Scalable advice? The lessons regional Australia wants you to hear

When it comes to pragmatic wisdom to solve issues of growth and scale, those of us advising clients in regional centres know a thing or two about efficient use of available resources.

Growth is too often confused with size. More offices, more headcount, more acquisitions, more logos on the website. None of that guarantees a better client experience or a more resilient business.

Scale isn’t about adding, it’s about more value per unit of effort – doing more with what you’ve got by putting better systems behind your people and processes.

Nowhere is that clearer than in regional Australia.

Here, inefficiency hurts more. Geography turns small process gaps into hours on the road; thin labour markets mean you can’t hire your way out of admin; and client needs are broad: from farm succession, self-managed super funds, Centrelink to multigenerational planning and more. Add to that reputation travels faster than a letterbox drop and you learn fast that scale comes from tight, productive systems and clear roles.

Before you chase growth, start with five hard questions:

1. What problem are we really trying to solve: client volume, client value, efficiency or succession?
2. Are our systems designed to free up adviser time for what matters most?
3. Do we have the right people in the right roles, even if they’re from outside the industry?
4. Does our culture create trust and accountability that is strong enough to scale beyond any one person?
5. Do we have a clear value proposition backed up by an operating model that consistently delivers the right client experience?

Lessons from the field: scaling in ‘the bush’

Fifteen years ago, we asked ourselves: What are we trying to achieve? The answer was equally simple – help as many people as possible.

That mindset shift – from cherry-picking “preferred” clients to opening the door to many – forced a redesign of everything: who did what, in what order, and why it mattered to the client across the table.

To make that promise real, we rewired around productivity. Advisers weren’t hired to push paper; our only real job is to help clients understand choices and trade-offs so they can make informed, confident decisions about their money. Everything else moved into systemised, delegated workflows.

Once the model carried the load, capacity followed. Without rushing or thinning the advice, an adviser’s day could comfortably hold four to six complex client conversations with room for more when it’s a straightforward review. The point isn’t speed; it’s friction removed. A good example is Dr Ben Neilson, who doubled productivity in his first year by working inside clear lanes with proper support – he had the same hours as everyone else, just better focus.

And in the bush, consistency matters twice over. We live where our clients live, so accountability is immediate; miss the mark and you test the town’s trust. Regional realities also shape service design: not everyone wants an ongoing fee arrangement, but in small towns, if you’re someone’s adviser, you’re their adviser – episodic or ongoing. We make room for both, and the standard stays the same either way.

Scale is a system, not a tech stack

Many practices chase software when what they need is a system. Most firms run the same tools; the difference is the operating model that defines outcomes, creates consistency, and keeps advisers where they add value – with clients. Technology should enable that system, not pretend to replace it.

For me, scale isn’t the target – it’s the by-product of effectiveness. Do the right things, with the right people, the right way. Then make them faster. In other words: effectiveness first, efficiency second. Remember: the quarterback doesn’t tackle. Every adviser minute should move a client outcome forward; everything else belongs with the engine room.

I use a simple benchmark to keep us honest: four client meetings a day, five days a week, 40 weeks a year – 800 meetings. It’s not a hero number; it’s a focus number. If we’re well below it, something is dragging the chain. If we’re well above it, we verify that quality hasn’t slipped and sanity check adviser loads.

Once the system is steady, match talent to roles. We rarely hire from within the industry; we hire for mindset, potential and cultural fit – then train for skills. Put the detail-minded where accuracy compounds value, and the fast movers where triage and momentum matter. Done well, quality rises while rework falls.

Bottom line: the stack is useful but the system is what scales. Build the system to deliver the experience you promise, use technology to accelerate it, and put people in roles where they can actually win.

The future of scalable advice

We don’t have an adviser shortage – we have an adviser utilisation problem. The capacity exists; it’s trapped. That’s especially true in the regions: communities are spread, needs are diverse, logistics are harder. The answer isn’t more bodies; it’s an end-to-end, systemised process that runs the same way every time so client time scales without quality slipping. Before we flood the system with newcomers who haven’t lived through a market crash or sat with a terminally ill parent, let’s unlock the highly qualified, experienced advisers we already have.

How? Systemise the entire advice process. AI will accelerate that – if the foundations are in place. Otherwise, it’s like giving a home handyman a more powerful drill and pretending you’ve taught carpentry.

Inside a strong operating model, AI will amplify high-agency people, not just advisers – people who know their role, own outcomes, and build mechanisms around their work. Advisers become markedly more productive, serving more clients at lower cost.

Partnerships are the other force multiplier – they create hyper leverage. Don’t just buy from product or service suppliers; find genuine partners whose success naturally lifts yours. Service models ultimately break, so build as many partnerships as you can that carry you on the way to their own successes. This includes clients as referrers and businesses that naturally support yours – accountant COIs, platform providers, and a licensee with resources you can leverage.

Put bluntly, the firms that win from here will do three things. Systemise the work, amplify the people with AI, and let partners add lift.

What I’d do on Monday

From experience, building a scalable advice business comes down to five moves:

1. Start with purpose. Decide who you serve and why – let that drive every operating choice.
2. Redefine every role – especially the adviser’s. System first, then technology, then people (hired on talent and develop to fit the system).
3. Build effective systems, then make them efficient. Do the right things first, then do those things right.
4. Hire for talent, not tenure. Put the right people in trusted roles and let systems and technology carry the rest.
5. Partner for leverage. Choose aligned partners whose success naturally amplifies yours.

That’s how you scale an advice practice that works from the CBD to the cattle grid.

Matt Battye, CEO and financial adviser at Complete Wealth