In what is perhaps his most popular aphorism to date, the Oracle of Omaha's investment strategy is: "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful." Buffett-isms aside, even the optimistic among us can't disregard the ample evidence that there's good reason to be fearful. Investors are scared, advisors are working overtime and just when one thinks that this is it, that it can't get worse, it simply does. Perhaps, by the time of this printing, circumstances will have improved—hope springs eternal.

We are unwilling participants in the market mayhem that challenges our intellect and intuition. For our profession, the true test of these times will not be measured by portfolio returns, but by the ability of the independent advisor to traverse troubled waters and stand soundly upon the opposite shore.

The industry's response to market events has been swift and strong, driven by a host of communications—emails, market commentaries and conference calls delivered to advisors with the aim of informing them and their clients. In no way do I discount the importance of these calls, but I cannot help but hear the loud silence created by the absence of outreach on what this means to you and your business.

After years of 20% growth rates, you are painstakingly aware of the correlation between assets and revenue, and that it holds as true on the downside as it does on the up. Most of you are putting in the long, hard hours reminiscent of your early years, just to meet the demands presented by these markets. You are watching your revenue and income decline precipitously and your profits disappear—all while your workload multiplies. Add to that the fact that the business you have toiled to build suddenly has no realizable value (that went out the door with your profit margin). At some point you may have wondered just how long you can sustain your business at this rate.

Business Survival Guide

I do not profess to have the faculties to predict when things will improve-in fact, I must admit that the Magic 8 Ball in our conference room has seen an unusual spike in activity lately. What I do know is that the better you run your business, the more prepared you are to navigate whatever lies ahead. The slimmer your profit margins were going into these markets, the deeper the wounds inflicted. With the goal of helping clients adapt and survive, and with the greater goal of ensuring that they thrive in the future, we developed a three-step business survival guide that I will now share with you in the hope it helps you do the same.

Step 1: Mitigate

When discussing the opportunities presented by these markets, one advisor shared with me, in exasperation, "I'm not looking for opportunity. I'm just looking to stop the bleeding so I have a firm when this is over." It goes without saying that slowing the bleeding is essential to one's survival. What I caution advisors against is mitigating in the wrong manner—in a way that dramatically impairs their ability to survive beyond the immediate circumstances.

The first step to slowing the bleeding is where most of you are now spending your energy: preservation of cash flow. You are spending countless hours hand-holding clients. How you go about doing so, however, has a significant impact on how hard it is on you, your staff and your bottom line.

Many advisors have been so busy responding to circumstances that they took scant time to develop a strategy that enables them to move beyond the client call on hold. Consider a more disciplined approach, which might look something like the following: Upon a market trigger (which you set in advance, such as a one-day market decline of 5% or more), you send a letter to all clients advising of the situation, with your advice and your assurance that you are diligently performing your responsibilities and will contact them should circumstances warrant.

Your top clients receive the same letter, modified to read that your office will reach out in the next 48 hours to schedule a phone review to discuss their situation, questions and concerns. By proactively communicating with clients not only about the markets, but also about what actions you are taking in response to them, you are likely to receive fewer calls (at least that was our experience).

Concurrently, you decide to host a lunch in your office or conference call sessions in a town-hall format, where you openly discuss the markets, insights from outside experts and the firm's investment philosophy—which happens to be the one they signed up for when they joined your firm. If you do this, you might receive far fewer calls and meeting requests and garner greater client comfort (that again was our experience).