After categorizing your plan sponsor clients by profitability and revenue potential, consider segmenting your clients into three groups with scalable services. By defining your suite of services for each group you can be more efficient and spend more time growing your business.

Your most profitable clients should receive attention from your senior people (those with lower account loads), high-touch relationships and custom solutions. 

Your core clients include the solid majority of clients who make your practice possible. Provide them with your valuable, baseline service, packaged solutions and a la carte pricing for consulting.

And, make sure you are marketing to these core clients, because the best defense is a good offense. It’s all too easy for your current plan sponsor clients to become blasé about you, particularly when other retirement advisors are flattering them as prospects. A large part of efficiency is keeping valuable clients, so always consider them a primary target of your marketing efforts. 

Your emerging clients should receive a consistent fund menu, a consistent service provider and Web-based meetings. Over time, add new services, consulting and referrals. Try to get to know them better through influencers, and by including them in low-cost group events. 

Time management is really an active process. Do it right and everyone in your practice will feel less rushed because they’ve become more efficient.  Start by considering outsourcing non-essentials. In theory, that means anything not dependent on you, the practice leader. 

Remember your most important role as an advisor is spending time working with your clients. The more time you spend on other activities the greater the chances are for a decline in productivity.