Breaking Down the Numbers for the New Year
The end of the year is the BEST time of the year.
It marks the finality of one arbitrary block of time, this year, while also opening the door to the possibility of the next block of arbitrary time, next year.
People tend to be happier with end of year bonuses and holiday gift giving.
And in Florida, the weather is usually pretty nice too.
If you did great in 2022, you can build on that momentum. If you did not do so hot in 2022, you can call me. But more importantly, you have 2023 as your opportunity to turn it around.
Either way, you are set.
You can start fresh if things have not gone your way, or you can keep the good times rolling.
Here is how I approach end of year planning for people in either situation.
Start With the Big Vision
I REALLY like the Traction VTO. It lays out your long term vision and big goals, then breaks them down into quarterly rocks and execution steps.
Start there.
But once you move from vision to execution, what does that actually look like?
Follow me on this journey.
Step 1: Define the Goal
2023 Goal:
120 referred viable PI cases.
To get 120 viable cases, I need 132 total cases. In Florida, there is zero required BI coverage, so about 10 percent of our cases have no money to recover.
To get 132 cases, we need about 147 leads. We close nearly 90 percent of our PI leads. I rounded up to 156 leads to create a cleaner monthly breakdown.
That equals:
- 13 cases per month
- Just over 3 per workweek
Now the real question becomes:
How do we generate 156 leads?
Step 2: Reverse Engineer the Sources
We analyzed our numbers.
Treatment Providers
We can support about 50 referrals to doctors for initial treatment.
Our average doctor sends about 1 case per quarter.
For simplicity, we calculated:
- 12 offices
- 4 leads per year
- 48 referrals total
This required adding three more offices to our referral list.
Current and Former Clients
About 30 percent of referrals come from current or former clients.
30 percent of 156 is 46.8. We rounded up to 48.
BNI and Networking Groups
Two members generating about 6 cases per year each.
That equals 12 total.
Lawyer Referrals
We identified 15 lawyers who send an average of 1.6 cases per year.
After reviewing how many cases we refer out, we pushed ourselves to:
- 20 lawyers
- 2 cases per year each
- 40 total referrals
Non Lawyer Referral Sources
Eight non lawyers sent more than one case in the last two years.
We expanded that to:
- 10 people
- 1 case per year
- 10 cases
Organic and Random Leads
Historically, we receive about one unexpected lead per month.
That equals 12.
Total Projected Leads: 170
That gives us cushion.
Even if:
- Our close rate drops to 80 percent
- We do not add a new lawyer referral
- Doctors drop to three cases per year
We are still covered.
Step 3: Create a Referral Strategy
Here is the breakdown of referral relationships:
- 12 treatment providers
- 40 lawyers
- 10 non lawyers
- 4 organizations
- A handful of strong client advocates
For the purpose of driving referrals, treatment providers, lawyers, and non lawyers function similarly.
What We Do
Host Two Signature Events Each Year
- Cinco De Mayo
- Friendsgiving
Additional Annual Touchpoints
- St. Patrick’s Day scratch off tickets
- Summer movie event
- Back to school drive
- Gingerbread house contest
Quarterly Personal Connections
At least once per quarter we connect individually through:
- Magic Suite
- Topgolf
- Lunch
- Other shared experiences
We also create social media content specifically geared toward referral sources.
If you are reading this and you are one of our referral sources, please know no one makes that list unless we genuinely like them. Once per quarter is the minimum. Hopefully we connect more often than that.
Organizations
For organizations, we:
- Attend events
- Follow the rules
- Bring guests
- Send referrals
- Present
- Do one to one meetings
We focus on going deeper in fewer organizations by serving on boards, joining committees, sponsoring events, and hosting.
Clients
Clients receive:
- Valentine’s gifts
- Invitations to Cinco De Mayo
- Invitations to the summer movie
- Back to school drive participation
- Holiday photos with our photographer
- Gingerbread house contest invites
We also:
- Connect professional clients to opportunities
- Use Food and Beverage clients for catering
- Support their small businesses through thank you gifts
Plus consistent social media engagement tailored to clients.
A Final Thought
For as organized as this sounds:
- I can absolutely still do it better.
- It is still a lot of fun.
Planning is not about perfection. It is about intention.
Next week I will talk about AI in a hopefully fun and not terrifying way.
In the meantime, may your future baby daddy not get sent back in time to save you from Arnold because your child leads the resistance against SkyNet.
Have a wonderful week.