7 Priceless Tips For Financial Advisors Who Want A "Lifestyle" Practice...
If you're a financial advisor and you want to build a business that suits your needs, make sure you read this article in its entirety.
What I'm about to share may anger some of you, but I'm okay with that because it'll help countless others. Here's the deal: The financial services industry is changing rapidly, and there are many financial advisors who want to build lifestyle practices — i.e., businesses owned and managed by founders who aren't interested in scaling to the moon. 
These people want stable businesses which throw off a healthy income to support them. In fact, several of my Inner Circle members fit into this model because they enjoy all the perks that come with it. They can design their businesses to suit their needs, not the other way around. So, if you’re interested in creating a lifestyle practice, here are some tips...
1. Focus On Your ProductivityThis tip is so important, I literally made it tip #1 in 57 Marketing Tips For Financial Advisors (which you can get for free here).
One definition of productivity is “the effectiveness of productive effort, especially in industry, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input.” 
I want you to notice how this definition doesn't say anything about having twenty different to-do lists, productivity apps, or browser extensions. At its core, productivity is about getting more OUTPUT from the same level of INPUT. And as a financial advisor, your income is closely tied to how productive you are.
Your input may be sending an email out to your list of three hundred prospects. If you can raise your output to twenty appointments instead of five, you will have quadrupled your productivity. Your input may be sending out one hundred direct mail pieces. If you tweak your headline and body copy to get three phone calls instead of one, you will have tripled your productivity. Because of this, effective marketing and business building as a financial advisor means you must be in a state of constant and never-ending improvement, especially if you want a lifestyle financial planning practice that grows with you. It also means that you must continually “level up” your hourly rate. I don't necessarily mean raising your fees (although that can help). I mean striving to focus on higher and higher value tasks that contribute more to your business. For example, let’s assume a financial advisor divides up his income and discovers that he makes an average of $40 per hour. This doesn’t mean he’s working on $40 per hour tasks from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. I've discovered that, most of the time, a financial advisor’s workday looks like this: Work on $20 per hour tasks for 80% of the day and $120 per hour tasks for 20% of the day. If you do the math, you’ll realize this still works out to $40 per hour. However, the key to increasing productivity is identifying the activities generating more than your hourly average and focusing on those. Doing so can lead to a quantum leap in your income (or allow you to work fewer hours if you so choose). Continuing from the concept of identifying and focusing on high-value tasks, it becomes crucial for a financial advisor to assess and categorize their daily activities. Understanding the difference between high-leverage activities and time-consuming tasks that yield lower returns is essential. Start by conducting an audit of your typical workday or week. Record every task you do and how much time you spend on each. This might seem tedious initially, but this transparency is the foundation for boosting productivity. You might find that a significant portion of your day is consumed by administrative tasks that could be delegated or automated, allowing more time for activities that directly contribute to your bottom line. Next, prioritize tasks based on their impact on your business. For example, client meetings, strategic planning, and networking often provide higher returns compared to routine administrative work. Focus on delegating or streamlining the less impactful tasks. This might involve investing in technology to automate repetitive tasks, hiring an assistant, or using templated responses for common email inquiries. Another strategy is to set clear goals and boundaries. By defining what success looks like for you, whether it's the number of new clients, revenue targets, or hours worked per week, you can make more informed decisions about how to spend your time. Additionally, setting boundaries around your work hours and sticking to them can increase efficiency by creating a sense of urgency and reducing the likelihood of burnout. ALSO READ: 10 Of My Favorite Productivity Tools For Financial Advisors 2. Leverage Technology To Become More EfficientIt’s amazing to see the things that can be automated today that had to be done manually twenty years ago.
For example, more and more financial advisors are ditching seminar marketing for webinars that can be automated and scaled. I don’t blame them - an evergreen webinar can work for you whether you’re working, sleeping, or on vacation. It doesn’t care. It just works. Plus, a webinar can help build your email list. Speaking of building an email list, email marketing is one of the best ways for financial advisors to leverage technology, because it takes the same time to reach 1,000 people via email as it does to reach 100. You can also set up an autoresponder sequence to follow up with prospects without direct involvement on your part — all you have to do is write the emails, put them into your sequence, and let the machine do the hard work for you. I even take my own advice: When people subscribe to my email list, they're added to an autoresponder sequence that introduces them to some of the most effective ways to get more clients. I want everyone to go through this sequence because it's important for them to know certain things before being exposed to my regular broadcast emails. Email marketing automates the problem of not following up. Depending on the study you read, almost nobody follows up more than five times. Yet, most sales (or appointments for financial advisors) are made after the fifth contact. See the dilemma here? By instituting an automated follow-up sequence, you can solve this problem and increase revenue without changing anything else. Another piece of technology every financial advisor should use — particularly when building a lifestyle business — is customer relationship management software (CRM). If used effectively, a CRM can be your second brain. It'll help you store all the valuable information about your prospects and clients, including birthdays, important reminders, follow-up notes, and more. Here are a few ways a CRM can increase your productivity:
🔑 The CRM I recommend is Capsule, and you can read more about it here: The Best CRM For Financial Advisors 
3. Be More Selective With Your ClientsRenowned as a "financial advisor marketing" specialist, I still emphasize the importance of discerning client selection. This is particularly crucial for those crafting a lifestyle-centric practice. The right clients are not just numbers; they're the cornerstone of your business's integrity and growth.
