The Decisions Advisors Make in December Determine Their 2026 Wins
December isn’t the end of the year for financial advisors — it’s the beginning of their 2026 momentum. While most advisors slow down, the ones who win use this month to create conversations, clarify intentions, and build daily habits that compound. In this blog, Trent Fortner breaks down the exact questions, outreach strategies, and daily actions that set elite advisors up for their strongest year yet.
If you want to know whether an advisor is going to win in 2026, you don’t need to look at their goals, their vision board, or their business plan.
Just look at their calendar.
The calendar never lies. It tells you who’s building momentum and who’s coasting. It tells you who’s intentionally creating their future and who’s waiting for January to “feel ready.”
And December is the month when the gap becomes obvious.
Some advisors slow down, disappear into the holiday haze, and convince themselves that taking it easy now means they’ll magically hit the ground running on January 1st.
Others, the courageous ones, use December to get ahead. They fill January before January even arrives. They choose to show up differently while everyone else is taking their foot off the gas.
Because here’s the truth, most people don’t want to say out loud: Winning is an everyday decision, and so is losing.
Every day you choose what you focus on, and that focus determines the business and life you create.
So the real question is this: What kind of future are you choosing right now?
The One Question Advisors Should Ask Every Prospect in December
This month, I’ve been giving advisors one specific question — and it’s transforming the conversations they’re having.
It’s simple, it’s disarming, and it opens the door to the kind of long-term, high-trust discussions that differentiate real professionals from transactional salespeople.
“What choices did you make financially in 2025 that you know with certainty you will be proud of in 2050?”
People don’t expect this question.
It catches them in reflection mode, which December naturally brings.
It interrupts autopilot thinking.
It gets them thinking about future identity, not present convenience.
And most importantly, it positions you not as someone trying to sell something, but as someone helping them align their life with their values, their future, and their long-term outcomes.
In one single question, you step into the role of strategist, guide, and advocate.
Clients feel that. Prospects feel that.
And they respond.
Where to Find 20 Conversations Right Now
Every advisor wants more conversations. But most advisors underestimate how much opportunity is already sitting in front of them, untouched.
If you want 2–3 new conversations by tomorrow, here’s the simplest way:
- Pick 20 people from the list below.
- Send a short message plus the 2050 question.
- Watch what happens.
1. Your “Silent List”
People who opened your emails but didn’t reply.
They’re warm. They’ve already leaned in.
2. LinkedIn Profile Viewers from the Last Two Weeks
If they clicked your profile, curiosity is already activated.
Send a brief DM version.
3. Clients You Haven’t Reviewed Since 2022–2024
They’re overdue.
Year-end timing + long-term clarity = easy, welcomed outreach.
4. Anyone Who Told You “Next Year” in 2024 or 2025
Well, it is next year.
Use that line exactly as is.
5. Parents with Kids Under 10
2050 is their kids’ college years, their adult lives, and their legacy.
This question hits emotionally and responsibly.
6. People Who Mentioned Taxes, Inflation, or Market Confusion Recently
They’re already mentally in finance mode.
You offer direction and confidence.
7. Gym Members, Coaches, or Habit-Focused People You See Regularly
Future-self framing resonates deeply with people who think in routines.
8. Local Business Owners Preparing for Q1
They’re already in planning season.
Your timing couldn’t be better.
9. Real Estate Agents Who Had a Tough 2025
Volatile year, tight inventory, unpredictable closings.
They want stability and a strategy moving into 2026.
10. People Who Had Major Life Events This Year
Marriage, birth, death, divorce, job change — these moments create windows for meaningful financial conversations.
Send 20 messages today.
Even at a 10% response rate, you’ll have 2–3 new conversations by tomorrow.
And those conversations become January wins.
A Daily Momentum System Every Advisor Should Use
One thing I teach inside all my coaching programs is this: Momentum is built, not found.
Most advisors wait for motivation. High-performing advisors create it through intentional daily actions.
To make this simple and repeatable, I give advisors two frameworks — Morning Promises and Evening Results — that keep your activity focused and your progress honest.
Use these every day for the rest of December, and watch what happens to your pipeline, consistency, and confidence going into 2026.
MORNING PROMISES — Set Your Daily Direction
Every morning, answer these three questions:
- Who will I invite to an introductory conversation today?
- Who will I schedule a strategy session with today?
- Who will I obtain referrals from today?
These questions eliminate “busy work” disguised as productivity.
They force intentional action instead of reactive behavior.
If you answer these every morning, you’ll never have a “slow week” again.
EVENING RESULTS — Tell the Truth About Your Day
Before you shut down for the night, ask:
- What did I actually accomplish today?
- How many introductory conversations did I schedule or complete?
- How many strategy sessions did I move prospects into?
- How many referrals did I obtain, and from whom?
- Where did I win? Where did I fall short?
- What will I do differently tomorrow to advance with excellence?
This process creates accountability, clarity, and continuous forward motion.
It exposes the truth.
And the truth is what creates change.
The Advisors Who Win 2026 Are Already Acting Like It’s 2027
This is the real separator.
Average advisors wait.
They pause.
They “gear up.”
They’ll get ready soon.
They’ll follow up later.
They’ll start fresh in January.
Winning advisors do something different:
They move now. They build now. They act now, while everyone else is slowing down.
Because December isn’t the end of the year, it’s the start of your next one.
If you want 2026 to feel different, you have to behave differently right now.
Make the future proud of the choices you’re making today.
And if you want support, structure, and coaching that remove resistance in your sales conversations and elevate you to courageous action every day, explore my programs at trentfortner.com.