"Elite financial advisors understand that once you have an intention to succeed, many of your perceived obstacles will disappear."

Realizing Your Vision

By John Bowen

Many financial advisors are frustrated with the level of success that they have today. They find themselves working harder and harder every day with less to show for their efforts. They have a strong desire for success, but success seems elusive at best.

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Elite financial advisors understand that once you have an intention to succeed, many of your perceived obstacles will disappear. If you want to maximize the probability of becoming an elite financial advisor, you need to be clear on your intentions for success. One of the best ways to do this is to draft your own personal action plan that incorporates the attributes of leading advisors. Here's how.

1. Start by examining the quantitative part of your business. Identify what your results were last year. Write down your net income, assets under management, assets that you influence and gross revenue for the last 12 months. Also, identify the number of client relationships, number of referrals obtained and workshops held during the past year.

Identify what your current value proposition is to your clients. Determine what resistances you are receiving from both prospective and existing clients regarding your service offering. Consider what additional elements you believe are required before you are able to significantly increase your business.

2. Develop a clear vision where you want to go. Is what you are doing today what really matters to you in the long run? The problem for many of us is that we get caught up in too many activities and forget to focus on what's really important in our business and personal lives. What matters most gets buried under layers of pressing problems, immediate concerns and to-do lists.

You need to be able to clearly define what you're trying to accomplish. Most business planning consists of nothing more than a statement of written objectives, which is too one-dimensional. But there is a way of planning that is so powerful it can take your business over the top. It's called vision planning.

Visualization is a powerful tool in achieving your goals. The world's top business professionals and athletes use this technique to achieve their goals. Your vision becomes a quick reference to keep you motivated and focused on what is important to you.

Draw a picture of your vision that includes both your personal and business life. You do not need to be an artist to do this-stick figures are more than acceptable.

3. Identify each goal that is important to you so that you can realize your vision. Make a list of your personal and business goals that are important to your vision and to which you will commit to achieving over the next year. To be effective, you must write down your commitments. Better yet, share them with your staff and, ideally, someone who will hold you accountable for what you commit to. Many advisors hire personal coaches to hold them accountable, often making them much more productive (just like professional athletes).

It is important that all your goals are clearly actionable. Test each of your goals against the SMART test: They must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented and Time-bound.

4. Outline your responsibilities and the actions needed to reach each specific goal. Many advisors don't understand that they're in business to build the life they want. To build the life that you deserve, you must focus on those activities that will produce the greatest payoff. Goal-setting will help you to focus on those activities that generate your greatest net income. Non-revenue-producing distractions keep you from these important activities.

Make a short list of no more than five goals that you are committed to achieving in the next 12 months. For each goal, identify the actions required, your responsibilities and the date that you'll complete that action. Start each day by reviewing your goals. This will assist you in avoiding the daily time-wasting activities that previously interrupted your day.

5. Translate how your vision and goals will result in defined financial benchmarks you can use to measure the success of your commitment. The clearer you are about where you want to go, the greater the probability you'll achieve your vision. Take a moment and determine what your vision, business and personal goals will lead to in terms of your financial achievements. Record these as your benchmarks. Your benchmarks will act as magnets, attracting you toward your important achievements, and serve as your mileposts to keep on track.

You should again examine the quantitative part of your business. Identify what you want your results for the coming year to be. Write down what your net income, assets under management, assets under influence and gross revenue will be 12 months from today. Also, identify the number of client relationships, number of referrals obtained and workshops during the coming 12 months. Then describe what your future world will look like after you accomplish your goals. Ask yourself, "How do I feel now that I'm accomplishing my goals and realizing my vision?"

We are all so busy working in our business that many of us never take the time to focus on what is important to us. Make a commitment today to take the time away from your business to gain a fresh perspective on your work and your life.

To be successful in business, you need a plan. A business without a plan is like a ship without a course. Follow these five steps to build your own personal action plan for achieving what is important in your life. Make sure your plan is realistic. The clearer you make your plan, the greater your chance for achieving it.

Your plan will become your roadmap to creating the future that you want. Don't let yourself down. Start working today on your new future.