Recent Articles in PLATINUM MEMBER Library: Weekly Focus

Weekly Focus - November 4, 2015 - "What's the Difference Between Selling and Marketing?"
Nov 4, 2015

To be a successful Financial Advisor means to spend the majority of every working day selling and marketing yourself.  Ironically, two of the most under taught subjects in our field are selling and marketing.  Training generally focuses on products and the mechanics of functioning as an Advisor.  We study the hard skills and then make our living with our soft skills.

Weekly Focus - October 28, 2015 - "Simple is Beautiful; Simplistic is Naive"
Oct 28, 2015

In his book, The Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac wrote these words: "One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple."

This is a quest all Financial Advisors undertake, the search for the simple words which best explain what we are trying to say.  After all, if everyone understood everything you said, you would be the most successful Financial Advisor ever. 

Weekly Focus - October 21, 2015 - "How Much Are You Liked and Trusted?"
Oct 20, 2015

There are many obvious reasons for staying in touch with clients.  But one reason for staying in touch is not so obvious.  Too many clients, at some point, forget why they invested.

Weekly Focus - October 14, 2015 - "How Important is Social Competence to a Financial Advisor? "
Oct 14, 2015

There is an assumption among people that if you lack social competence, you lack competence elsewhere.  That may be unfair, but that's a reality of dealing with the public.  And in our business, a perceived lack of competence is a game changer.

Weekly Focus - October 7, 2015 - "Hard Work is Not a Prison Sentence!"
Oct 7, 2015

I recall reading David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed, a wonderful discussion of the origins of colonial American culture.  His premise is that we had four distinct migrations by four distinct folkways, the Puritans to New England, the English cavaliers to the Chesapeake Bay, the Quakers to the Delaware valley and the Irish and Scottish to Appalachia.

Weekly Focus - September 30, 2015 - "Don't Knock the Competition"
Sep 30, 2015

If you were given sample tastes of four different fine, expensive merlot wines, could you tell the differences? Probably not. If you could, you know a lot about fine wines. Perhaps, even, you're a connoisseur. It takes a connoisseur to detect nuance. The less we know about a subject, the more we see similarities.

Weekly Focus - September 23, 2015 - "Perspective"
Sep 23, 2015

I don't think that many people would argue the premise that Advisors who are typically happy make more money than Advisors who are typically unhappy. Prospecting is easier.  People naturally want to be around happy people and naturally want to stay away from unhappy people.  Dealing with the ups and downs is easier.  Circumstances are less overwhelming in the bad times.  The job is more enjoyable.  An Advisor who doesn't like going to work is going to have a very long day.  Success is easier to attain.  Unhappy people are negative people and negative people tend to quit when things don't go well.

Weekly Focus - September 16, 2015 - "Don't Keep People Guessing"
Sep 16, 2015

When people look at you, what do you want them to think?  How do you want them to feel when they walk away after engaging you?  What is your message?

Weekly Focus - September 9, 2015 - "Fear of Failure"
Sep 9, 2015

Failure and rejection hurt and bouncing back is never easy.  Yet the career you have chosen necessitates failure the majority of the time.  Why would you do that to yourself?

Weekly Focus - September 2, 2015 - "Do You Consider Yourself Different From Other Advisors?"
Sep 2, 2015

As a Financial Advisor, you can't depend upon someone else to pick you up when you are down. You've got to do it yourself.

One critical soft skill every Advisor must nurture is self-awareness; fully understanding your traits, feelings and behaviors.  With that understanding comes self-motivation and, just as importantly, the avoidance of self-sabotage. It is within your grasp to will yourself to greatness.  All the great ones do it. 

Weekly Focus - August 26, 2015 - "They'll Fight Over It When You're Gone"
Aug 26, 2015

I saw something on a website awhile ago so cool that it tipped my decision to buy.  I was surfing for a briefcase and had Google'd leather goods.  I came across a website entitled saddlebackleather.com. The quality of the website and the quality of the products posted on the website were both outstanding.

Weekly Focus - August 19, 2015 - "Listen Up!"
Aug 19, 2015

Financial Advisors can't merely be listeners.  They must be professional listeners.  There's a big difference.  All too often we hear, but we don't listen.

Weekly Focus - August 12, 2015 - "The Right Tool for the Right Job"
Aug 12, 2015

Are mutual funds better than stocks?  Are stocks better than ETF's? Are Treasury Bills better than CD's? Well, is a hammer better than a saw?  Is a belt sander better than a pair of pliers?  Is a screwdriver better than a wrench? 

Weekly Focus - August 5, 2015 - "Just Be That Much Better!"
Aug 5, 2015

I heard someone once say that in horse racing the winner gets a million dollars but the second place horse gets a bale of hay.  Does that mean the first horse is a million times better?  Of course not.  He's really just better by inches.

Weekly Focus - July 29, 2015 - "Decide for Yourself"
Jul 29, 2015

You are not going to become successful by accident.  The fact that you're reading this is proof to me that you know that.  The first step in being successful is deciding to be successful; deciding where you want to end up.  Make that decision yourself.  Don't let anyone else make that decision for you.

Weekly Focus - July 22, 2015 - "Keeping It Simple"
Jul 22, 2015

Einstein's suggestion was to find simplicity out of clutter.  That is very sound advice.  You know intuitively that the simplest presentation is the best one. The simplest story is the one people will remember.

