We're getting new gutters installed soon. Our current gutters sag precipitously (pun intended), they're chock full of leaves, and are missing two out of five downspouts. And apparently, my rockin' duct-tape solution is not up to the standard of my husband - who happens to work in construction.
As a builder, he understands the damage that can be caused to landscaping, fascia boards, and even the building's foundation when you have leaky gutters. He tells me we are lucky that this is an El Niño year that has spared us from the normal season of water-drenching hurricanes.
While I personally don't have much expertise when it comes to gutters, foundations, or the effects of El Niño weather patterns on coastal Virginia, I do know that our gutters, in their current condition, cannot effectively manage the flow of water when the rain starts to come down. I have agreed that the gutters need to be fixed before the soaking rains undoubtedly return. It is an investment in our home that will protect what we have built.
As we were talking about this home improvement project, I couldn't help but see the parallel between our gutter issues and CRM workflows. Because I spend way too much time thinking about workflows. But stay with me, this analogy literally holds water.
When advisors decide they want to grow their firm, they usually start by engaging a marketing consultant, revamping their website, investing in lead generation, or even hiring a "rainmaker." They are energized as they think about all the new clients – and AUM – that will start pouring in. But they don't stop to ask if their current back-office systems can handle the additional volume.
The danger here is that when the prospects begin to line up at the door, advisory firms can quickly find themselves overwhelmed by the resulting cascade of to-dos. Potential clients are not impressed with the disorganized onboarding process. Current clients suffer because their requests are falling through the cracks. Worst of all, RIA staff begin to feel like they are drowning in work and don't have the resources they need to stay afloat.
Many advisors mistakenly think that they need to reach a target AUM before they can justify investing in CRM audits and well-designed workflows. But clean data and solid workflows are what allow a firm to scale and achieve that target quickly while still providing top-notch service existing clients. The workflows act like gutters to ensure the rain of new prospects is routed efficiently and the firm's existing foundation is not damaged.
Trying to build these processes while in the midst of a growth spurt doesn't work either. Just like you can't clean, repair, or replace gutters during a hurricane, you can't try to fix your back-office systems while juggling discovery calls, follow-up, and onboarding. In fact, you're likely to create even more problems if you start mucking around with in-use systems while they are under load.
As is the case with gutters, the time to install solid workflows is before you really need them. Don't wait until the storm is upon you. Prepare now for the inevitable deluge – and you'll find yourself singing in the rain - instead of feeling like a drowned rat.
If your workflows are sagging under stress, don't try to duct-tape those systems together and risk failure. Call me and I'll set you up with clean, new workflows that are capable of handling a torrent of prospects.