A CASE FOR DATA

This is the time of year for reflection.  Every advisor should be looking back at the year in review; noting what went right and where we can improve in the year to come.  

How was 2020 for you? 

What if I asked you to prove it?  Is that answer your perception of how you did or is it the analysis of what you actually did? 

The public would assume that financial advisors are all a bunch of numbers oriented bean-counters like our CPA counterparts.  You and I know that we aren't.  There are many great advisors who are big picture, strategic thinkers.  I would count myself among them. 

When you ask a big-picture advisor how they are doing, they will often tell you how the FEEL about how they are doing.  They often haven't done the analysis to back up that feeling.  

Case and point, me! 

As I was wrapping things up for the year, I was feeling really stuck.  I was feeling like I hadn't been very effective at anything this year.  I felt like I had survived, the business was fine, but nothing to write home about.  

In preparing for year-end Planning Week with my team, I updated my New Business Dashboard.  It turns out that I exceeded all of my goals.  I created more new revenue via new sales and I exceeded my AUM goal.   

Then my husband updated our financials and it turns out our revenues were up by 20% and our net profit was up by 70%! 

Wait, what?  That's crazy, right!?  I just told you that I was stuck and that I just barely survived and so on.  How can that be so?   

Because feeling it, doesn't make it so! 

This is why tracking metrics is so important!  I have advisors tell me all of the time that they don't like tracking the numbers closely because it can be demoralizing.  They just want to keep their heads down, do the work and trust that it will all shake out in the wash.   

The truth is that if you do that, it usually does shake out in the wash.  Hard work and consistent effort usually does lead to long-term success.  But what do you do when you are in a slump?   

What do you do when you are felling ineffective and convinced that…you suck…no one is going to hire you again…you are pretty sure you are going out of business.   Is it me, am I the only one who has felt this way?  I am guessing not! 

Numbers tell the unabashed truth. 

If you grew up in a sales environment where you were beaten over the head with your apps, activity, new clients, whatever, you might have grown an aversion to the numbers.  That dysfunctional relationship with numbers does not mean that they are bad.  They, like everything, they are a tool for you to use on your journey as a business owner. 

Sometimes the numbers will tell you that you need to buckle down and focus more on client acquisition and sales.  That's just the truth.   

More often than not, for me, numbers tell me that I am actually doing better than I think I am.    

My human propensity to focus on what's gone wrong more than what's gone right makes me prone to pessimism.  I often find myself putting a lot of stock in a short-term lull.   Numbers help me see the bigger picture.  Then I can take a deep breath, let go of the fear and just get back to work with the optimism that every business owner needs to succeed. 

So, my friend, if you are a big-picture advisor, I encourage you to put data tracking on your New Years Resolution list in 2021.  Data can make you a better business owner and often, a more level-headed human! 

With Purpose,

-Lucila