I’ve been with the APFA since before 2009, and when I first started the firm, we were a $30 million firm, which has grown quite substantially. Right now we’re right at about $1.2 billion. When joining APFA, the first thing I would recognize is that they have really developed a bunch of systems and processes that have helped me create a marketing system, create an operating plan that has helped me just to grow in the business. I think one of the things that’s been really important to me has been learning to elevate and delegate and bring the right talent to the organization. If you try to do each of these things on your own, all by yourself, it’s going to a little bit difficult. So you need to identify what your most favorite part of your business is and elevate and delegate and get the right people on the team.
We’ve grown tremendously, and I think it’s all really about systems and processes. When you join the APFA, what I think you’re going to learn is that they’ve given you an infrastructure that helps you to build a marketing plan, to build an operating plan, to staff it with the right people. Specifically, I think what’s really key too, is you’ve got to learn to communicate on a regular, consistent basis with your clients. Ken and his team have created great content that is both on the financial side, on the tax side, on the investments, the estate planning. So a lot of the articles that they’ll help you write, and the infrastructure they’ll provide you in newsletters has been just very, very helpful, very timely information, and such an important part of communicating on a regular, consistent, basis with the clients that you want and that you want to keep. I think it’s also great for developing a prospect list. As you do the seminars that they talk about, as you do the workshops, the educational events, I think what you’re going to learn is you’re going to gain more and more prospects. Not all of those prospects will hire you right away, but if you learn to drip on them with great content, great information, and you can just show a consistency of being involved in the community, developing an educational process by a lot of material that they’ve helped us use over the years, it’ll help you grow tremendously.
If you’re looking to join a coaching program, one that is going to give you structure, one that is going to you timely information to communicate with high net worth individuals, the APFA is for you. Ken Unger and his team have been very outstanding, very instrumental in the growth of my organization, and the infrastructure they provide you is just awesome. So I hope that you join. It’s been great for me. And if you want to grow like I did, $30 million to $1.2 billion, it’s helped a ton.
