By Sara Gilbert

“By changing nothing, nothing changes.” -Tony Robbins

You know your business is good but you want it to be better. This year is going to be different you tell yourself as you begin to analyze last year’s results and developed your new goals. You penciled in a 1.5% increase and smile confidently knowing that with a bit of effort, you could make it.

But, if you truly want this year to be different, if you really want to be the best, something needs to change.  Authors of Built to Last, James Collins and Jerry Porras believe that change should begin with your goal-setting process by developing big, hairy, audacious goals (BHAG). As they explain, “A BHAG engages people – it reaches out and grabs them in the gut. It is tangible, energizing, highly focused. People ‘get it’ right away; it takes little or no explanation.”

These types of goals are not set calmly – they make your heart pound, throat tighten and eyes widen. They do not inspire comfort or certainty.  They arouse excitement, create fear and nurture anticipation. As Russ Alan Prince shared in his 2013 Forbes article, Setting Exceptional Business Goals to Become Rich, “… you need to think big. Somewhat paradoxically, the bolder you are, the more likely for you to meet and even exceed your expectations. And, if you are going to fall short, you’re still likely to accomplish so much more than you would have otherwise.”

BHAG’s need new processes

Setting a BHAG is just the first step in your change quest to be the best. You also need to look differently at how you do business.  The daily demands of running a business make it easy for advisors to lose focus on the small and big goals. Between market movements, client requests, team issues and a myriad of other pressures, staying on track’s neither obvious nor guaranteed.

Accordingly, here are three new processes that you can integrate into your business that will propel you towards your BHAG. Even just integrating one will be a big change in the right direction towards your new goals:

 1. Use a team approach to goal setting. As a team, develop a bucket list of actions to accomplish. Categorize each idea into: must do, should do and a wish list.  Empower your team and let team members select projects they want to work on and allow them to be accountable for deliverables and deadlines.  Leverage everyone’s key capabilities and outsource projects outside of your expertise – you will get the most bang for your buck and ensure projects actually get done.

2. Put more structure into client meetings.  Start using a meeting flow chart to get the most out of every client meeting and constantly find new ways to be of greater service to your clients:

•  See how the family is doing
• Ask what’s on their mind, any significant changes since last meeting
• Review portfolio & investment
• Check for outside investment (offer second opinion)
• Other topic or concern they may have
• Summary, action plan, invite to upcoming event
• Walk client to elevator and thank them for the meeting

3. Create a ‘campaign’ at each client touch-point.  Set a specific goal for each client meeting and portfolio review to constantly move your client relationship forward and elevate client’s experience:

• Fact-finding: gather email addresses for further e-marketing initiatives, etc.
• Introduce new product/services: estate planning, portfolio models, etc.
• Incorporate a new approach: value-based investing, discuss soft issues, etc.

By raising your sights in a big way, it will force you and your team to elevate your work to a level that you may not have ever thought possible. It won’t be comfortable and it won’t be easy, but it will guarantee that this year will indeed be different. This year, you won’t have to settle for better–you could possibly be the best.

It is always with great pleasure that I read your comments. You can reach me directly at Sara.Gilbert@Strategist.cc and follow us on LinkedIn.