Weekly Focus - July 15, 2015 - "The Right Path is Uphill"
Jul 15, 2015

You'll know when you are on the right path.  It's uphill.  And that's precisely why so few excel, be it in our business or any other vocation.  Most people want the easiest path, the one that doesn't involve hard work.

Weekly Focus - July 8, 2015 - "The Price of Accomplishment"
Jul 7, 2015

The most important coin of our realm is relationship building.  The amount of money you earn and the ultimate value of your business are based upon your ability to create and maintain long term-relationships.  Build those relationships with great care.

Weekly Focus - July 1, 2015 - "You Are the Last Line of Defense"
Jul 1, 2015

The stock market is still one of the most, if not the most, attractive places for a client's money, despite a seemingly endless spate of controversy.   It is, after all, the last place an individual can properly diversify.  The media sells a lot of time, space and articles by implying that disaster lurks just below the surface, waiting to drag down the unsuspecting investor.  That may make for good copy, but it is simply not true.

Weekly Focus - June 24, 2015 - "Words of Wisdom"
Jun 23, 2015

I have a good friend and business coach, Rick Yeattes.   I am constantly learning from Rick and one thing he taught me is that it is necessary to end something before we can begin something new.

Weekly Focus - June 17, 2015 - "This Is One Task You Cannot Delegate"
Jun 16, 2015

Prospecting is the backbone of our business.  In fact, I will argue that it's the most important duty one has to do well in order to go to the top.  The biggest producers in our business are without doubt the best prospectors.
 

Weekly Focus - June 10, 2015 - "Mastering the Job is Not Enough"
Jun 10, 2015

I have noticed on more than one occasion that Advisors who no longer feel compelled to improve simply stop being good at what they do.  Slowing down is not the problem.  Stopping is the problem. 

Weekly Focus - June 3, 2015 - "Penny Wise, Pound Foolish"
Jun 3, 2015

Ed runs his own account.  He pays no Advisor fees or commissions.  His neighbor, George, has a Financial Advisor and pays commissions and fees comparable to a few pennies for each dollar invested.  Ed reads a lot and spends a lot of time doing what he feels is extensive research.  George doesn't do those things.  His Advisor does. 

Weekly Focus - May 27, 2015 - "You and the discounters inhabit two different universes!"
May 27, 2015

The price argument is a feint.  It's never a question of price alone.  People never buy based simply on a lower price.  Rather, it is a question of price versus client-perceived value.

Weekly Focus - May 20, 2015 - "Are Full-Service Advisors Losing Traction?"
May 20, 2015

The world ended in 1974.  Fidelity became the first load mutual fund company to sell funds directly to retail clients by means of a toll-free number.  It also became the first mutual fund company to offer twenty-four hour pricing and free check writing.  It also had a young stud named Peter Lynch about to launch a thirteen-year run that is the stuff of legends.  In 1978, Fidelity upped the ante.  It opened its discount brokerage arm. 

Weekly Focus - May 12, 2015 - "Just How Good a Financial Advisor Are You Expected to Be?"
May 12, 2015

You're expected to be good, really good. But, you're not expected to be perfect.

Apple has a program called 'early field failure analysis.'The day after a product launch, the engineers wait for the inevitable defective units to be returned. The failures are analyzed and the problems are fixed.  The sooner the problems are identified, the less costly the mistakes.

Weekly Focus - May 6, 2015 - "Get a Good Idea and Dog It!"
May 5, 2015

Get a good idea and dog it.  Don't try a referral campaign and give up too early.  You don't bake a cake and check it every minute to see if it's done.  You let it bake.  Too many Advisors change course too early, a lack of patience destroying a good plan.  There is a fine line between giving up too early and enough is enough.

Weekly Focus - April 29, 2015 - "How Much Tenacity Does It Take To Become Successful?"
Apr 28, 2015

How much tenacity does it take to become a successful Financial Advisor?  When is enough enough?  When does tenacity become obsession?  Is being obsessed with making it a bad thing?

Weekly Focus - April 22, 2015 - "The Formula For Successful Investing"
Apr 21, 2015

Here's a vision an Advisor friend creates.  He explains that the formula for successful investing is Q + T + D = R/W.

Weekly Focus - April 15, 2015 - "Create the Right Plan"
Apr 14, 2015

If your clients' goal is a comfortable retirement, showing them a vision story explains in detail what their life will be like if you create the right plan and they stick with it.  Have your clients explain exactly what they plan to do and how they plan to live in retirement, right down to what kind of golf balls they will use and how many times a week they will eat out. Get all the details and then play those details back to them.

Weekly Focus - April 8, 2015 - "The Need for a Vision Story"
Apr 7, 2015

Getting clients to stick with the plan.  Convincing them to maintain a positive attitude in a bad market.  Suggesting that they add money to their accounts in the ensuing years rather than spending the money on material possessions.  Asking them to change behavior, to give up old habits in exchange for new ones.  Insisting they postpone certain gratifications, in some cases for years.  These are big demands.

