accurate reflection of your values and intentions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the conversation about growth. Almost every top performing financial advisory team discusses growth. They set ambitious revenue goals, envision deeper client relationships,
and aspire to expanded market presence. They aim to recruit top tier talent. However, if you look beneath the surface, most teams aren't truly behaving as they're in growth mode. They may be letting the capital markets and the AUM growth do the heavy lifting for revenue expansion or running understaffed and overextended or avoiding meaningful investment in marketing or the next generation talent.
skipping structured client acquisition strategies, maybe even altogether. Growth doesn't happen by accident. It requires intention, alignment, and consistent execution. So here's the real question. If growth is non-negotiable for a lasting firm, are you truly leading with intention or just hoping the markets and momentum will carry you forward? I want to walk through 10 common missteps even the very best advisory teams make
Ray Sclafani (01:57.922)
that signal they're stuck in growth illusions rather than growth behavior. The first is confusing revenue growth with organic growth. You capital market appreciation isn't growth you can control. If you're not tracking how many new ideal clients you're acquiring or expanding wallet share with existing ones, well, you're coasting, not growing. The second is lacking a shared definition of growth. This, by the way, is the number one reason teams and ensembles break apart.
is they lack a shared vision of how they're going to grow the business. What does growth mean to your team? Assets under management, growth in profitability, growth in number of households served, growth in the impact that you're having in the lives of existing clients and expanding your client roster. You see, if you don't have a clearly defined and agreed upon definition of growth, well, then everybody is going to row in a different direction.
The third misstep I often see is operating without a client acquisition plan. A documented, measurable, and team focused client acquisition plan should steer the efforts of the team forward. Without one, referrals become sporadic, follow ups are inconsistent, and the pipeline lacks reliability. Number four is avoiding the hard truths about capacity. Many firms express a desire to grow
but are already operating at full capacity. So if you can't find time for another meeting, call or client, you probably lack the capacity to grow. In fact, many firms don't even have a capacity matrix to understand how much capacity exists inside their organization. Measuring capacity within your firm is a simple math equation. You got to know your numbers. You got to measure the time. Number five, failing to track the right leading indicators.
Growth always requires metrics. Are you tracking the number of new clients onboarded in the last 12 months? The revenue per new client against your ideal client profile, the close rate on new opportunities and the time in the pipeline by a lead score? Well, if not, your growth forecasting is just wishful thinking. Those are three examples. There's a dozen more, but failing to track the right leading indicators
Ray Sclafani (04:16.482)
The lagging indicators are easy. know assets under management, revenue, profitability, but it's the leading indicators that is the key here. Number six, under investing in marketing and visibility. You can't grow if your ideal clients don't know you exist. Relying solely on passive referrals limits your reach. Growth firms, those in growth mode invest in building awareness and credibility strategically and consistently. In fact,
Some estimates, according to some studies at Schwab and others, recommend somewhere between five and 7 % of gross revenues be invested in some form of marketing and growth expansion. That seems like a big number for a lot of firms, especially those with 10 million or more in revenues. But the truth of the matter is if you are in growth mode, you've got to invest. Number seven, hiring reactively, not proactively. So delaying a hire until the team is overwhelmed,
That's contrary to growth readiness. Growing companies, entrepreneurs foresee future demands and then hire for capacity and capability long before urgency arises. Number eight, letting culture slide in the name of growth. Adding clients or team members without reinforcing culture, values and clarity of purpose. Well, that dilutes what made you great to begin with.
So true growth strengthens culture, not weakens it. And that's where intentional growth by design, not reaction matters most. Number nine, overlooking the next gen development. If nobody on your team is being actively developed into a future growth leader, well, you're not preparing for sustained expansion. Growth encompasses succession and strengthening leadership capabilities. So who are those next gen that you're investing in developing their growth skillset? Number 10.
being inconsistent with strategic planning. This is one that stands out pretty frequently. Annual offsites, vision decks, those alone are insufficient. Growth oriented firms review their strategic priorities on a quarterly basis. They intentionally course correct and they ensure that every team member understands their role in execution on the growth plan. That organic growth plan, not the inorganic, not the capital markets, strip those out.
Ray Sclafani (06:38.946)
Let's just focus on your organic growth playbook as part of your strategic plan. The final thought and that is behavior is the signal. If your team's behavior doesn't align with your growth goals, well, it's time for a reset. Growth is not about volume. I want to be super duper clear here. It's about intentional aligned and replicable behavior. Let's not confuse motion with progress. With every episode, I introduce a couple of coaching questions. Today there's two.
The first is what's one behavior your team needs to stop, start or strengthen to better align with your stated growth goals? And number two, in what ways are we currently relying on external forces like the capital markets or passive referrals to drive our growth? And how will we create a plan for more proactive and intentional growth? Well, thanks for tuning in and that's a wrap. Until next time, this is Ray Sclafani.
Keep building, growing, and striving for greatness. Together, we'll redefine what's possible in the world of wealth management. Be sure to check back for our latest episode and article.