have a plan Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

Financial Advisors Sabotage Their Success Through Getting Ready to Get Ready

January 23, 2023 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

I’ve seen it dozens of times. Financial advisors sitting at their desks, looking busy, immersed in their work, shuffling papers, searching the internet, and reading reports. Sometimes it seems to go on for hours, even days, leaving me to wonder what they’re working towards. But one look at their production records tells the tale. There is a strong likelihood they’re working on getting ready to get ready to do what they know must be done but can’t seem to pull the trigger to get it done.

I’ve come across many advisors who consider themselves “perfectionists,” the type of people who feel the need to ensure everything is in order before attempting the task at hand, be it making calls to prospects, dealing with an irate client, or making a critical presentation to a wavering prospect. As we all know, “perfect is the enemy of the good,” which is good enough for most people.

If we wait until everything is ready before starting a task, we’ll probably never get started. Consider the analogy of a person starting their car and waiting in their driveway for all the lights on their route to turn green. They’ll probably never leave their driveway. Maybe that’s the point.

Automated Marketing for Financial Advisors – 5 Ways to Improve Your Practice

August 3, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

For many business owners marketing is tough and likely not the reason they started their business in the first place! As a Financial Advisor, your work is primarily focused on money management and building client relationships, not marketing. Having said that, a proactive and well-planned marketing initiative can go a long way in improving and growing your practice, so you can do more of what you love.

What Happens If You’re Not Brilliant at The Basics?

February 22, 2016 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Only a tiny percentage of financial advisors get to the top and there’s no mystery about how they got there. It’s because they did what unsuccessful advisors didn’t: they became brilliant at the basics.

Unless you nail the basics there’s no way you can become an elite advisor. If you don’t set goals, work hard, organize your time efficiently and practice your soft skills to perfection you won’t have the underlying tools to take your business to the next level.

There are no shortcuts to getting the basics right. It will take time, years in fact. But if you don’t put in the effort, you won’t reap the rewards. If you don’t get brilliant at the basics your career will fizzle out long before you achieve success. Here’s a look at some of the basics and what happens when you don’t get them right.

What’s the Journey of the Successful Advisor Like?

February 1, 2016 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Developing a career as a financial advisor is not for the fainthearted. There are plenty of pitfalls to look out for along the way. New advisors often lack the essential soft skills they need to hit the ground running while others embark on the journey without a clear roadmap or measurable goals to guide them.

Here’s a look at how successful advisors navigate their way to success.

How to Become a Successful Financial Advisor

August 10, 2015 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 2 comments

There are lots of average financial advisors out there, but very few great ones. And it may surprise you to learn that those that do get to the top rarely get there on talent alone. Successful advisors do however share certain attributes and have a work ethic that marks them out. They have a clear vision, work hard and never stop developing their skills.

Here are five things you must do if you want to be a successful financial advisor.