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You’ve built something real.

A million-dollar practice doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because you can prospect, convert, serve, retain, and inspire trust at a high level. You’ve earned the lifestyle: flexibility, income, status, and a calendar you largely control.

And yet… the same success that got you here may be quietly trapping you here. We have several clients who come to us because they are stuck.

If you’re hovering around ~$1M in production and growth has started to feel like pushing a boulder uphill, you may be a Crossroads Advisor: a high-performing professional who has reached the edge of their current business model. Not because you’re failing—because you’ve maxed out your personal capacity.

Here’s the punchline most advisors don’t see coming: Your next level doesn’t require more effort. It simply requires a new operating system.

A sixth gear you didn’t know you had—because you’ve never needed it.

The Crossroads Scorecard (quick self-check)

If you nod “yes” to 3 or more, you’re likely at the crossroads:

 You’re still the primary engine for revenue, service, decisions, and problem-solving.

 You feel “busy-successful” but not “scaling-successful.”

 Your dealer has tools, services, and tech… and you’re using a fraction of them.

 Delegation feels expensive, risky, or slower than doing it yourself.

 You’re proud of your practice—but it wouldn’t run smoothly without you for 30 days.

What follows is the path I see top advisors using to break the plateau—not just to grow, but to build a practice that gets lighter, stronger, and more valuable over the next five years.

1) Upgrade from “Hero” to “CEO”: Build a Team That Buys Back Your Time

At $1M, your calendar becomes your ceiling. The breakthrough move is to turn hours into capacity by installing role clarity, process ownership, and a service model that doesn’t require you to be in every room for every meeting.

Questions to think about

 What percentage of your week is spent on work only you can do?

 If you disappeared for two weeks, what would break first—and why?

What we at APM Might Ask You in a Session:

 “Let’s list your weekly activities and label them: $25/hr, $250/hr, $2,500/hr. Which ones are you still personally doing—and what’s the cost of that?”

 “What’s the first role that removes friction immediately: client service, operations, or associate advisor?”

Outcome / next-step example

 Create a Role-to-Results Map: 5 outcomes your practice must deliver weekly (service, paperwork, follow-ups, meetings, planning). Assign ownership. Then hire or restructure around outcomes, not tasks.

2) Stop Under-Leveraging Your Dealer: Treat It Like an Extension of Your Firm

Many crossroads advisors run a “boutique” inside a large platform—and unintentionally ignore the platform. The next-level advisor becomes a power user: tech stack, planning tools, model portfolios, lending and insurance support, onboarding services, marketing resources, and practice management support.

Questions to think about

 What dealer offerings are you paying for indirectly—but not using?

 Where are you rebuilding tools your dealer already provides?

What we at APM Might Ask You in a Session:

 “Show me your current client workflow. Where are you doing manual work that dealer systems could automate?”

 “Which two dealer specialists would change your client outcomes in 90 days—if you actually partnered with them?”

Outcome / next-step example

 Run a 30-Day Dealer Leverage Sprint: pick three dealer resources, integrate them into one client process (onboarding, reviews, planning, or implementation), and track time saved + client experience improvements.

3) Redesign the Client Mix: You Don’t Need More Clients—You Need the Right Ones

Plateaus often come from a silent leak: a client base that grew organically without a deliberate profile. The next level comes from tight segmentation and a service model aligned to value, complexity, and profitability.

Questions to think about

 Who are your “high-love, low-return” relationships that consume disproportionate energy?

 Are you running one service model for everyone—because it feels fair?

What we at APM Might Ask You in a Session:

 “What is your Minimum Relationship Standard—assets, revenue, complexity, or referrals?”

 “If you were starting today, who would you clone 25 times?”

Outcome / next-step example

 Build a 3-Tier Client Service Charter (A/B/C or Platinum/Gold/Silver). Define meeting cadence, proactive touches, planning depth, and response standards. Then begin a respectful migration plan for C clients.

4) Install a Growth Engine You Can Predict: Lead and a Second

At $1M, random growth feels exciting—and exhausting. Top advisors simplify to repeatable pipelines: a primary engine (niche, COI, centers of influence, corporate, or content) plus one secondary channel.

Questions to think about

 If referrals stopped for 90 days, what would you do to generate new business?

 Is your growth currently intentional—or hopeful?

What we at APM Might Ask You in a Session:

 “Where have you already won repeatedly—and why aren’t we industrializing that?”

 “What’s your weekly activity standard that guarantees future revenue?”

Outcome / next-step example

 Choose one growth engine and define Weekly Non-Negotiables (e.g., 5 COI touches, two introductions requested, one educational event invite, 10 targeted LinkedIn value comments, three prospect conversations). Track it like a scoreboard.

5) Move from Opinions to Instrumentation: KPI Scoreboards That Run the Business

Crossroads advisors often feel busy but can’t clearly measure what’s driving growth. Top firms become data-driven in simple, practical ways.

Questions to think about

 What are the five numbers that tell you if the business is healthy this month?

 Do you manage the practice… or does the calendar manage you?

What we at APM Might Ask You in a Session:

 “Show me your last 90 days: meetings held, proposals delivered, net new assets, and referrals requested. Where is the constraint?”

 “If we fixed one metric, which would create a domino effect?”

Outcome / next-step example

 Build a One-Page CEO Scoreboard: net new AUM, revenue per client, meetings held, referrals requested, pipeline value, implementation time, and capacity (hours/week). Review weekly with your team.

6) Productize Your Advice: Turn Custom Work into a Signature Process

A significant growth limiter is bespoke planning and inconsistent client experiences. The sixth gear is a repeatable, branded client journey: your method, your milestones, your deliverables—delivered consistently by a team.

Questions to think about

 Do clients experience your expertise as a “process”… or as “you”?

 Where do you reinvent the wheel each time?

What we at APM Might Ask You in a Session:

 “What are the 6–8 moments every ideal client should experience in year one?”

 “Which steps could be delivered by your team with you as final authority?”

Outcome / next-step example

 Create a Signature Client Journey (Onboarding → Discovery → Plan →

Implementation → Review Rhythm). Document it. Train it. Then improve it

quarterly.

7) Build an Enterprise, Not Just a Practice: Value, Transferability, Optionality

Over the next five years, the winners will be those who build businesses that can grow without breaking and hold value beyond the founder. That means structure, documentation, brand, compliance hygiene, succession options, and the ability to attract talent.

Questions to think about

 If you wanted to step back in three years, could you?

 Is your business sellable—or is it just you with a book?

What we at APM Might Ask You in a Session:

 “What would a buyer love about your business—and what would scare them?”

 “What capability would increase enterprise value fastest: team, systems, or client mix?”

Outcome / next-step example

 Start an Enterprise Upgrade Plan: document core processes, reduce key-

person risk, strengthen client segmentation, build second-in-command capacity,  and formalize your continuity plan.

The Real Crossroads Question

Here it is—the question that separates comfortable from extraordinary:

Do you want a nice lifestyle… or do you want the version of your practice that’s even better than you’ve imagined—more money, more freedom, more control, and less friction?

Because the next level isn’t a grind, it’s an unlock.

If you’re at $1M and stuck, you don’t have a motivation problem. You have a model problem—and models can be rebuilt.

Your sixth gear is there. The only question is whether you’re ready to shift.

Thank you for reading! This is what we help advisors do every day!

Written by Jeff Thorsteinson

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