Weekly Focus - April 1, 2015 - "Rise Above Mediocrity"
Apr 1, 2015

Pay close attention to how you market yourself.  There is a temptation to lay out all we can do at a reasonable price.  To demonstrate our value, we bundle all we have to offer.  I caution you that people see bundled products and services as less valuable than one good thing.  When you bundle everything together and offer an extensive menu of all you can do for someone, you undermine the value of everything.  People will pay more for a single expensive item than they will for everything you can do lumped together.  Bundling undermines value.

Weekly Focus - March 25, 2015 - "Is it necessary to compete on price?"
Mar 24, 2015

I read more and more articles that insist the old ways are dead.  Doing a good job is no longer enough.  It's a Walmart world.  Adjust your pricing in order to remain competitive.  Adapt or die.

Weekly Focus - March 18, 2015 - "Guide Your Clients Away From Bad Investment Decisions"
Mar 18, 2015

There are a number of pitfalls that advisors need to be aware of so they can guide clients.  For instance, clients tend to make simple mathematical mistakes that lead to bad investment decisions.

Psychologist Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, observes that people all too often form a response without checking and without thinking through the answer.  "People are not accustomed to thinking hard and are often content to trust a plausible judgment that comes quickly to mind."

Weekly Focus - March 11, 2015 - "Help Your Clients Understand By Making the Unfamiliar Familiar"
Mar 11, 2015

I read with interest a recent FA Magazine article by Karen Demasters.  The article was entitled Evensky Explains Clients' Irrational Behavior in Detail.  She explained that during a recent webinar, Financial Advisor and executive Harold Evensky pointed out that clients are 'resoundingly' not rational.

Weekly Focus - March 4, 2015 - "Why is keeping it simple so difficult?"
Mar 4, 2015

Did you ever find a quote you love and ask yourself how somebody could say something so cool or so funny or so profound in one sentence?  The quote is so simple and so clear that you just shake your head.  You understand the wisdom immediately. 

Weekly Focus - February 25, 2015 - "The Gift of Confidence'"
Feb 25, 2015

If I could give you one gift, it would be the gift of confidence.  Successful people have all sorts of shared traits, but the one trait that is especially obvious is confidence.  They are so confident that you want to begrudge them, but you admire the ease with which they move through life.  And the confidence has a life of its own. 

Weekly Focus - February 18, 2015 - "Becoming the Trusted Family Advisor'"
Feb 17, 2015

On May 1, 1991, 34 year-old Ricky Henderson set a major league record with his 939th stolen base, breaking Lou Brock's record.  In a post-game interview, he said, "I'm the greatest of all time."

That same day, 44 year-old Nolan Ryan set a major league record with his 7th no hitter.

Was Henderson right in his self-appraisal?  Had he earned the right to call himself the greatest of all time?  Should have he qualified his evaluation, saying he was the greatest base stealer of all time?

Weekly Focus - February 11, 2015 - "My Pet Phrase is 'Repeatable Process'"
Feb 11, 2015

One way to make your life really simple is to have a repeatable process of prospecting and acquiring assets.  A repeatable process will produce repeatable results.  Your goal is consistency, not perfection.

Weekly Focus - February 4, 2015 - "Competitive Advantage"
Feb 4, 2015

When it comes to attracting new clients, are you on an equal footing with your competition?  Hopefully not.  Hopefully you have a competitive advantage. 

A competitive advantage occurs when potential clients see something about you that is significant and marks you as superior to other Advisors.  They prefer to do business with you.

Weekly Focus - January 28, 2015 - "Advisors Must Learn to Tell Stories"
Jan 28, 2015

I urge you to draw compelling word pictures for three reasons. The first is that the more words you use to get your point across, the less people listen. The second is that people zone you out the instant you start talking numbers. The third is that everyone loves and remembers a great story or analogy. There is a Native American proverb that says, 'Tell me a fact and I'll learn. Tell me a truth and I'll believe. Tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.'

Weekly Focus - January 21, 2015 - "So You Want to Gather More Assets? "
Jan 21, 2015

There is not a top Advisor in the world who became a top Advisor because of product knowledge.  Top Advisors don't have more product knowledge than other Advisors.  They became great Advisors because they are remarkably likeable and people want to do business with them.

Weekly Focus - January 14, 2015 - "Why Good Stories Are So Important "
Jan 13, 2015

There is one area you can improve upon immediately that will ensure you open more accounts and gather more assets.  Tighten up your language so that people better understand what you are saying.  Filter that vast reservoir of knowledge you have, so that when you present your ideas to clients and prospects, you are speaking concisely, not abstractly.  You know so much more than they do about this business that it's hard to simplify.  Yet, your ideas are no good if nobody understands them. 

Weekly Focus - January 7, 2015 - "Keep Your Long-Term Focus"
Jan 7, 2015

It's been a strange year with all the unrest in the world; political problems; catastrophes caused by weather; etc.  But, we've ended the year with record high stock prices and the lowest gas prices in many years.  How you respond to all of this will reshape your year.

Weekly Focus - December 31, 2014 - "The Need to Simplify Your Story"
Dec 31, 2014

When I look at all we have to offer the investing public, I can't help but think of Billy Joel singing "We Didn't Start the Fire."  The song is a string of one hundred rapid-fire allusions.  I stopped the above list somewhere between fifty and sixty investment categories.  I could have easily gone to one hundred.  In our anxiety to accumulate assets, we are creating an undecipherable mess.  It's not only our clients who deserve better.  You deserve better.

