Have a Plan for 2020

The start of a new year means an opportunity to assess your business and set fresh goals to strive for.

Today we're going to help you do that by looking at it from two different perspectives. The first will be profitability because that's ultimately how your business will survive and flourish. The second is marketing, which helps drive the first goal.

We'll explore this entire idea of 2020 goals on this episode of the Profitable Advisor podcast so come along as we aim high for the new year.

Setting the Stage

Let's get things started with some background on the subject. Why are we dedicating an entire show to something we do every year? And why are we breaking it out into two different categories? Dan explains what the goals are for this episode.  

1:09 – It's time to start thinking about the new year.

2:26 – Let's talk about this idea of setting goals from two perspectives: profitability and marketing

Planning for Profitability

Most businesses use revenue to judge performance over a certain time period but we're talking about why profitability better determines success. Since the latter actually puts food on the table, that's what you should be basing your goals on and we'll explain how to set that number.

As the new year begins, you'll also have to deal with vendors that are trying to set their sales projections for the year but keep in mind that they work for you. Dan would even tell you not to bother returning their calls when they are trying to track you down early in the year because their goals don't align with yours. Once you reach your ideal level of profitability, your operation becomes more conservative and that's not what others want to see for their bottomline.

Another piece to understanding profitability is to get a grasp on your books. That doesn't mean that you have to keep them yourself but know what your money is going and how much it costs to attract and service a client. Sometimes the quickest way to reach your goals is by maximizing your current business rather than having to go out and add a lot more on top of what you're doing.

2:41 – Profitability first. Your vendors will be calling you to find out what you plan to do.

3:35 – The best advice Dan would give you for dealing with vendors.

4:39 – Truthfully, they don't want you to be too profitable.  

5:38 – 2020 planning needs to be based on profitability rather than revenue.

7:03 – You need to have an idea of how much wealth you need to be happy and you'll have a number to target.

8:05 – Here's the conversation Dan has with new advisors in the program.

10:01 – Figure out how many clients you need to hit that number and what you need to do to service them properly.

10:44 – If you don't have a firm grasp of your books, that needs to be part of your plan for 2020.

12:43 – Goals are great but action is the key.  

What About Marketing in 2020?

As you know, goals aren't much without action. So what's your action plan going to be for marketing your business and generating new clients in 2020?

Let's lean on Bond Girl for her expertise on this subject, much like we did in our last episode on lead nurturing. She helps us break down the marketing calendar, where you should spend your money, list building, and nurturing. Remember that it's not just about the first exposure to your brand. It's about constant communication and turning that initial lead into a new client. That's the best way to maximize the dollars you're putting toward marketing because the nurturing process really only costs you time.

And what about LinkedIn? This has become a trendy avenue for marketing but it's not something Dan and Heather have embraced. Find out why they'd tell you to do as much research as you can before utilizing this platform as a primary marketing channel.  

13:58 – No area is more impacted by action than marketing. Bond Girl stresses a marketing calendar.

18:23 – Build your budget first, then decide what you're going to do with your money for marketing.

18:50 – Let's talk about adding a 24/7 spoke into the marketing wheel.

19:33 – Map out your list building and work on how to keep adding people to that list.

21:34 – Why Dan wants to get hate emails.

26:28 – Should you use LinkedIn for marketing?  

33:25 – How do we nurture our list once we get it built up?

36:08 – The only way to maximize your return is through the nurturing process.

For more on this topic and other strategies to growing your business, join us over at RenegadeAdvisor.net.