Breaking Through the Capacity Crossroads

The following tip is adapted from the article “How Advisory Firm Owners Can Overcome the Marketing ‘Capacity Crossroads’ and Options for Continuing (Sustainable) Growth” by Sydney Squires posted on Kitces.com on May 27, 2024.

In the early years of establishing an advisory firm, advisors must aggressively market themselves through time-intensive methods like networking, asking for referrals, managing social media, and cold calling. At this stage, advisors usually have ample time to focus on these efforts.

As the firm grows, advisors face the "capacity crossroads," where managing the firm and serving clients consume their schedule, hindering their ability to maintain effective marketing. Initially effective tactics, such as networking, become time-consuming obstacles as the advisor's time becomes more valuable. To address this, advisors have three options:

  1. Automate tasks like scheduling social media posts or sending meeting reminders.

  2. Delegate tasks to employees, contractors, or agencies to reduce the time burden.

  3. Eliminate non-essential tactics to free up time and resources.

By shifting to marketing strategies that require less of their own time, advisors can continue to grow their firms sustainably while avoiding burnout.