Weekly Focus - December 24, 2014 - "It's Time to Close the Book on 2014"
Dec 23, 2014

For better or for worse, 2014 is over.  It's time to move on.  Hopefully you had a good year. If you did, you built up momentum.  Don't let up.  Carry that momentum into 2015.  Get off to a great start.  If there's one thing we've all learned, momentum is not guaranteed to last.  It shifts.

Weekly Focus - December 17, 2014 - "How Important is Charisma?"
Dec 16, 2014

"Generate so much loving energy that people just want to come and hang out with you." 

That wise advice comes from Stuart Wilde.  As you well know, I believe that the development of soft skills is far more important to the success of a Financial Advisor than the development of hard skills.  That's what Don Connelly 24/7 is all about.

Weekly Focus - December 10, 2014 - "So You Want to Gather More Assets?"
Dec 10, 2014

There is not a top Advisor in the world who became a top Advisor because of product knowledge.  Top Advisors don't have more product knowledge than other Advisors.  They became great Advisors because they are remarkably likeable and people want to do business with them. 

Weekly Focus - December 3, 2014 - "Find the Time"
Dec 3, 2014

Once upon a time long ago, there was a Financial Advisor who seemed born of myth.  His business ran with machine-like precision.  His skill level was other worldly.  He seemingly had no wasted motion.  One could only guess at the amount of money he controlled.  Normal Advisors couldn't imagine doing the business he did.  He couldn't imagine doing the business normal Advisors did.

Weekly Focus - November 26, 2014 - "The "IT" Factor"
Nov 25, 2014

There is a phrase we use when trying to define something that lacks clearly defined parameters: I know it when I see it. 

That phrase definitely applies to that certain something radiating from outstanding Financial Advisors.  We know they have something, but we can't quite put our finger on it.  The French call this je ne sais quoi, a noun meaning a quality or attribute that is difficult to describe or express.

Weekly Focus - November 19, 2014 - "Being a Blue-Collar Worker In a White-Collar World"
Nov 18, 2014

You are a blue-collar worker in a white-collar world.  You must perform the mundane tasks day in and day out.  The minute you assume that you can skip over something (because your clients already know it) is the minute you begin to fail as an Advisor.

Weekly Focus - November 12, 2014 - "Talking to Your Cat"
Nov 11, 2014

Wedding photographers are overpaid.  The guy who stands at a road repair project holding a sign that says "Stop" on one side and "Slow" on the other has the easiest job in the world. 

Volatility is an investor's friend.  Liquidity is not.

Weekly Focus - November 5, 2014 - "It's Time to Reaffirm the Trust"
Nov 4, 2014

I get asked a lot about calming clients down and getting them re-engaged with their original plans.  They seem to have forgotten why they invested in the first place.  Advisors tell me their clients are looking for answers, but often clients and Advisors alike are baffled by uncertainty and reluctance brought about by not just volatility, but by the volatility of the volatility.

Weekly Focus - October 29, 2014 - "If You Don't Ask, You Can't Be Rejected "
Oct 28, 2014

An Advisor must sell three things, in good times and in bad. The Advisor must first sell the appointment, the Advisor must open the account, and the Advisor must get referrals.  One, two, three and don't miss a step.  I'll bet you a dollar that the inability to close is the number one cause of failure in this industry.  Actually, save your money.  That's a sucker bet.  I know I'm right.  Closing is like prospecting.  It involves fear of rejection, so too many people steer themselves away from the possibility.  And it is flat out not fun.  Eat your vegetables.  Turn off that television.  Ask for the order.

Weekly Focus - October 22, 2014 - "The Curse of the Bell Curve "
Oct 21, 2014

Most people drift along in mediocrity. The reality is that most people don't succeed. Actually, most people don't fail either. They just drift along in mediocrity. They live, as Richard Hoffer described in his Book, American Passion and Defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, "A life without expression; is just another guy, not a single trait or talent to mark him in a crowd." Call it The Curse of the Bell Curve.

Weekly Focus - October 15, 2014 - "Does the Typical FA Make a Big Enough Difference? "
Oct 14, 2014

I have a friend who is an executive with a famous discount broker.  Of course he defends his turf.  He defends it to the point of throwing out a challenge.  Name one thing a full service Advisor can do that we can't do.  The immediate response is to react harshly.  One thing?  I'll name a million things.  Then you start to think about it.  He just might have the typical Financial Advisor over a barrel.

Weekly Focus - October 8, 2014 - "Don't Worry About Things You Can't Control"
Oct 7, 2014

"I am a Financial Advisor looking to work in an environment where the stock market always goes up, interest rates never fluctuate, the economy is robust and people go out of their way to seek out those Financial Advisors with the highest fees."

Why can't life be that way?  Can you imagine how great life would be under those circumstances, how stress free we would all be?

Weekly Focus - October 1, 2014 - "What do you do when the competition is as smart as you are?"
Sep 30, 2014

Daniel Goleman's book, Emotional Intelligence, is chock full of wonderful insights and information.  He makes the argument that IQ has a lot to do with where we end up in life, but it is far from being the sole determinant.  There are lots of very bright people with poor careers and broken relationships.  But it's still very important, up to a point. 

