3 Ways to Improve Your Business in 2021

Who knew if we would get through the year when everything imploded last March?

Of course, your revenues might not have fully recovered, and there is a lot of uncertainty still within our political, financial and economic systems, but chances are you made it through. However, as the firm leader, you have to continue making informed decisions to move the business forward. Waiting for certainty will cause you to miss opportunities.

The good news is our information indicates strong new client and asset growth, which shows that American consumers need an advisor more than ever to help them navigate these trying times. Some of those Validators and Do-It-Yourselfer prospects, who were very confident in February, now are rethinking their decision and are hiring financial planners.

Most industry practice management consultants say that firms should hire if they are growing and are at 75% capacity, or if they are not growing and are at 100% capacity. Are you in one of these camps? If so, here are three actions to take to help propel your business forward in 2021:

• Start the hiring process now — Many firms have already done this, and in fact New Planner Recruiting had its second best quarter ever last quarter with the recent surge of advisory firms hiring in the face of the pandemic recovery and market rebound.

If you’re thinking about hiring as well, get the process started because the closer we get to the holidays and 2021 — the harder it becomes to hire someone as end-of-year client planning and personal time become all encompassing.

For our more experienced positions, we secure candidates now who likely won’t start until after 3/31, when bonuses are paid. If you take the approach of, “I’ll wait until we get closer to have a better idea of my needs and the candidate can’t start right away anyway… ,” warning: the talent pipeline may not be as strong.