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Time Required: 3.50 hours
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Note: This page is for Strategic Advisors.
In the monthly advisory meetings with your client, you'll present a review of the previous month's performance, show how it compares to the goals set out in the forecast, and discuss any adjustments that may be needed to help the business stay on track toward those goals.
Conduct your advisory meetings using our Strategic Advisor Monthly Advising Guide. Simply fill out our Resource Guides request form to download a set of three guides, one for each of the three meetings in the LivePlan Method.
Step 5.01: Review the Dashboard
To prepare for these meetings, you'll need to review the client's LivePlan Dashboard. This review should be performed after the client's month-end close.
The links below will show you how to read and interpret the Dashboard metrics, but generally, you're looking for these things:
- How do the actuals for the just-completed month compare to the forecast? If there's a variance, you'll want to discuss it with your client.
- Can you identify any larger trends over the past several months?
- Which metrics on display are the most important to your client's current business goals? It's tempting to want to discuss all of the metrics with your client, but it's much more effective to focus on a small number of highly relevant metrics.
Compose a few feedback points on this data to share with your client at the meeting.
Helpful related articles:
- Using the Dashboard Overview
- Dashboard trends: comparing actuals to your forecast
- Metrics available on the LivePlan Dashboard
Step 5.02: Review Benchmarks data
Perform a similar review of the Benchmarks tab, looking for how the client's actuals for the month compare to the industry benchmark data. Are there variances? Make some notes on this data to share with the client.
Helpful related articles:
Step 5.03: Review Milestones, prepare for the meeting
Review the client's Milestones list for any items that should have been completed during the month. You'll want to discuss these in the meeting.
With these reviews complete, follow the meeting preparation guidelines in the Strategic Advisor Monthly Advising Guide.
Helpful related articles:
Step 5.04: Host the monthly meeting
When you conduct the monthly advisory meeting, keep in mind that there's no need to discuss the client's entire strategic plan in detail. Instead, you should focus on the metrics that matter most in achieving the client's current goals.
The Strategic Advisor Monthly Advising Guide contains a meeting agenda that will help you keep meetings focused and briskly-paced. It also includes script samples and questions for the client.
Step 5.05: Monthly wrap-up, post-meeting
After the meeting, use the Strategic Advisor Monthly Advising Guide to complete a 20-minute follow-up that completes the work of this meeting and sets the stage for the coming month's meeting.