Weekly Focus - September 24, 2014 - "Interpersonal Skills "
Sep 23, 2014

A successful Advisor is a very skilled person, especially when it comes to soft skills.  He or she has a high EQ.   EQ is basically a measure of a person's ability to get along with others.  In short, top-tier Advisors have great soft skills.

Weekly Focus - September 17, 2014 - "How Much Practice Is Enough? "
Sep 16, 2014

I'm guessing that the average Financial Advisor has under management somewhere between thirty and forty million dollars.  It's not easy to get there.  Yet some Advisors manage $500 million and even $1 billion in assets.  How does someone do that?  Is the Advisor at that level especially gifted?  Is he an outlier?  Does she know something nobody else knows?  Is it in her DNA, there since birth?  Is one Advisor thirty times better than another Advisor?

Weekly Focus - September 10, 2014 - "Financial Advisors Self-Sabotage"
Sep 9, 2014

The median annual family income in America is approximately $50,000.  The median annual income for a Financial Advisor in America is nearly $100,000. If you, the Advisor, make $100,000 a year, are you ordinary or are you extraordinary?

Weekly Focus - September 3, 2014 - "A Blinding Flash of the Obvious"
Sep 2, 2014

A few years ago J. D. Powers released the results of an investor satisfaction survey.  Not surprising, it showed that client satisfaction had improved substantially from the market bottom in 2009. However some firms still scored poorly.

Weekly Focus - August 27, 2014 - "Everything's Different. Nothing's Changed."
Aug 27, 2014

Seemingly every day brings a new disaster.  A few years ago, it was the Wall Street Crisis. Then it was the government shutdown.  Now it's Isil and Syria.  Change is always in the air. Well, that's not entirely true.  Let me remind you again of two things that will never change.

Weekly Focus - August 20, 2014 - "What Is It About A Raconteur?"
Aug 19, 2014

Make it your goal in the next twelve months to become a raconteur.  I assure you your life will change.  Why should you?  Your popularity will soar.  Can you?  Yes.  

The world loves raconteurs, people who are skilled at telling stories and employing anecdotes.  Mark Twain, Walt Disney, Aesop, Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimm brothers are among the best ever.  David Niven, Dominick Dunne and Ambrose Bierce were delightful characters.  Garrison Keillor tells stories and the late Tim Russert made his point with white boards; great communicators all.

Weekly Focus - August 13, 2014 - "Could Your Presentation Be Better?"
Aug 12, 2014

I don't think I've ever heard an Advisor talk about his or her presentation and I think I know why that is.  Our presentation is easy to take for granted.  After all, how hard can it be?  It's just a matter of relaying the facts

Weekly Focus - August 6, 2014 - "Would Your Practice Be Missed?"
Aug 5, 2014

How upset would you be if your dry cleaner went out of business tomorrow?  Would you and all the other customers gather tomorrow night to light candles and place wreaths on the doorstep?  No.  You'd find another dry cleaner and life would go on.  Maybe your guy's location was great.  Maybe he folded your shirts in a way you really liked.  But, in the final analysis, one dry cleaner is pretty much like any other dry cleaner.  With few exceptions, they all do the same thing and most of them make a decent living.  But how many stand out?

Weekly Focus - July 30, 2014 - "Just A Reminder"
Jul 29, 2014

The financial services industry refers to the high end of the mass market as the mass affluent. This segment of American society is made up of individuals with $100,000 to $1,000,000 of liquid financial assets. These people spend less than they make and they invest the difference.

Weekly Focus - July 23, 2014 - "How To Stay On Track With Uncertainty In The Air"
Jul 22, 2014

The ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, postulated that change is central to the universe and that change is the only constant we can count on. That's certainly true in today's world. The constant flow of information hits us in the face every morning, making us aware how much the world changed while we slept. Change is so rapid that it's hard to impress us anymore with just normal change.

Weekly Focus - July 16, 2014 - "Everybody Tells You What To Do"
Jul 15, 2014

Don't tell me what to do. I just got an industry newsletter telling me to take advantage of what will turn out to be, in retrospect, one of the greatest buying opportunities ever. I was told to call my clients right away. I got one the other day telling me that this time things were not different and I should act accordingly. I was told to call my clients right away. I got yet another one last week warning me to beware of what will turn out to be a trap for the bulls. I was told to call my clients right away.

Weekly Focus - July 8, 2014 - "The 12" Ruler"
Jul 8, 2014

A friend in Louisiana is a storyteller, capable of wonderful great word pictures.  Here's an idea he uses with great success. 

Weekly Focus - July 2, 2014 - "Why Good Stories Are So Important"
Jul 1, 2014

There is one area you can improve upon immediately that will ensure you open more accounts and gather more assets. Tighten up your language so that people better understand what you are saying. Filter that vast reservoir of knowledge you have, so that when you present your ideas to clients and prospects, you are speaking concisely, not abstractly. You know so much more than they do about this business that it's hard to simplify. Yet, your ideas are no good if nobody understands them.

Weekly Focus - June 25, 2014 - "A Strong Referral Is The Best Way To Move Forward"
Jun 24, 2014

Referrals are integral to growing your business. You can only acquire new assets from three people going forward: existing clients, people you know who are not yet clients and people you don't yet know.

