Mistakes Financial Advisors Make When Tracking Business Development Activities

The mistake I made when I first started tracking business development activities was that I would focus on doing a set number of specific activities every day.

For example, my weekly goals could be:

1) Three client meetings

2) Five thank-you notes

3) Two coffees with client/prospects

4) Ask for one referral/introduction

But what if I didn’t complete these activities? Simple. I would beat myself up for not doing my activities and, by extension, start to think this is why I am not good at business development or, worse, why I am not advancing my career.

‘But I had 10 client and prospect meetings this week. Am I still a failure?’

My advice: Stop tracking a set number of activities, and instead, track the number of ‘weekly points’ you want to achieve.

If you continue to focus on specific activities and complete only some of them, you will fall into this mental trap of thinking you are a failure. In reality, if you have 10 meetings in a week, you’re likely kicking a$$.

Another benefit of working towards a weekly point goal is this framework incorporates what is already on your calendar. And what is on your calendar is likely a result of the activities you have been doing each week. So this allows you to celebrate that success rather than be penalized for it.

Next, I will tell you exactly how I coach Financial Advisors to build a point system for tracking their business development activities.

#1. Choose 3–5 activities you want to focus on, and assign them a point value (1–5).

It is important not to list every activity you could be doing. Seriously. Only list the 3–5 activities you want to commit to consistently. If you heed this advice, you will stick with tracking your activities, and this exercise will be a good use of your time.

Next, assign higher-impact activities to higher point values. For example, A client review meeting would be 5 points. A phone call to a client would be 3 points. An e-mail would be 1 point, etc.

You can assign whatever point value system you want; I stick with 1–5 to keep it easy.

#2. Now decide how many points you want to get in a given week.

This is the most important part. By focusing on an overall point total for the week, you seamlessly account for what is on your calendar that week.

Now, track how many times you do each activity and keep ‘score’ at the end of every day and end of the week.

For example, suppose my goal is 50 points weekly, and I assign 5 points to client/prospect meetings. In that case, having ten meetings on the calendar for this week means I hit my point goal (10x5 = 50), and there is no need to feel like a failure if I don’t do any other business development activities.

#3. Don’t make this just about business.

Avoid falling into the trap of thinking only doing business activities will further your career.

I assign point values to meditation, working out, and family time, like picking my kids up from school or ‘date night.’

It took me several years to realize how tracking individual activities without regard for what was already on my calendar was unfair. But this only occurred to me once someone pointed it out. So just like your week is dynamic, so should the way you track your activities.

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