Have you ever noticed there are certain parts of your business where you feel completely confident and others where you don't?
Maybe client meetings come naturally because you've conducted thousands of them. You know how to ask questions, uncover challenges and present solutions. But when it's time to prospect, ask for referrals or manage your time, that confidence seems to disappear.
Every advisor has experienced something similar. The mistake is believing confidence is something you're born with. It isn't. Confidence is something you build.
As I've often said, "Confidence isn't created by hoping things go well. It's created by knowing exactly what to do and then doing it over and over again."
The good news is that building confidence isn't complicated. In fact, it follows a simple four-step process that you can apply to virtually every area of your business.
Step 1: Understand Where Confidence Comes From
Years ago, I came across a formula that has stayed with me throughout my coaching career:
Technical Expertise + Experience = Confidence
Technical expertise is learning the right information. Experience is applying that information repeatedly until it becomes second nature. When those two ingredients come together, confidence naturally follows.
I remember remodeling my house several years ago when I needed to remove an old brick chimney. Having never done it before, I asked a contractor how it worked.
His answer was: "Start at the top, remove one brick at a time and keep going."
That conversation gave me the knowledge I lacked. Two days later, I had the experience—and by Monday morning, I had removed the chimney. If I ever had to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate because I had already proven to myself that I could do it!
Business confidence develops the same way. Learn the process, apply it consistently and uncertainty begins to disappear.
Step 2: Identify the Business Facet That's Holding You Back
One of the biggest mistakes advisors make is treating confidence as one issue rather than many. The reality is, you don't have business confidence, you have confidence (or a lack of confidence) in specific areas of your business.
For example, you may feel completely comfortable conducting client reviews because you have a proven process. Yet prospecting may make you feel uncomfortable because you only do it when business slows down, struggle with objections or aren't sure what to say next. Another advisor may be confident in sales, but overwhelmed by time management or leading a team.
In the example, the difference isn't talent, it's systems.
Whenever you find yourself avoiding an activity, ask yourself, "Do I lack confidence or do I lack a proven system?" Often times, the missing system is what's holding you back.
Step 3: Build a System That Solves the Problem
Once you've identified the area where your confidence is low, your next step is to find the right solution.
Every business challenge has a solution. If time management feels overwhelming, there are systems that create structure and help you prioritize interruptions. If prospecting feels uncomfortable, there are proven conversations and frameworks that can remove uncertainty. If sales feel inconsistent, there are questioning techniques that help prospects discover their own challenges instead of feeling like they're being sold to.
The goal isn't to master dozens of techniques. It's to identify the one business facet that's limiting your confidence and build a repeatable system around it. As a result, every time uncertainty decreases, confidence increases.
Step 4: Apply It Until It Becomes Automatic
Learning alone doesn't change anything. I've coached advisors since 2004, and the ones who improve the fastest aren't the ones who know the most. They're the ones who consistently apply what they've learned.
They practice the prospecting dialogue until it feels natural. They use a meeting framework until it becomes familar. They refine their referral conversations until clients respond comfortably. Repetition builds consistency and consistency builds confidence.
Why Building Your Business Confidence Works
Building your business confidence works because it changes the way you approach challenges. Instead of avoiding an area where you lack confidence, you begin looking for the knowledge, tools and systems that will help you improve. As your understanding grows and you apply what you've learned, your confidence naturally begins to grow with it.
The key is to stop trying to build confidence directly and start building better systems by building your technical expertise and experience. When you know what to do, how to do it, and continue doing it, confidence becomes the natural byproduct.