A subscriber once shared a valuable lesson with me. He was drawing in clients using the strategies from my Inner Circle newsletter. Yet, many did not meet his $250,000 minimum. This scenario is a classic example of a scarcity mindset: the fear of turning away potential business even when it doesn't align with your standards. Short-term gains often lead to long-term challenges. Accepting clients below your set standards dilutes the quality of your service and diverts your focus. It's essential to recognize that not every client is the right client for your business model. Opportunity cost is a vital concept here. By accepting clients who don't meet your criteria, you might miss out on those who do. I liken this to preferring four quarters over 100 pennies. Quality over quantity should be the mantra for every financial advisor seeking to build a meaningful and focused practice. Exclusivity is your ally. In the realm of financial advising, being selective establishes a more sustainable, lifestyle-oriented business model. While attraction marketing draws clients, repulsion marketing ensures they're the right fit. The strategy is clear: Set firm boundaries. If a prospective client doesn't meet your requirements, let them down gently but firmly. Suggest that they refer individuals who do meet your criteria. This approach maintains professionalism and opens doors to potential referrals that align with your business's standards. Ultimately, the goal is to cultivate a practice that reflects your values and goals. By maintaining a selective approach, you foster a business environment where quality client relationships thrive. This is the essence of a truly successful lifestyle practice. ALSO READ: 5 Best Niches For Financial Advisors 
Don't be afraid to be more selective if you want to build a lifestyle business...
4. Hire Support StaffWith all else being equal, I would rather run a business with fewer employees. Many financial advisors feel the same way; however, building a lifestyle business may require you to hire a person or two.
You don’t have to grow a mega-firm, but you may want some help along the way. If that’s the case, I suggest hiring a virtual assistant (VA). There are many ways virtual assistants can help you. For example, they can:
If you want more suggestions on how to hire a virtual assistant, listen to episode 56 of the “Financial Advisor Marketing” podcast. In this episode, I talk with Danielle Cuomo (founder of Virtual Assist USA) about how financial advisors can leverage VAs to get more done. 
Episode 56 of the "Financial Advisor Marketing" podcast is all about virtual assistants for financial advisors...
5. Pick Marketing Strategies That Match Your PersonalityThis is a piece of advice you’ll never hear from the “experts!” out there: make sure your marketing matches YOU. I once heard a story about legendary speaker Zig Ziglar that illustrates this concept perfectly…
He used to do a “bad” thing. Something that offended a lot of people, and it was something he did in every speech. What was it, you ask? It was giving his Biblical testimony. (To be clear: I don’t care if you’re a Christian or not. Religion itself has nothing to do with what I’m trying to illustrate here, so spare me any diatribes.) When Zig first started speaking, people would take him aside and tell him not to do it, that he was going to offend a lot of people, how he was going to lose corporate gigs, etc. Well, guess what? For more than forty years, Zig Ziglar was the single most successful motivational speaker in history. Hmmm… 🤔 So, why did it work so well? As best as I can surmise, it’s because Zig stayed true to himself. People could see that he was genuine. Do with this information what you want, but I will say this… This goes double for financial advisors. If you’re trying to fake ANYTHING about your business, you’re only hurting yourself. People can see right through it, whether they explicitly tell you so or not. Here’s another example… Several years ago, a financial advisor reached out to book me for a 30-minute consulting call because he wanted my advice on creating a client appreciation event. He was telling me that he knew several financial advisors who were doing wine tasting events with great success. Yet, there was one problem… This financial advisor HATED wine. So, wine tastings were out the window for him. That’s why I suggest he take the wine tasting model and substitute wine for something he liked. He chose whiskey. Months later, he wrote me back letting me know that he’s had several whiskey tastings and they’ve all been massive successes. Imagine this guy trying to do wine tastings, even though he despises wine. He would hate it and it would be an uphill battle. Yet, when he decided to do something he enjoyed (whiskey tastings) it didn’t feel like “work”. He was able to commit 100% because his marketing strategy aligned with his personal preferences. Another example is when financial advisors try to “dial for dollars” even though they aren’t wired for cold calling. Some people aren’t naturally outgoing. It’s their nature. It’s neither good nor bad. (ALSO READ: 11 Lucrative Cold Calling Tips For Financial Advisors) But the problems begin when they try to fight their nature. Doing so makes things twice as hard. The solution is to use marketing and prospecting strategies which more naturally align with your personality. In my experience, a common method is using LinkedIn to get more clients. It’s not aggressive, it’s not pushy, and it enables you to establish value long before you have an appointment (which makes people more likely to become clients). Plus, it allows you to do research on your prospects, which many financial advisors say makes them more comfortable. To be 100% transparent, LinkedIn marketing is NOT for everyone, but if it more naturally aligns with your personality, it’ll make building your business much easier. 