Weekly Focus - June 18, 2014 - "Let the Sifting Begin"
Jun 17, 2014

Do you know what you want to accomplish and where you want to go to accomplish it? Let the sifting begin. It is important that you know from here on who is and who is not a prospect. A person who has a financial need, who is ready to act, who is a decision maker and who has the money available is not a prospect. Sorry. A prospect is a person who has a financial need, who is ready to act, who is a decision maker, who has the money available and who values your opinion.

Weekly Focus - June 11, 2014 - "Just Do It!"
Jun 10, 2014

Success in any endeavor results from learning to do something right and then doing it right every time. The more consistently you perform, the better you get. The better you get, the higher you go. That's true of retina surgeons, that's true of mathematical technicians and that's true of Financial Advisors.

Weekly Focus - June 4, 2014 - "Take a Tip from a Pro"
Jun 3, 2014

You are a Financial Services professional. My friend Teddy is a golf professional. You and Teddy have a lot in common.

The similarities. For instance, most golf professionals possess similar knowledge. The highest paid and most successful ones are the better communicators. The same is true of Financial Advisors.

Weekly Focus - May 28, 2014 - "There Is No Silver Bullet for Prospecting"
May 27, 2014

Deserving and earning our clients' trust is still the surest path to introductions. The burden is on the Advisor to make sure he or she is referable. I refer my friends to my doctor because I like my doctor and I trust him. I have complete confidence that my friends will be better off knowing him. I know they will have a rewarding and beneficial experience just by sitting with him. He is eminently referable. I want them to meet him.

Weekly Focus - May 21, 2014 - "Don't Let Corporate-Speak Kill You!"
May 20, 2014

I have a hyperactive gag reflex when I get around corporate-speak. A few years ago, I sat in a meeting during which a senior executive of a very large firm told the attendees that we were all in a new paradigm.

Weekly Focus - May 14, 2014 - "What Should Advisors Be Practicing?"
May 8, 2014

We know golfers practice grip, stance and alignment all day every day, if they want to be great. They make it a habit, just like brushing their teeth in the morning. We know pitchers practice keeping the ball low all day every day, if they want to be great. They make it a habit, no different than taking a shower every morning.

Weekly Focus - May 7, 2014 - "Excellence Is a Habit"
May 6, 2014

You've probably heard me say this before: Top tier Advisors are blue-collar workers in a white-collar world. They weren't born top tier Advisors. They became top tier by practicing their trade day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out.

Weekly Focus - April 30, 2014 - "Why is Greatness Reserved for So Few?"
Apr 29, 2014

Achieving greatness has very little to do with talent and a lot to do with hard work. That's why so few Advisors become great. It's too demanding and it takes too long. As time passes, most Advisors stop developing their skills and stop getting better.

Weekly Focus - April, 23, 2014 - "Can you will yourself to greatness?"
Apr 22, 2014

As a Financial Advisor, you can't depend upon someone else to pick you up when you are down. You've got to do it yourself.

Weekly Focus - April 15, 2014 - "Keep to the Point!"
Apr 15, 2014

I don't think I've ever heard an Advisor talk about his or her presentation and I think I know why that is. Our presentation is easy to take for granted. After all, how hard can it be? Isn't it just a matter of relaying the facts? Actually, it's a lot more than that.

Weekly Focus - April 9, 2014 - "Be a Person of Action"
Apr 8, 2014

The pressure to make a living as a Financial Advisor can be and often is overwhelming. We are torn between taking the time to build a long-term business and earning a living right now. The obstacles we face are legendary; not seeing enough people, too many Advisors chasing too few wealthy individuals and not having a steady income, to name a few.

Weekly Focus - April 2, 2014 - "Align Your Priorities"
Apr 1, 2014

As you go about mastering your craft, have your priorities in order. I am convinced that the number one priority in the Financial Services industry is the need to be an effective communicator.

Weekly Focus - March 26, 2014 - "Is your service less than exceptional?"
Mar 26, 2014

I see an out-of-control train heading right at us. The name of the train is Poor Customer Service.

Weekly Focus - March 19, 2014 - "I can't invest now because . . . "
Mar 18, 2014

There is so much uncertainty in investing that people look for reasons to postpone the decision. For every reason you can think of to invest, your clients and prospects can think of a reason not to invest.

Weekly Focus - March 12, 2014 - "Recognize when it's time to move on"
Mar 11, 2014

Prospecting is the backbone of our business, but you don't need to chase an individual ad infinitum. How much is enough? That's up to you to decide. But I will remind you that you are in a position to change someone's life forever. Because of you, kids can go to college and not borrow money. Because of you, people can retire to Florida or Arizona and not continually worry about money.

Weekly Focus - March 5, 2014 - "Salesmanship"
Mar 5, 2014

We tend to get the same objections over and over: "The timing just isn't right for me", "I already have an Advisor" and "I'm not interested". It is difficult to answer a comment. Turn the comment into a question and answer the question.

Weekly Focus - February 26, 2014 - "Be Enthusiastic!"
Mar 4, 2014

Four suggestions, if I may.

Weekly Focus - February 19, 2014 - "Attitude"
Feb 25, 2014

As I've told you often, I have never met a successful pessimist. I unequivocally believe that attitude is everything. There is no more powerful Advisor than the one who loves this business. When you are in love, you are passionate. Like enthusiasm, passion is contagious. People will feed off your passion. Nobody wants to associate with a negative person.

