GROWTH: Realizing Your Potential; If you want to grow your business, get used to being uncomfortable and learn to be disciplined

The secret of the most financially successful planners is that they don't view themselves as advisors, but as owners who happen to be in the business of delivering financial advice. Good marketing is a simple, systematic and sustainable process for cultivating new business; if you want a plan that works, you have to work the plan. Referrals are key. Our research shows that the average advisor receives 50% of his or her business from client referrals and 10% from professional referrals, while top advisors receive 60% from clients and 20% from professionals. Imagine that over the last decade you had received 20% more client referrals and twice as many professional referrals-what would the resulting revenue have been? Only 50% of advisors send a thank-you card when a referral is received, and the other half appear to do nothing. Have a formal process for encouraging referrals and acknowledging them.