Finish strong, start stronger

There’s a subtle energy shift when the calendar is about to flip to a new year. The zest that was behind the grind of chasing goals for three quarters can dissolve into coasting as the fourth quarter, which has the slowest business week with offices closed for holiday celebrations, assents to the notion that activity can be picked up again next year. Or the last quarter could be one of opportunity.

“It is the quarter that not only determines how strong you will start next year, but it is the quarter where most of your competitors have taken their foot off the gas,” said Meridith Elliott Powell, a business development expert and a 2022 MDRT EDGE speaker. “The behaviors and sales expectations you have in the fourth quarter will be the single biggest determining factor in how much business you do in the first quarter and perhaps all year.”

The fourth quarter is the year’s busiest for Rick B. Stanzione, RFC, CSA, a 23-year MDRT member.

“There are people who will be coming into the office to bring their annual contributions to their individual retirement accounts or to their annuities, and those are the first calls I’m making in October and November, so that I can either get them scheduled or bring that money in. That money is coming in regardless, so why wait until January or February to call them?” Stanzione said.

He advocates that advisors “work their books” because the fourth quarter is the ideal time to gauge how efficient an advisor is with their clients by identifying opportunities that exist or will be coming next year.

“I get people calling me all the time wanting to sell me leads,” Stanzione said. “I don’t buy leads, nor will I ever buy leads, because we make our own with the book of business and the products and services we have.”

The book of lists

His office, with three advisors, two staff members, and in-house legal and income tax practices, work their books by compiling a master list of clients’ names, addresses and birth dates and ranking them as A, B and C clients. From there, other lists are assembled, like a roster of services and products that clients do have and another that they don’t have. If they need a will or trust, the in-house attorney is available for estate planning.

“This permitted us to have many touches with our clients throughout the year on a weekly or a monthly basis,” he said.

There’s the list of clients who bring yearly payments to their accounts, and also a list of clients ages 40 to 65. Identifying these clients by age opens the door to discussions about chronic care and long-term care insurance. The list of clients turning 591/2 are candidates for discussions about catch-up contributions for their retirement accounts and minimizing lifetime taxes, while those turning 62 are ready for conversations about when to claim their U.S. Social Security and consider bridge health insurance coverage before they’re eligible to enroll in the government-sponsored plan.

“I should be calling these people 30 to 60 days before they’re turning this age or before they said they were going to retire,” Stanzione said. “When was the last time you did a review with that client? Are they on track? Do they have a shortfall? Maybe their spouse passed away. If you’ve done good planning, you have other asset bases to tap into to help fix that.”

There’s also a multi-generational planning list. The advisor asks clients with adult children, “Do you like us?” After the clients say yes, the advisor invites the family to dinner in a private room to brief the prospects, with the clients’ permission, about how their parents’ financial security was taken care of and what can be done to secure their needs and goals.

“That allowed us to pick up new business and retain assets when clients pass away,” said Stanzione, adding that his practice has a 98% retention rate thanks to the in-house resources and working the books.

“The best way to make use of your time is to constantly be planning and immersing yourself in what’s upcoming,” Stanzione said. “You can get it done today. Why wait until the first of the year to do it? We’re seeing our clients all year long with natural touches rather than having to fabricate them by saying, ‘Oh, I see it’s your birthday’ or ‘I see it’s your anniversary’ or something like that. You build true relationships that way. Our motto has always been ‘Build true relationships to last a lifetime,’ which is exactly what I believe we do.”

Planning early

Corey Williams used to create his annual goals every January. But that commitment was always getting pushed to the end of that month. So, he set out to plan for the next year during December. Yet he still felt like he was “lagging into the new year.” Finally, he moved his next-year planning to October and November.

“When I start earlier, I feel like I’m getting ahead of the game and getting a good run into things,” the 13-year MDRT member said. “I simply pull out my annual calendar and put down all the commitments and events that I know are coming. By doing this before the new year, you can take control of your year before it takes control of you.”

His wife, Lizzie, also is involved in the annual calendar planning. Together they cordon off dates to accommodate attending MDRT meetings, school holidays, vacation and life events.

“We realized we didn’t have as much time for us and for our children as we wanted,” Williams said. “So, this helped us get really clear on blocking out time for us. We didn’t know what we were going to do, but this was going to be specifically our time.”

Career development is one area he considers for next year’s planning. He determines what new courses he wants to take, which compliance seminars to attend and what he needs to do to upskill his staff.

Then there are financial goals.

“I get specific about how my revenue is going to come in and go out,” Williams said. “How’s my revenue, and where are my different revenue streams coming from? I look at my investment properties and portfolios as well as my other business interests.”

Fourth quarter is also when he looks at what he wants to give back to the community next year, where he wants to travel and the spiritual commitments to make, such as meditation techniques and retreats he would like to try. He also schedules an office cleanse every 90 days to thoroughly remove clutter in his work environment.

Then he does a quarterly review.

“I’m looking back to look forward,” Williams said. “What were my biggest wins for the quarter? How many did I get? What worked and what didn’t? What will I keep doing? What will I improve on? What will I start doing and what will I stop doing? I drill this into my weekly review as well.”

Along with working the books to service clients, Stanzione uses the fourth quarter to reflect on what worked, what didn’t and what adjustments are necessary.

“That should include an annual meeting with everybody in your office stating their goals and objectives, how they’re going to achieve them and then share that with the group,” Stanzione said. “Everyone can chime in and give additional reinforcement or constructive criticism. The bottom line is, it’s helpful.”

Build momentum

The mantra for seven-year MDRT member Jasmine Lily Ho is “Close the year with purpose. Start the new one with momentum.” She begins by leveraging the fourth-quarter holidays for relationship building.

“The festive season is the perfect bridge between personal connection and professional conversation,” she said. She’ll reach out with handwritten cards, short video messages or a small gift. Ho also creates appreciation moments by hosting coffee meetups or a thank-you lunch for clients and advocates.

“Keep the tone about gratitude, not about sales,” she cautions. “Conversations about next year’s goals will flow naturally.”

As the year winds down, she also steps back to assess her wins — prospecting channels, products and stories that worked best — and the leaks — leads that stalled and follow-ups that faltered. “Then build your refined playbook now so January starts with precision instead of hesitation.”

As MDRT achievers know, their most valuable clients generate the most referrals. Ho “activates” her top 20% of clients with high-touch interactions such as a personalized review meeting, an invitation to an exclusive event or a customized gift. During those interactions, she’ll ask: “Who else should be on my calendar in January?”

Year-end planning also includes mapping out a 90-day sprint for the first quarter. That effort calls for identifying at least three early-win campaigns such as connecting with clients for policy reviews, corporate benefit renewals, or milestone birthday planning and prebooking those meetings for January and February before the year ends.

“I use that momentum to build qualification for MDRT, Court of the Table and Top of the Table early rather than playing catch-up mid-year,” Ho said.

Finally, she uses the time between the current and coming year to reconnect with her deeper purpose.

“Re-anchor your why by writing down your personal and professional goals for the next 12 months. Share your vision with your team, mentor or accountability partner, as that cements commitment, and keep a visible reminder in your workspace to fuel focus on the busiest days,” Ho said.