Weekly Focus - February 12, 2014 - "What's the difference between selling and marketing?"
Feb 18, 2014

To be a successful Financial Advisor means to spend the majority of every working day selling and marketing yourself. Ironically, two of the most under taught subjects in our field are selling and marketing. Training generally focuses on products and the mechanics of functioning as an Advisor. We study the hard skills and then make our living with our soft skills.

Weekly Focus - February 5, 2014 - "Time, the Great Equalizer"
Feb 11, 2014

Thinking long-term is easier said than done. All clients set out upon their investment journeys with the noblest of intentions and the same mantra: "I am a long-term investor. I am a long-term investor. I am a long-term investor."

Weekly Focus - January 29, 2014 - "It's Okay to be Uncool"
Feb 4, 2014

Have you ever been in a situation where someone is angry and you put the blame for their anger squarely on your own shoulders? Did you ever say 'I'm sorry' when it wasn't your fault? Did you ever beat yourself up because you tried to ask for referrals and ended up saying something you thought was stupid? Did you ever feel badly about yourself because somebody else was upset with you? All those actions are the result of a poor self-image.

Weekly Focus - January 22, 2014 - "Simple is Beautiful, Simplistic is Naive"
Jan 28, 2014

Clients don't understand much of what we say. They just nod like they understand. I think in a lot of cases, we intimidate people with our knowledge.

Weekly Focus - January 14, 2014 - "Practice for the Right Reasons"
Jan 21, 2014

The key to succeeding at anything is to learn to do something right and then do it right every time. That, of course, is easier said than done. Too few people have the competitiveness to practice on a day-in and day-out basis.

Weekly Focus - January 8, 2014 - "How much are you liked and trusted?"
Jan 14, 2014

There are many obvious reasons for staying in touch with clients. But one reason for staying in touch is not so obvious. Too many clients, at some point, forget why they invested. Perhaps, at times, success in the short-term has made them overly-confident. They feel it makes sense to get more aggressive. Or, conversely, perhaps the incessant reporting of current events has made them overly cautious. Either way, it's up to you to put out the fire.

Weekly Focus - January 2, 2014 - "Goal Setting"
Jan 7, 2014

The beginning of a given year is the time to rewrite our goals, our mission statement and our business plan. For some of us that will involve a major overhaul and for some of us it will involve a tweak. For all of us, it will be a thought-provoking experience.

Weekly Focus - December 23, 2013 - "Is It Time to Try Something Different?"
Jan 1, 2014

I urge you to learn how to make good decisions. The path to success is a deliberate one. It involves a lot of hard work and a lot of hard decisions. Nobody gets successful by accident. For you to become successful, you've got to take action. The first step, as basic as it sounds, is to decide to become successful. If you're focused, your day won't slip away. You will account for your time.

Weekly Focus - December 18, 2013 - "How Important Is Social Competence to a Financial Advisor?"
Dec 22, 2013

There is an assumption among people that if you lack social competence, you lack competence elsewhere. That may be unfair, but that's a reality of dealing with the public. And in our business, a perceived lack of competence is a game changer.

Weekly Focus - December 11, 2013 - "Hard work is not a prison sentence"
Dec 17, 2013

I recall reading David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed, a wonderful discussion of the origins of colonial American culture. His premise is that we had four distinct migrations by four distinct folkways, the Puritans to New England, the English cavaliers to the Chesapeake Bay, the Quakers to the Delaware valley and the Irish and Scottish to Appalachia.

Weekly Focus - December 4, 2013 - "Don't knock the competition"
Dec 10, 2013

If you were given sample tastes of four different fine, expensive merlot wines, could you tell the differences? Probably not. If you could, you know a lot about fine wines. Perhaps, even, you’re a connoisseur. It takes a connoisseur to detect nuance. The less we know about a subject, the more we see similarities.

Weekly Focus - November 26, 2013 - "Perspective"
Dec 3, 2013

I don’t think that many people would argue the premise that Advisors who are typically happy make more money than Advisors who are typically unhappy. Prospecting is easier. People naturally want to be around happy people and naturally want to stay away from unhappy people.

Weekly Focus - November 20, 2013 - "Don't Keep People Guessing"
Nov 26, 2013

When people look at you, what do you want them to think? How do you want them to feel when they walk away after engaging you? What is your message?

 

Weekly Focus - November 13, 2013 - "Fear of Failure"
Nov 19, 2013

Failure and rejection hurt and bouncing back is never easy. Yet the career you have chosen necessitates failure the majority of the time. Why would you do that to yourself?

Obviously you do it because the rewards outweigh the risks. It never gets easy, but it does get easier. The longer you are in this business, the better you get. The better you get, the more frequent the victories. But even the best Advisors in the world deal with failure on a daily basis.

Weekly Focus - November 6, 2013 - "Do you consider yourself different from other Advisors?"
Nov 12, 2013

As a Financial Advisor, you can't depend upon someone else to pick you up when you are down. You've got to do it yourself.

One critical soft skill every Advisor must nurture is self-awareness; fully understanding your traits feelings and behaviors. With that understanding come self-motivation and, just as importantly, the avoidance of self-sabotage.

