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Spring Cleaning: 6 Ways to Segment Your Practice

Here are 6 steps in how to segment your book of business. This how-to comes courtesy of regular Bank Investment Consultant contributor Todd Colbeck.

For the text-version of this slideshow, click here.
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1.Recognizing the 20/80 effect

The “Pareto Principle” states that 20% of causes produce 80% of the effects. For example, 20% of your activities produce 80% of your results. The flip side is 80% of your problems also come from 20% of your activities. So you need to spend more time on the 20% tasks and less time on the 80% tasks. Try color coding your calendar and monitor how much time you spend on various activates.
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2. Squeaky Wheel Gets Removed

Identify the 20% of your clients that cause 80% of your problems. (These are the clients keeping you away from your most productive activities and are draining the production from your business.) I would recommend removing these clients by any means ethically possible. They are just not a good fit for you but may be a great fit for somebody else. If you don’t know how to remove them, talk to your manager.
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3. Looking at the Potential

Identify which clients have the greatest potential to transfer in more assets. I think the top tier of your segment should focus on clients with the greatest potential production, not necessarily the greatest current production. This should be roughly 20% of your clients.
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4. The Middle Group is the Biggest

You’ve now identified the bottom 20% and the top 20%. Much of the middle 60% will be your bread-and-butter clients who offer a good deal of your production. But there will also be some who don’t offer much production but you can’t remove because they’re friends or relatives of your best clients.
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5. Segmentation Complete

Now you have your top 20% that represent the biggest opportunities; the middle 60% that are the bread and butter of your business; and the bottom 20% causing 80% of your problems. Once you decide how to best deal with the bottom 20%, the remaining 80% need to be managed effectively. This is best accomplished through establishing a turnkey service model.
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6. Schedule Meetings Like a Doctor

I recommend having four meetings a year with your top-tier clients; two meetings a year with your bread-and-butter clients; and one meeting a year with clients who don’t have a lot of assets but are friends and relatives of your best clients. Set up a recurring appointment just like a doctor’s office. Don’t worry, clients like having you booked in advance as much as you like having them booked.
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Todd Colbeck

Todd Colbeck is a regular contributor to Bank Investment Consultant. If you would like to see a video that goes into more detail on segmentation, you can contact him at todd.colbeck@ccgocaching.com.

For the text-version of this slideshow, click here.
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