Don Connelly, Soft Skills Trainer for Financial Professionals

Don A. Connelly is a speaker, motivator and educator for financial advisors. During a career of more than 40 years on Wall Street, he worked for nearly 19 years as company spokesperson, senior vice president and senior marketing officer for Putnam Investments, in addition to holding positions as a stock broker, financial planner, branch manager, wholesaler and national sales manager. As founder and CEO of Don Connelly 24/7, he provides timely and provocative sales ideas to thousands of financial professionals, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: Enhancing Collaboration Among Financial Advisory Teams

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As we’ve posted before, Emotional Intelligence (EI), the ability to understand and manage one’s emotions while being sensitive to the emotions of others, is a critical factor in a financial advisor’s success. Advisors with strong EI are more adept at navigating sensitive conversations, helping clients overcome anxieties, and recognizing underlying fears or hopes that are explicitly communicated.

With sharper emotional acuity, they are able to build stronger and more enduring trust-based relationships.

For those same reasons, emotional intelligence in the workplace is also a critical factor for success. Studies show that teams with high EI outperform those with low EI by up to 20%. While financial advisors focus on building emotional intelligence for client relationships, their role in fostering effective team collaboration is just as vital.

Strong EI within advisory teams leads to improved communication, trust, and resilience—key elements for navigating high-stakes decisions and complex financial strategies. This post explores how financial advisory teams can harness emotional intelligence to enhance collaboration, improve team dynamics, and drive business success.

Leveraging Social Proof: How Financial Advisors Can Use Client Testimonials and Case Studies to Engage Millennial Investors

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It’s well established that many millennials almost entirely rely on the internet for their daily consumption of information and social engagement. They would rather seek information for themselves than be told what is true. For these digital natives, if it can’t be found on the Web, it doesn’t exist. Or, if it can’t be validated through a quick internet search, it is not to be trusted.

It’s also true that millennials trust reviews and peer recommendations more than any other generation. According to BrightLocal, 91% of millennials rely on online reviews to make purchasing decisions—a trend that extends to choosing financial advisors. This reliance on social proof underscores the need for financial advisors to adapt their marketing strategies.

Social proof, the concept that people look to others’ actions or opinions to inform their own, is a powerful tool for building credibility and trust. This article explores how financial advisors can leverage client testimonials and case studies to connect with millennial investors and turn prospects into loyal clients.

Beyond Compliance: Cultivating a Culture of Ethical Decision-Making for Financial Advisors

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It’s taken nearly two decades for the financial services industry to overcome the massive trust deficit that sprung from the 2008 Financial Crisis. The good news is financial advisors are once again viewed as the most trusted source of financial advice, with nearly two-thirds of retail investors expressing a high level of trust. The bad news is that it takes just one ethical lapse, intentional or not, to erase that hard-earned goodwill.

However, as highly effective advisors know, clients don’t simply hand over their trust; advisors must earn it. Ethical conduct is one of the most critical factors clients consider in building trust with their advisors. Regulatory compliance may establish a baseline and guardrails to keep you on the straight and narrow path of ethical practices. However, ethical decision-making transcends the checklists and rules, aiming to prioritize client interests above all else.

In this post, we’ll explore actionable strategies for cultivating a culture of ethics in financial advisory practices and demonstrate how this approach strengthens trust, enhances client satisfaction, and builds long-term success.

Understanding The Sources of Financial Anxiety for Clients and Why It Matters for Advisors

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Most people suffer from financial stress at some point—whether it’s dealing with high inflation or a volatile stock market. That’s to be expected, and we’ve provided tips on how financial advisors can help “de-stress” their clients.

However, when clients suffer from financial anxiety, it creates a new set of challenges for financial advisors. While stress can make a person worry about their financial situation, financial anxiety can be paralyzing, making it virtually impossible to move your client in any direction.

It’s easy to understand why a client might be stressed about something. Stress is typically triggered by identifiable external factors, such as a plummeting market or job loss. Because it is often tied to a specific event or issue, it usually subsides when the problem is resolved.

