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What if the reason your practice isn’t growing isn’t your marketing… or your portfolio construction… or your pricing — but the handful of “sure things” you’re accidentally skipping on your busiest weeks?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

most advisors don’t lose clients over performance. They lose clients due to silence, friction, ambiguity, and inconsistency—the things that never show up on a statement but always show up in a relationship.

And the most successful advisors?

They aren’t doing exotic things. They’re doing the obvious things with uncommon discipline.

Below are 10 “Sure Things” that distinguish the practices clients tolerate from those clients fiercely protect. (And yes—if you want the workbook version with scripts, checklists, scorecards, and implementation plans, I’ll show you how to get it at the end.)

1) CLARITY BEATS CLEVER

If your prospect can’t explain what you do or what makes you unique to their spouse in one sentence, no progress will be made.

Your move:

craft a single, repeatable “Point of View” sentence:

“I help (who) achieve (outcome) by (method), so they can (life result).”

Then build everything else around it—website, intro, LinkedIn headline, referral

language.

What changes: prospects stop nodding politely and start leaning in: “That sounds

exactly like us.”

2) MOMENTUM IS A PRODUCT

Most advisors don’t have a “lead problem.” They have a next-step problem.

A great conversation that ends without a clear next decision is just an expensive coffee.

Your move:

end every meeting with a simple “Decision Ladder”:

1. Summarize what matters most

2. Zone in on what we’re solving

3. The options

4. The recommendation

5. Book the next meeting

What changes:

fewer “We’ll think about it” stalls. More decisions are made when confidence is high.

3) TRUST IS BUILT IN MICRO-MOMENTS

Clients rarely say, “I don’t trust you.” They say, “We’re just not sure…” and drift away.

Your move:

standardize three “trust moves” in every client interaction:

 “Here’s what I heard…”

 “Here’s what this means…”

 “Here’s what happens next…”

What changes:

When you listen and take control, clients relax. Consolidation becomes a natural next step. The status quo is a non-negotiable.

4) YOUR SERVICE ISN’T A LIST—IT’S AN EXPERIENCE

Advisors say they deliver value. Clients say they feel value… when the experience is

designed.

Your move:

Map the client journey like a product designer:

First contact → First meeting → First recommendation → First review → First life event

Then define what the client should feel and what they can expect at each moment.

What changes:

you become referable because clients can describe you and your process without needing a financial dictionary.

5) FREQUENCY BUILDS CONFIDENCE

Silence is never the status quo. Silence gets interpreted as absence. Connection is

required at a minimum of quarterly.

Your move:

adopt a simple communication rhythm:

 Weekly: a short “steady hand” insight

 Monthly: a planning prompt

 Quarterly: a decision touchpoint

What changes:

fewer anxious emails. More calm, proactive conversations.

6) REVIEWS MUST BE ABOUT ADDING VALUE AND DECISION-MAKING

If your review meeting could be replaced by sending a PDF, it’s not a review. It’s

reporting.

Your move:

make every review a decision meeting and a value-add:

Consider: What’s changed? → Progress toward goals? → Top risks/opportunities? →

Decisions needed today? → Next actions? → What’s coming up financially for you?

What changes:

clients leave feeling progress, not just “spoken to.”

7) YOUR CALENDAR IS YOUR BUSINESS MODEL

A messy calendar doesn’t just create stress—it fosters underperformance.

Your move:

protect three blocks:

 deep work (business strategy)

 prime client time (client decision meetings)

 team leverage (non-client-facing, handoffs + ops)

What changes: you stop being busy and start being effective. Your best work stops

happening “after hours.”

8) WHAT YOU MEASURE IMPROVES

Instinct is good. The Business Discipline is better.

The move:

Follow our Advisor Practice Management Business Discipline. Measure

your new approaches, contacts, meetings booked, meetings completed, new clients, sales revenue, referrals.

What changes:

you stop guessing where growth is stuck. Now you’ll see the gap early and fix it by calling more, tightening your scripts, and improving your appointment-closing skills.

9) YOUR TEAM IS YOUR GROWTH ENGINE

If you’re the bottleneck, growth becomes an endless personal endurance sport.

The move:

define roles and handoffs so the team and clients feel supported — not shuffled. Team roles may look like the following:

 Advisor = decisions.

 Associate = preparation + execution = experience.

 Service = execution + experience + operations.

What changes:

clients feel the firm—not just the advisor—your capacity returns without

compromising quality.

10) REFERRALS ARE ENGINEERED, NOT REQUESTED

“Let me know if you know anyone…” is the referral equivalent of a limp handshake.

Your move:

swap the ask for a prompt:

“Who in your world is dealing with a decision like this?”

or

“Who’s the responsible one everyone turns to?”

What changes:

referrals become easier, more natural, and dramatically better qualified.

Here’s the real punchline

None of these is a secret. But if they’re so obvious… why do most practices still

struggle? Because the enemy isn’t ignorance. It’s an inconsistency.

Inconsistency is what our “SURE THING” workbook addresses.

The workbook turns these 10 Sure Things into:

 Plug-and-play scripts

 One-page meeting templates

 A weekly scorecard

 A 30-day implementation plan

 A client journey map you can actually use

 A referral language sheet that clients can forward

In other words, it turns “I should do that” into “We do this every time.”

Want the workbook?

If you want the SURE THINGS FOR ADVISORS TO REMEMBER workbook, comment “SURE THINGS” or message me “WORKBOOK” and I’ll send it to you.

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

Written by Jeff Thorsteinson

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While each financial advisor's practice may have a different approach, advisors need to understand where their practice needs help, and will they get the right help for the right part of their practice. What areas does your practice need help with? 

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