Making Lemonade Out of Lemons: A Summer Growth Plan
Can we be honest about summer for a minute?
Every advisor says they want a big autumn.
Every advisor says this is the year they'll finally get serious about business development.
Then summer arrives.
The calendar gets lighter.
Clients disappear to the beach.
Prospects stop returning calls.
And suddenly the perfect excuse shows up:
"I'll focus on growth after Labor Day."
The problem?
September has never magically fixed anyone's pipeline.
In fact, most advisors arrive at Labor Day exactly where they were in June.
Busy. Exhausted. Wondering why growth still feels like an uphill climb.
Here's the hard truth:
The advisors who have exceptional falls don't start in September.
They start now.
Which brings us to our lemons.
Lemon #1: Being Busy Feels Like Growth
Summer is the perfect season to convince yourself you're being productive.
Cleaning up CRM records, organizing files, putting out fires, and checking boxes.
Necessary? Sometimes.
Growth activities? Almost never.
No advisor has ever looked back and said:
"You know what doubled my business? Updating my spreadsheet."
Lemon #2: Waiting for the Perfect Time
Many advisors treat summer like a timeout.
They'll work on their messaging later.
They'll reach out to COIs later.
They'll host the event later.
They'll schedule the focus group later.
Then later becomes next year.
The best advisors don't wait for momentum.
They create it.
Lemon #3: Confusing Activity with Visibility
Most advisors know they need to be more visible.
The problem is they aren't sure where to start.
So they bounce from one idea to the next.
A little social media.
A webinar they never schedule.
A networking event they never follow up on.
A marketing idea that sounds good but never gets implemented.
Before long, summer is over, and nothing has really changed.
Visibility isn't about doing more things.
It's about doing the right things consistently.
And contrary to what many advisors believe, social media is rarely the primary driver of new business. Clients are still built through relationships, conversations, referrals, introductions, and trust.
Referrals remain the #1 driver of new clients, followed closely by events.
The advisors who grow are not necessarily doing more.
They're simply following a plan.
The Lemonade
If we had one goal this summer, it wouldn't be to work harder.
It would be to make sure September arrives with a plan.
A stronger message.
More intentional relationships.
A visibility strategy.
A reason for prospects to remember us.
Because when Labor Day comes, we don't want to be thinking.
We want to be executing.
So enjoy your summer.
Take the trip.
Go to the beach.
Spend time with your family.
But don't spend the next ten weeks convincing yourself that busy work is business development.
The advisors who win this fall are building the foundation right now.
And if you're not quite sure what that foundation should look like, that's exactly why we created our Level Up! Virtual program. In just six sessions, we help advisors create a clear, focused plan for the fall so when September arrives, they're ready to execute—not starting from scratch.