Joel decided that he could achieve a 60% increase in sales over the next 12 months. He had, after all, made an impressive 66% improvement over the previous year. What he hadn’t considered, however, was how he would increase his business. Through which product silos — stocks, managed accounts or insurance, for example — would this new business flow? Joel learned these three lessons to help him grow his business more effectively:

> There are three financial “levers” you can manipulate to control the momentum of your business: product mix, average size of sale and number of sales.

> Understanding the metrics of your practice enables you to control and plan for the growth of your business better.

> There is more to growing your business than increasing sales. You need to consider the practical implications of the increased business on staffing, systems and priorities.