Doing whiskey tastings instead of wine tastings is a perfect example of building your business to serve YOU...
6. Focus On DifferentiationStanding out from the crowd likely didn't work in your favor on the schoolyard, but as a financial advisor, it’s the way to build a successful lifestyle practice.
If I had to put a number on it, I’d estimate about half to three-quarters of financial advisors with lifestyle practices think they’ve fully differentiated themselves from the competition — in reality, people can't tell them apart from the next generalist financial advisor. Why? Because they all say and do the same things! To differentiate yourself from other advisors, use strategies unique to your business to break through the noise to reach and appeal to your end-user. One of the easiest ways to do this is to have a niche. Yup, you've definitely heard (and read) this advice before, but there’s a reason why: Niches really work. When you niche down, your business path gets clearer and better. Because you market to a certain type of person rather than everyone with a pulse, your marketing gets easier, and responses typically increase. You'll also know exactly how to target online ads and where to send your direct mail pieces. Heck, it even becomes clearer to your prospects that they should work with someone like you. If you’re a financial advisor who only works with physicians, for example, your physician prospects will instantly recognize that you help people just like them. Plus, when you decide to work on your goal to build a lifestyle practice, you can explain to clients that you'll have more time to focus on them because you plan to limit your business to a smaller number of clients. That's a lot more appealing than someone who'll take anyone who can fog a mirror. 💡 Learn more about niches with my video product, Deep Dive Into Niche Marketing: How Financial Advisors Can Choose And Dominate Any Niche 7. Stay True To Your ValuesUltimately, your business is yours, and only you know it as well as you do. Sure, I'm an expert, and I give you advice I think can help you grow — but you don't have to take any of it because it's more important to stay true to yourself and your values.
Knowing your values and what you stand for helps define how you build your lifestyle practice within the confines of what you want. Whether you want to set a goal to end each workday by 5 p.m., have every Friday off, or take one month off per year, you have to know the goal and the value behind it to build your business around it successfully. The other part of this is to figure out how much money you want to earn from your business. That way, you have a number to target. Here’s what I recommend: Tally up how much your dream lifestyle costs. Include everything, like cars, houses, taxes, vacations, insurance, entertainment, healthcare, and more. Whatever number you get, double it, then set goals around how to achieve that income with your lifestyle practice. Will it be easy? Nope, and you shouldn't listen to anyone who says it will. Building and growing a worthwhile business takes effort, plus you have to operate within the boundaries of your situation and goals. Pro-tip: Keep your expenses low as you grow, but that might not be an issue for some of you who earn enough money to support your business. Use Your Lifestyle Business To Take More Time Off With These Three Tips...On an episode of my Financial Advisor Marketing podcast, “How Financial Advisors Can Take More Time Off and Gain Time Freedom,” I talk about how to take advantage of the reason you started your own business in the first place: to run it on your own terms.
Not to toot my own horn, but this is some of the best advice I can possibly give when it comes to how to take time off and gain true freedom as a financial advisor. So… toot, toot. 1. Eliminate Tasks That Don't Move The NeedleIronically, this might take you quite a bit of time to figure out — but when you do, you and your business will be better off.
Start here: Write out everything you do on a daily basis, then identify the work that doesn’t produce the results you want. As obvious as this may seem, many financial advisors fail to realize that productivity is all about production. While it can also be about getting more stuff done in less time, your key focus with productivity is to do more with less and get the same result. That’s why it’s so important to write your tasks out and visualize them — you’ll have better clarity around work that’s worthwhile to prioritize, and work that isn’t. Plus, any time you have a new task, you can add it to the list and decide whether it's worth it to continue doing it. If you’re a financial advisor who uses a daily planner or to-do list, even better: All you have to do is go through your planner and look at the work you've done, then highlight every low-value activity. 💡 When you focus on higher and higher value tasks that contribute more to your business, it also means you continually level up your hourly rate — and I don’t mean by raising your fees, although that can help. For example, let’s assume you divide up your income and discover you make an average of $40 per hour. This doesn’t mean you work on $40-per-hour tasks from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. I’ve discovered that most of the time, a financial advisor’s workday looks like this: Work on $20-per-hour tasks for 80% of the day, and $120-per-hour tasks for 20% of the day. If you do the math, you’ll realize this still works out to $40 per hour; however, the key to increasing productivity is to identify the activities that generate more than your hourly average and focus on those. Doing so can lead to a quantum leap in your income or enable you to work fewer hours every week. 2. Plan For The Time You Want To CutBefore you decide on how many business hours you want to reduce, I suggest you start small, because a lot of financial advisors get too aggressive too quickly.
