Repositioning your practice for growth

Expanding beyond a stagnant period or growth barrier can be a challenge for some advisors who have built a successful practice. You might have set yourself a target to achieve a certain asset level and, once you got there, found that growth has become elusive.

Part of the problem may be that you have been doing things the same way for years. As a result, you may find it hard to change your ways or adapt to a competitive environment — which might have changed since you first achieved your growth target.

Additionally, some advisors become too comfortable and complacent once they have attained a certain size of practice. They are not hungry enough to look at different ways to grow their practice. Yet, like most advisors, their desire is to achieve sustainable growth.

Here are some ways to help you break through the growth barrier:

Revisit your goals

Take a step back and re-examine your practice. Establish what you want and why you want it. You must know what your goals are before you can begin to determine how to achieve them.

You must know what motivates you and may have to try on a new pair of glasses.

Once you have established your objectives, analyse your business. Creatively deconstruct your practice, take it apart and rebuild it.

Take stock of your strengths

You obviously did some things well to get to where you are today. Look at the things you do well and build on them. But be cautious: what worked for you several years ago might not work today. For example, you might have to find new ways of networking and getting referrals. Or, you might have to change your fee structure.

Seek outside help

It is often necessary to ask for assistance in repositioning your practice for growth. That could mean hiring a coach, seeking the assistance of a mentor or speaking to other successful advisors. Surround yourself with people who are more successful than you are. Do what you can to get some of the vibe that accompanies success.

Make necessary changes

You might find it necessary to make changes to your practice and reposition yourself in the way you want to be known. This might involve introducing new strategies and changes to the way you operate your business. For example, you might have to redefine what type of clients you would like to attract and how you would serve them. 

Restructure your team

It might become necessary to re-allocate roles and responsibilities within your team to improve efficiency and free up your time to focus on your growth initiatives.

You should involve your team in the process of making changes. It is not always about doing more but rather about being more efficient.