That’s about it.

But this isn’t how the typical advisory firm operates. Few firms hire people, while those that do handle it poorly. That’s why so many fail to see productivity gains even after many new hires.

This is understandable, because most advisors have little experience hiring. But it’s essential that you get it right if you want to build a truly successful practice.

Financial planners typically start out alone. As things get busier, they hire assistants and later associates (who might be called “financial analysts” or “paraplanners.”) The assistant usually handles paperwork, while the associate helps with designing financial plans.

Adding these two people lets the planner be more productive, so more clients can be added to the practice. But only up to a certain point. Soon the planner discovers that she has once again hit a ceiling: She’s as busy as ever and can’t add any more clients.

This is the critical juncture. It’s at this point that most advisors attempt to solve the problem by hiring … another advisor. And before you know it, the practice has three, four or five advisors and as many assistants and associates.

And things have never been worse.

How so? Well, who answers the telephones that are ringing more often now? When the photocopier runs out of paper, whose job is to refill it? Who orders the paper? Who arranges for and maintains the computer system? Who opens the incoming mail? Who makes sure everything complies with regulations?
You see the problem. If everyone in the firm has the same job and the same set of skills, then essential chores don’t get handled. Productivity suffers. Tempers flare. People quit. Life stinks.

That’s why my firm’s organizational chart is completely different from that of the typical advisory practice. Sure, we have planning teams (more than 120 at last count), each featuring an assistant and many with associates and administrative personnel as well.

But that’s just the start of our organizational chart. We also have a complete support system for our planners and their teams—all the infrastructure that’s needed so the planners can do what they are supposed to do: be planners.

That’s why the key to productivity and scaling a business is hiring complementary talent. Probably more than any other single factor, this ability is what differentiates billion-dollar RIAs from smaller firms.

When we got too busy to handle the workload, we didn’t solve it by hiring another planner. Instead, we hired an office manager. Then a compliance manager. An HR manager. An IT manager. We now also have experts in portfolio management, operations, facilities, marketing and public relations and all things digital. There are more than 350 people dedicated to supporting our 120 financial advisors.

So when I ask whether you’re working hard enough, I’m not really asking about how many hours you put in personally. I’m asking about how many hours of productivity your practice is getting.

If you want to improve productivity, you can work an extra 10 hours a week. Or you can hire people instead. I recommend the latter. Implement this and you’ll enjoy a higher level of success than you ever imagined.

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