Login
ISCOVER
A majority of brokers are getting business plans wrong by focusing on goals and profit, according to one industry trainer.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Principal at FrontRunner Consulting Group Doug Mathlin said business planning was becoming a lost art.
“People sometimes show me their business plan and more often than not it’s a list of goals and milestones – that’s back of the beer coaster kind of work.
“The main point of a business plan isn’t supposed to show you the ‘what’ you want to achieve; it’s supposed to show you ‘how’ you’re going to do it,” he said.
Mr Mathlin suggested brokers needed to stop looking to profit as a yardstick to measure success and to consider other types of goals.
“Most people are pretty dollar-driven, so in my line of work it’s pretty common to hear a client say they want to earn $100,000, $200,000 etc. as a goal.
“I try to instead take the focus away from a dollar amount and set a goal from a broker’s perspective. An example of this might be to write a hundred loans this year.”
With around two loans per week, Mr Mathlin claims the goal now appears more achievable.
“Another goal you could set is having at least 30 per cent of your clients do more than one product with you. We’re just copying what the banks have been doing for years, and that’s getting customers to get involved with more than just one service,” he said.
For a comprehensive guide to putting together your business plan, make sure to read Doug’s column in the January edition of The Adviser.
