As someone in the business of practice development, I was eager to read Tested in the Trenches, with its promise of delivering a “nine-step plan for building and sustaining a million-dollar financial services practice.”

The industry’s most successful advisors have seen their practices grow through four stages: survival, success, sustainability and significance.

Note that sustainability is well along the path and, given that most new enterprises in any industry fail within the first five years (the financial services industry is no exception), anyone who can offer insight and tactics on how to beat the odds is someone to whom we ought to listen. Furthermore, generating $1 million of revenue, while certainly possible, would put an advisor in a small and very elite group of practitioners.

The nine-step plan, according to authors Ron Carson and Steve Sanduski, is built on three “insider secrets”: a relentless, burning desire to achieve; “love-affair” marketing, which means providing extraordinary client service; and systemization, which includes all the organization, procedures and rituals necessary to a well-run practice.

Unfortunately, the authors use numerous cutesy descriptions that detract from the seriousness with which a professional should approach the building of his or her business. For example, while I agree with the concept, entitling your receptionist “director of first impressions” seems a bit much.

That said, the nine Tested in the Trenches strategies — TNTs — are certainly valid.

> TNT one involves building a business foundation through a process called “blueprinting” that asks advisors to define their purpose, vision, values, mission and goals. The test of how well you have done is to try writing your own eulogy. If you like what would be said, you have done a good job of contributing to your business and society.

> TNT two focuses on staffing — “getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus and the right people in the right seats.” Suggestions about setting individual as well as team goals — and tying compensation to the achievement of both — are worthwhile. Readers are also encouraged to set measurable expectations of satisfactory job performance, something often missing in standard job descriptions.

> TNT three addresses the concept of rendering every aspect of client/advisor interaction to a system. My analytical personality liked the depth of detail provided in this chapter. There are systems recommended for dealing with prospects and referrals, new and existing clients, internal and external communications, marketing and, of course, office management.

> TNT four responds to one of the most common advisor complaints — time management — and introduces the idea of focusing on the “vital few” rather than the “trivial many” activities in which advisors can find themselves involved.

> TNT five> T discusses building your brand — in other words, marketing. Entire books have been written on this subject, and this lightweight chapter barely touches on it.

> TNT six is one of the most powerful, as it focuses on the essential need for segmenting your client base. It offers several suggestions on how to differentiate your relationship management activities according to segment.

> TNT seven continues in the same vein by providing some sound tactics for enhancing the relationship with your A+ and A clients.
Paredo’s Principle, otherwise known as the “80/20 rule” is actually understated in the financial advisory world. All the research clearly validates the wisdom of leveraging your existing client capital to the greatest extent possible.

> TNT eight provides suggestions for hosting client events to “get close to the customer.”
Checklists are included, and the importance of having several events throughout the year — some educational, some social, some both — is emphasized.

> TNT nine, as you might expect, is a summary that tells us to “follow the habits of top achievers,” which basically means implementing TNTs one through eight. The habits of top achievers include a burning desire to succeed; a clear vision and mission; short-, medium- and long-term goals; good time management behaviour; communication skills; and maintaining physical and spiritual health.

Tested in the Trenches is a book that had plenty of potential, but authors Carson and Sanduski miss the mark. The treatment of its topics was uneven — some were explored in detail, while others only saw the surface skimmed. Nor does it live up to its promise to deliver “a plan,” which implies more of a process and flow than what is presented.

@page_break@All that said, however, the book is worth reading, if only to recognize the importance of working “on” your business as well as “in” your business. IE