What I mean is you try to take off too much time, or you think you can go from working 60 to 40 hours per week in a month and still reach your current level of production — this is possible, but not right away. I’ll use myself as an example: I use Toggl to track my time for every business-building task I work on, like recording a podcast episode, writing the Inner Circle newsletter, creating new products or taking calls with financial advisors. Because those tasks move the needle forward, I only run the clock when I’m working on them, rather than time every single thing I do in the office all day. I definitely used to work 40- to 60-hour weeks, so I get it. But now I only invest 20 to 30 hours per week into my business. That doesn’t mean I kick my feet up and chillax for the rest of the week; it just means I’ve figured out how not to spend 60 to 70 hours per week in the office for the sake of hustle and grind. In fact, one of my Inner Circle newsletter members did, too. He emailed me and asked how he could work less but make the same amount of money, so I told him what I’m telling you right now: Slowly but surely cut your time out of your business. He set a goal to work two hours less each week, so he left the office two hours earlier on Friday in his first week. The next week, he left four hours earlier on Friday — eventually, he could take Fridays off and make the same amount of money. Little by little, this member learned how to become more productive in the extra time he gave himself. Because he took it slow, he easily started to see all the ways he could increase his productivity. This can be a reality for any financial advisor, and all you have to do is take one step at a time. When you drive down the road, you can't see the entire path at once, so you travel a little bit until you see more — the same idea applies to working less, and that's what I do. 3. Outline Your Free TimeTime is indeed freedom. The old adage that while you can always earn more money, you cannot acquire more time, rings particularly true. Therefore, it's imperative to use it wisely. This means not just working smarter within your business hours, but also managing your leisure time effectively to rejuvenate and return to work refreshed and more productive.
I’ve previously discussed the importance of eliminating tasks that do not contribute to your personal or professional growth. Equally crucial is being methodical about scheduling time away from your business. But what's often overlooked is the significance of having a clear plan for that time off. Many financial advisors equate time freedom with the liberty to be idle. While rest is important, I advocate for a more structured approach to leisure. Planning exactly how you intend to spend your free time ensures that it's used in a way that contributes to your well-being and life goals. Whether your ideal downtime involves golfing, engaging in creative hobbies, or pursuing further education through workshops and webinars, having a plan is key. Detailing how you want to spend your free time not only makes it more likely that you'll do something meaningful with it but also allows for flexibility. Life is unpredictable. By having a structured plan, you can swiftly reallocate your leisure activities without them encroaching on your productive time. For instance, if your plan to golf on Friday is thwarted by rain, you can adapt without it throwing your entire schedule off balance. Because you've planned in advance, you can reschedule your golf game without it impinging on your work commitments. Alternatively, you might replace it with another activity that's also fulfilling and aligned with your interests, such as reading a new book or attending an online seminar. This level of planning and adaptability ensures that your time off is not wasted but is instead an enriching experience that contributes to your personal growth and happiness. It turns unexpected interruptions into opportunities rather than obstacles. By consciously planning your free time, you not only enhance your leisure but also maintain a clear boundary between work and rest, leading to a more balanced and satisfying life. This holistic approach to time management can make a significant difference in both your personal satisfaction and professional success. Figure Out What A "Lifestyle" Business Means To You...I was hesitant to write an article on this topic because "lifestyle" business means different things to different people.
For some, it may mean making $100K per year and living in a small home in the Midwest. For others, it may mean making $750K per year with a vacation home by the beach and two exotic cars. Figure out whatever it means for you, so you have a goal. From there, all you have to do is reverse engineer it and build your business accordingly. A lot easier said than done, I know, but you probably do this type of planning for your clients all the time. Why not do it for yourself? 😄 I hope this helps you, and I wish you nothing but the best! About The Author...
Hey, I'm James Pollard. I'm the guy behind this website.
I've dedicated my career to empowering financial advisors to unlock their full potential. With a passion for marketing and a knack for cutting through the noise, I provide actionable strategies and insights that help financial advisors build better businesses. I'm also the host of the popular Financial Advisor Marketing podcast. Beyond the mic, I'm constantly sharing my expertise through The James Pollard Inner Circle™ newsletter, which has grown to become one of the most successful communities in the financial advice space. Thanks for stopping by and diving into my world. If you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn, here is where you can find me. |