The Summer You Plan Differently

I remember looking at my calendar in June 2022, already feeling disappointed, and thinking, "This looks like it's going to be a quiet summer."

I assumed clients would be traveling. Families would be focused on vacations. Kids would be home from school. Like many advisors, I also assumed that most important decisions would simply get pushed to September.

And some did.

But what surprised me was how many didn't.

Over the course of that summer, I had clients update estate plans, retire from long careers, sell businesses, sell their houses, help aging parents, make major investment decisions, and finally address insurance needs they had been postponing for months.

While some people use summer to disconnect, others use it to focus.

The pace slows down. The calendar opens up. There is finally room to think.

That's when it hit me: summer isn't a slow season. It's simply a different season.

Every year around this time, I hear the same thing from advisors:

"Nobody wants to meet during the summer."

And while there is some truth to that, I think it's also one of the most expensive assumptions we make.

Yes, some clients are traveling. Some are focused on graduations, vacations, golf outings, weekends at the lake, and getting their kids home from college. Their calendars are full, and financial planning may not be at the top of their priority list.

But not all of them.

In fact, many clients finally have something they've been missing all year: space.

The constant rush of school schedules, holiday planning, and year-end deadlines disappears. For some people, summer is actually the perfect time to focus on their financial life. For many, their kids are at sleep-away camp and they have a level of freedom they just don't get during the school year. 

I've seen it happen year after year. The client who finally updates their estate plan. The business owner who is ready to talk succession. The couple who has been putting off retirement planning. The family that finally has time to discuss aging parents and long-term care.

The question isn't whether every client wants to meet.

The question is: Which clients are ready to engage right now?

The advisors who create momentum in the summer are often the ones who have the biggest Q3-- and don't find themselves scrambling in Q4. They use the summer to identify the clients who are ready to make progress and help them move forward.

While some advisors are waiting for September, others are creating September.

And when things do slow down, that's not necessarily a problem. Take it as an opportunity to tackle projects you can't possibly fit in during the busier seasons. The best advisors see summer differently. They use those pockets of time to work on the business instead of just in it.

The projects you complete during June, July, and August often determine how organized, efficient, and profitable your practice feels during the busy fall season.

If your calendar has a little extra room this summer, consider tackling one or more of these projects:

10 Summer Projects That Pay Off by Labor Day

1. Review your client segmentation.
Make sure your best clients are clearly identified and receiving the highest level of service. Does your service model still reflect where your business is today?

2. Clean up your CRM.
Remove duplicates, update contact information, complete missing fields, add tags, and improve data accuracy.

3. Continue your move toward a digital office.
Digitize files, streamline workflows, eliminate paper, and create easier access for your team. (This also increased the value of your practice!)

4. Audit your client experience.
Walk through every step of your onboarding and review process from the client's perspective. Where are the friction points? Include your team in this. 

5. Review your technology stack.
Are you paying for tools you don't use? Are there manual processes that could be automated?

6. Organize your open case inventory.
Review stalled opportunities, outstanding requirements, and unfinished planning conversations.

7. Build your communication calendar.
Map out client touches, educational events, newsletters, holiday events, and marketing efforts through year-end.

8. Strengthen your referral process.
Create a more intentional system for asking for introductions, following up, and tracking outcomes.

9. Review key business valuation metrics.
Look at client demographics, household growth, concentration risk, recurring revenue, team structure, and operational efficiency.

10. Document your processes.
Create workflows, checklists, and procedures that reduce dependence on any one person and make training easier.

September will arrive faster than you think.

The question is whether you'll be starting from scratch or building on momentum you've already created all summer.

Summer doesn't have to be a season of waiting.

It can be a season of preparation.

And preparation has a funny way of looking like luck when the busy season arrives.

Make this the summer you plan differently.