Dale Hoeflinger

Time for a Pulse Check

BY DALE HOEFLINGER

Acworth, this year has flown by! Businesses are open and making up for the time lost over the past couple of years. Connections have been established, relationships developed, new accounts added to the books and clients brought on board, and by this time of year, we should be on track to meet our year-end targets. They say hindsight is always 20/20, so before our calendar year is over, I would like to share something that’s very important to my business — the pulse check.

We’ve all been to the doctor’s office and had our pulse checked before we even speak with the doctor. This vital piece of information is a leading indicator of our overall health. Many of us pulse-check our fantasy football teams, our friends, our budgets, even our diets, but when was the last time we pulse-checked our business model? We gain new clients by offering reviews or second opinions, but when have we reviewed ourselves? Is our process working, or do we need to improve something? How are my current clients enjoying their experience? What are our peers focusing on this year? What are we focusing on?

A major part of my yearly pulse check is the Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule. This rule really made me pause and reevaluate. The basic idea is 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients. If you can figure out where this 80% comes from, you can spend less time on 20% of your business. That doesn’t mean 20% of your business is less important. It means we should spend less time servicing these accounts or create a better process for dealing with them. What is the process for determining the 80% and the 20%? Have we asked our customers to pulse-check how they feel about our business?

In my firm, I have developed a series of portfolios and plans for the 80% that generates most of my business and a different series for the other 20%. Each is just as important; however, my clients in the 20% space most likely don’t need to wrap up their assets inside a trust or make tax-harvesting investments to keep them below the highest tax brackets. My yearly pulse check requires me to meet with each client and see what is working for them and what might need to be changed. Not many of us could sustain a 20% pay cut if those customers started going elsewhere for the same service you provide.

Acworth, you might not think this is a million-dollar idea, but it kinda is. Finding the right balance with the 80/20 rule is very important, and a yearly pulse check can help us achieve that. Lean on your peers in the Acworth Business Association. I know many of us would be honored to help someone in our community succeed. Go forth and maximize your momentum!

Dale Hoeflinger is a financial adviser with Wells Fargo Advisors and the president of the Acworth Business Association. He grew up in Michigan but is happy to call Acworth home.

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Oct. 6

ABA Luncheon

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Acworth Community Center 4361 Cherokee St.

Oct. 8

Taste of Acworth

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Main Street, downtown Oct. 11, 25

Morning Jolt

8-9 a.m. The Cowan Historic Mill 4271 Southside Drive

Oct. 13 Alive After 5 5:30-7:30 p.m. TEXT BOX Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing Center Street Tavern elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad 4381 Center St. minim veniam, quis nostrud

Oct. 20

Women’s Networking Lunch

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Logan Farm House 4756 Logan Road Oct. 24

ABA Golf Tournament

8 a.m.-6 p.m. Governors Towne Club 4545 Champions Walk Drive

Nov. 3

ABA Luncheon

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Acworth Community Center 4361 Cherokee St.

Join the ABA by visiting www.acworthbusiness.org.