March 20, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Clients, as we’ve discussed in the past, love word pictures. What we find very, very simple, people find very, very difficult to comprehend. This is much the same as you and I having difficult time understanding two lawyers when they talk. It’s because of lingo.
Because our lingo in the financial services industry is just as confusing to people you need to use stories when communicating to current and prospective clients. So tell them stories.
Read more
Differentiate Yourself by Seeing Things from Your Clients’ Point of View
March 23, 2015 / by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
Differentiation is one of the biggest challenges financial advisors face. Clients expect you to have solid products, fair prices and a certain measure of performance as standard. But simply having the right credentials won’t demonstrate to them why you are uniquely placed to help them achieve their dreams and goals. If you really want to stand out from the competition you need to fulfill their expectations on another level. Among other attributes, you need to have empathy; the ability to see things from your clients’ point of view.
Read more
The 7 Essential Traits of Successful Financial Advisors
March 5, 2015 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices, What's New / 0 comments
On our February 24, 2015 webinar, our special guest was Dave Hubbard, President and owner of Exemplar Financial Network. Over the past thirty years, Dave has built a thriving firm of more than one hundred Advisors. But Dave is far more than a successful Advisor and business owner. He is also an acclaimed coach who has helped hundreds of Financial Advisors fulfill their potential.
The title of this particular webinar was ‘The Seven Essential Traits of Successful Advisors.’ Dave enumerated and elaborated upon the most common shared qualities among the successful Advisors he knows.
Read more
5 Ways Storytelling Helps Financial Advisors Succeed
August 14, 2014 / by Kirti Anand Sharma / Connelly Corner, Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Think about the last “Great Presentation” you attended, where you felt as if the speaker was speaking your mind. How did this experience make you feel about the presenter?
Did you think he or she was so smart? Were you moved to ask for their business card or connect over LinkedIn? Or maybe you just walked up to say how much you loved their presentation? When you went back home, did you share your experience with someone?
For a truly great presentation, I believe the answer to at least one of these questions would be a “Yes”.
Read more
How You Present Is as Important as the Information You Are Presenting
July 17, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
The facts and figures you present to your clients may not be as important as you think they are. Clients don’t want more information. Clients want someone they can trust. While you are giving your presentation, they are not deciding on the accuracy of the numbers. They are deciding about you. Can I trust you? Will you always do the right thing? What are your values? Are you on my side? They need to trust you, not the numbers.
How you say something is as important as what you say.
Read more
Emotional Intelligence Enables Us to Manage The Emotions of Others
June 16, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
You and I like to think of ourselves as objective thinkers. We try to put our emotions aside. We live in a world of research and numbers. Our recommendations are black and white. Investment results are there for all to see. Our advice is either good or bad. The plans we recommend either work or they don’t. Clients say yes or no. We open the account or we don’t.
Our clients, on the other hand, are subjective thinkers.
Read more
Why Storytelling Is Important for Financial Advisors
April 17, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Don Guest Authoring at..., Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Today we’ll share the latest post Don Connelly wrote for Financial Advisor Magazine – it’s about storytelling and more specifically, why storytelling is important for Financial Advisors.
You are not judged by what you say. You are judged by what the other person hears. That’s one reason of many why you should become a great storyteller. Stories help you get your point across better than any other form of communication. Stories stir emotions.
Read more
Tell Simple Stories
March 20, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Clients, as we’ve discussed in the past, love word pictures. What we find very, very simple, people find very, very difficult to comprehend. This is much the same as you and I having difficult time understanding two lawyers when they talk. It’s because of lingo.
Because our lingo in the financial services industry is just as confusing to people you need to use stories when communicating to current and prospective clients. So tell them stories.
Read more
Every Advisor Needs to Bring Back the Story
February 13, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills, Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 3 comments
The ability to tell good stories is vital if you want people to like and trust you. Your clients like you and trust you. They didn’t buy a financial plan or a managed account. They bought you.
People can’t ‘buy’ you until they know you and the best way to get to know you is to hear your story. And they can’t hear your story until you tell it to them. The better you do that, the sooner you open the account. As Peter Guber says, you tell to win.
Read more
The More Words You Use to Get Your Point Across, the Less People Listen
January 13, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
Have you noticed that the more a person talks, the less connected to the listener he or she seems to be? There is no give and take. People like that think the listener finds them as fascinating as they find themselves. They are not fascinating. They are boring.
In your role as a Financial Advisor, talking too much is the kiss of death.
Read more