Every day, advisors make countless decisions for their clients and their business. Should they offer a certain type of product? What technology will create the smoothest processes? How should they market their firm to gain new clients?

It’s one thing to make these decisions based on a gut feeling, but it’s another to have data on your side to make decisions. Advisors can track a huge variety of metrics. But according to Molly Pierce, CEO of Track That Advisor, five key metrics are crucial to driving growth.

1. Stick rate
Stick rate is the number of kept first appointments versus the number of set first appointments. Essentially, how many of your scheduled lead appointments actually show up? The benchmark for this metric is 70%, meaning you keep 70% of set appointments.

Stick rate can vary depending on the type of lead generation, with referrals tending to bring in higher numbers. If you can only start tracking one metric, make it stick rate.

2. Close rate
Close rate tracks how many kept first appointments actually closed to join your firm. To calculate, divide the number of appointments in a given timeframe (such as a month, quarter or year) by the number of clients who closed in that same time. The benchmark for this metric is 30%, meaning you close 30% of first appointments.

3. Average case size
Average case size is the amount of new assets a household brings in versus how many you close. To calculate this metric, divide the entire asset amount by the number of households you close to track the average case size per household. This metric can also be tracked over a set period, such as comparing the average case size from the first quarter of the year to the last.

4. Cost per client
Cost per client tracks the marketing cost per closed client. To calculate, divide the total you spent on marketing during a set period by the number of clients you closed in that same period. The current average is around $6,000 per client. Cost per client varies greatly based on lead generation and marketing techniques, with referrals being much cheaper than things like TV commercials.

5. Pending leads
Pending leads tracks how many potential new clients are in your pipeline. One of the easiest ways to track this metric is by the number of days between appointments. The benchmark is 10 to 15 days between the first and second appointment, and another 10 to 15 days between the second and third appointment. Any more time, and the lead could lose interest and move on.

Tracking pending leads helps firms determine whether they have a steady pipeline of clients and the bandwidth to serve new ones. If the number of days between appointments gets too high, it could be a sign that the firm doesn’t have the resources to properly service the leads or that processes need to be streamlined and updated.

Why do analytics matter for advisors? Knowing your numbers helps advisors make solid business decisions and know exactly where you stand. By tracking metrics, you can make more accurate forecasts and have a better view of where your firm is and where it’s going. That data helps you know what clients to pursue, what products to offer, what staff to bring on and more. And the longer you track metrics, the more patterns you can see as you compare results and numbers to previous years.

Metrics are some of the best resources advisors have to improve their firms. The best results come from using platforms like Docupace, which streamlines new account opening, prioritizes compliance and ensures that documents are stored securely. Our leading platform seamlessly integrates with dozens of other solutions, providing a comprehensive back-office experience.

Read the original article here.