2. Client targeting. Firms should apply greater rigor to their client selection. Hitchcock said that only 3 percent of high-performing firms pursue client opportunities outside of their target client profile, while 11 percent of other firms do. He also said that high performers close business in two or fewer meetings 72 percent of the time while the rest close that fast 53 percent of the time.

Firms that are more disciplined are more successful. If you have no written ideal client profile, you must create one and share it with staff, clients and strategic alliances. Also, you should work on the sales process, always trying to improve the closing ratio.

3. Client composition. The makeup of your client list can determine the success of the firm.

Hitchcock said high performers focus more intently on larger relationships. It is OK to have smaller client relationships, too, he added, but if you do, there should be a different business model.

That means advisors should analyze their books and deconstruct them. Are there concentrations by client size? If so, are there varying levels of service for each group?

4. Fee structure. There are different ways to charge for services. High performers are more likely to bundle services in their overall asset management fee, Hitchcock said. This can include bundling financial planning, estate/trust planning, tax planning, risk/insurance planning and philanthropic planning.

High performers also do not give their services away for free, but set relatively higher fees for larger clients.

The takeaway is that advisors should simply be more rigorous and consistent with the implementation of fees. Does itemized pricing for different services make sense, or is one bundled fee the better option?

5. Staff compensation. In high performers, the largest percentage of total head count is in non-advisor staff rather than in advisors and managers, said Hitchcock. In less-successful firms, advisors are the largest percentage of head count.

That means firms should evaluate what their management and advisors are doing in the work day that lower-paid employees could be doing instead. A shift in resources and job responsibilities can free up advisors and managers to focus on more profitable activities.

6. Operations ratios. A firm should use tools that allow it to monitor and analyze its health.

It should look at the client-per-advisor ratio, for example, and see if there are ways to improve internal efficiencies to ultimately improve profitability.