The Most Important Growth Decision Advisors Rarely Talk About

Who you take on as a client is one of the most consequential decisions you make as a business owner, and it deserves a lot more attention than it's given. Without clear criteria, the firm fills up with whoever said yes, and before you know it, you have a book of business that just isn’t a good fit.

Define It

Your ideal client should not simply be anyone with money available to invest. Think about their professional situation, their financial picture, the decisions they are trying to navigate, and what kind of relationship they want with an advisor. The clients who are generally the best fit are in the middle of something: a business sale, an inheritance, a career transition, or a spouse who just passed away. They’re already dealing with important financial decisions and are looking for someone to lead them through it.

Pay attention to who your client is as a person. If they are someone who will take your recommendations home, think it over, and ultimately do it themselves, it was never going to be a good fit. The clients who belong in your firm appreciate the process, trust you, and do not require you to justify every decision.

It is worth noting that the quality of the work itself changes when the clients are the right fit.

Review meetings have more substance.
Planning conversations go somewhere.
Stronger referrals come in from those clients.

And when the right clients are in your firm, the referrals that come from them tend to look a lot like them. One well-placed relationship can do more for the direction of your firm than months of marketing.

Know When to Say No

Saying no to a prospect is not always easy, but taking on the wrong client creates problems that are hard to undo. Your team has to work around them, your service model gets pulled in a different direction, and the attention you give that relationship comes at the expense of the clients who are actually a good fit. Referring someone elsewhere when they do not meet your criteria can be difficult, but it is a good decision for your firm.

Upgrade the Standard Every Year

Your minimum exists for a reason, and it should go up every year. The temptation to make exceptions comes with a familiar justification: they'll refer someone bigger down the road. In practice, that rarely happens. People refer others who look a lot like them, and accepting a client below your minimum almost never leads anywhere you actually want to go. The client below your minimum refers you to people below your minimum, and you will have worked twice as hard to get there.

Each year, review your criteria and ask whether it still reflects where the firm is headed. Treat it the same way you treat any other business decision that gets scheduled, evaluated, and acted on. Your firm becomes who you accept today.

The Most Important Growth Decision Advisors Rarely Talk About