Weekly Focus - October 30, 2013 - "They'll fight over it when you're dead"
Nov 5, 2013

I saw something on a website awhile ago so cool that it tipped my decision to buy. I was surfing for a briefcase and had Google'd leather goods. I came across a website entitled saddlebackleather.com. The quality of the website and the quality of the products posted on the website were both outstanding. But that's not what tipped me. On this website, there is a section called "Our Rivals."

Weekly Focus - October 23, 2013 - "Listen Up"
Oct 29, 2013

Financial Advisors can’t merely be listeners. They must be professional listeners. There’s a big difference. All too often we hear, but we don’t listen. Consider the following observations:

"No one ever listened themselves out of a job" – Calvin Coolidge

Weekly Focus - October 16, 2013 - "The Right Tool for the Right Job"
Oct 22, 2013

Are mutual funds better than stocks? Are stocks better than ETF's? Are Treasury Bills better than CD's? Well, is a hammer better than a saw? Is a belt sander better than a pair of pliers? Is a screwdriver better than a wrench? The fact is that all of these tools are all designed for specific jobs.

Weekly Focus - October 9, 2013 - "I Need More Information"
Oct 15, 2013

Every hesitant prospect will tell you that he or she needs more information in order to make a decision. They'll never get it. If they had all the information they needed, it would not be a decision. It would be a foregone conclusion. This is where your power of persuasion enters the picture.

Weekly Focus - October 2, 2013 - "Just Be THAT Much Better"
Oct 8, 2013

I heard someone once say that in horse racing the winner gets a million dollars but the second place horse gets a bale of hay. Does that mean the first horse is a million times better? Of course not. He's really just better by inches.

Weekly Focus - September 25, 2013 - "Decide for Yourself"
Oct 1, 2013

You are not going to become successful by accident. The fact that you're reading this is proof to me that you know that.  The first step in being successful is deciding to be successful; deciding where you want to end up. Make that decision yourself. Don't let anyone else make that decision for you.

Weekly Focus - September 18, 2013 - "Keeping It Simple"
Sep 24, 2013

Einstein's suggestion was to find simplicity out of clutter. That is very sound advice. You know intuitively that the simplest presentation is the best one. The simplest story is the one people will remember.

Weekly Focus - September 13, 2013 - "The Right Path is Uphill"
Sep 17, 2013

You'll know when you are on the right path. It's uphill. And that's precisely why so few excel, be it in our business or any other vocation. Most people want the easiest path, the one that doesn't involve hard work. Work hard every day, settle in for the long haul and be patient. Attack the obstacles in your way. Use your talents. Having talent and not using it is the same as having no talent at all. In short, do those things unsuccessful people are not willing to do.

Weekly Focus - September 4, 2013 - "The Price of Accomplishment "
Sep 10, 2013

The most important coin of our realm is relationship building.  The amount of money you earn and the ultimate value of your business are based upon your ability to create and maintain long term-relationships.  Build those relationships with great care.  There is a Slovenian proverb that says what you build easily will fall quickly.

Weekly Focus - August 27, 2013 - "You Are the Last Line of Defense"
Sep 3, 2013

The stock market is still one of the most, if not the most, attractive places for a client's money, despite a seemingly endless spate of controversy. It is, after all, the last place an individual can properly diversify. The media sells a lot of time, space and articles by implying that disaster lurks just below the surface, waiting to drag down the unsuspecting investor.

Weekly Focus - August 21, 2013 - "It Just Feels Good to Chase Near Term Performance"
Aug 27, 2013

The time to buy stock is when it hurts the most.
The deeper the market goes, the safer it is.
Two-star funds probably have more upside potential than five-star funds.
We slash our prices and people run away. How about that?

Weekly Focus - August 14, 2013 - "Words of Wisdom"
Aug 20, 2013

I have a good friend and business coach, Rick Yeattes. I am constantly learning from Rick and one thing he taught me is that it is necessary to end something before we can begin something new. If we don't end the things that are bothering us, we end up carrying so much baggage that we eventually become dysfunctional.

Weekly Focus - July 28, 2013 - "I'm Not Cut Out for Greatness"
Aug 6, 2013

Achieving greatness has very little to do with talent and a lot to do with hard work. That's why so few people in any field become great. It's too demanding and it takes too long. That's true with Financial Advisors and wholesalers. As time passes, most Advisors and wholesalers stop developing their skills and stop getting better.

Weekly Focus - July 24, 2013 - "Make Sure You Prospect Every Day"
Aug 4, 2013

Prospecting is the backbone of our business. In fact, I will argue that it's the most important duty one has to do well in order to go to the top. The biggest producers in our business are without doubt the best prospectors. No matter how good you are, you will not succeed if people don't know who you are and what you can do for them.

Weekly Focus - July 17, 2013 - "Mastering the Job is Not Enough"
Aug 4, 2013

I have noticed on more than one occasion that Advisors who no longer feel compelled to improve simply stop being good at what they do. Slowing down is not the problem. Stopping is the problem.  I see too many talented people fall by the wayside.

Weekly Focus - July 10, 2013 - "Penny Wise, Pound Foolish"
Aug 4, 2013

Ed runs his own account. He pays no Advisor fees or commissions. His neighbor, George, has a Financial Advisor and pays commissions and fees comparable to a few pennies for each dollar invested. Ed reads a lot and spends a lot of time doing what he feels is extensive research.; George doesn't do those things. His Advisor does.