However, anxiety triggers are hidden beneath the surface, often with deep emotional or psychological roots. It may not be tied to a specific financial situation. Instead, it’s an emotional state influenced by fears of what could go wrong financially, even when there’s no immediate threat. If you can’t get to the root of the anxiety, you will be powerless to help your client.

4 Scenarios Where Active Listening Transforms Financial Advisor-Client Relationships

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Some advisors are natural communicators with inherent skills for demonstrating empathy, telling relatable stories, displaying a natural curiosity by asking open-ended questions, and translating complex ideas into terms clients can understand. Many advisors are not and must prioritize skill development if they are to have a chance at success.

Active listening is the most critical soft skill that must be developed and exercised because it’s where highly effective communication starts. If you don’t master your active listening skills, your communication efforts will likely miss their target. Without them, you’ll have trouble fully engaging your clients, providing insights that resonate with them, and fostering trust.

This post explores four specific scenarios where active listening proves invaluable, highlighting its transformative potential for advisor-client relationships. These examples demonstrate how active listening leads to better client understanding, stronger trust, and actionable insights that benefit both parties.

Leveraging Behavioral Finance: Understanding Client Decision-Making Patterns

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Financial advisors looking for an edge in influencing their clients’ decision-making need look no further than behavioral finance. Behavioral finance is a game-changer for advisors seeking to deepen client relationships and drive better decision-making outcomes.

Understanding how psychological factors influence financial decisions can help you build trust and guide clients through the emotional and cognitive challenges of investing. When clients feel understood and supported, their confidence in their financial plan—and their advisor—grows exponentially.

Time Management Strategies for Financial Advisors: Balancing Client Acquisition and Retention

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Financial advisors must manage all aspects of their advisory business to ensure client satisfaction, business growth, and profitability. That includes compliance, marketing, business operations, financial management, and professional development. But by the time you’re done with all that, your time typically goes unmanaged.

The bottom line is that if you’re not in control of your time, you’re not in control of your business. That means your business controls you, making growing it nearly impossible.

With business demands pulling you in multiple directions, you have less time and focus for your top two priorities: client acquisition and retention. Anything less than an equal measure of highly concentrated effort in both will invariably lead to stagnation, client attrition, or both.

With time as one of your most valuable assets, it’s crucial to implement strategies tailored to help you prioritize your time and balance these competing priorities.

The High Cost of Ambiguity: What Financial Advisors Lose Without a Strong Value Proposition

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In today’s hyper-competitive financial advisory landscape, standing out is no longer optional—it’s imperative. Yet, many advisors unknowingly allow ambiguity to creep into their persona, eroding the trust they worked so hard to build. Without a clear and compelling value proposition, prospective clients struggle to understand what sets an advisor apart, while existing clients may begin to question their loyalty.

The result? Tangible business losses include missed opportunities, client attrition, and declining credibility. Financial advisors who neglect their value proposition risk falling behind in an industry where clarity and differentiation are key to survival and growth.

Embracing Adaptability: A Key to Staying Relevant in the Financial Advisory Industry

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“If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse,” is a widely quoted saying in athletic and business circles. Translation: if you’re not proactively doing things to improve yourself, your competitors are, which means you’re getting worse. Paraphrased for this article, it says, “If you’re not adapting, you’re falling behind.”

The financial advisory industry is evolving at a blurring pace, with rapid technological advancements, changing regulatory frameworks, and rising client expectations. From the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) to the proliferation of digital tools, these changes are reshaping how financial advisors interact with clients and manage their businesses. Simultaneously, clients are demanding more personalized, efficient, and transparent services, leaving no room for complacency.

Financial advisors who resist adapting face significant consequences. Stagnation or losing relevance in an increasingly competitive market can spell doom for a once-thriving practice. In this environment, the ability to adapt is not just a competitive advantage but a necessity for survival and success.

The Power of Open-Ended Questions for Financial Advisors

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Effective communication is the cornerstone of enduring and trusting relationships. For financial advisors, it’s the key to meaningful client engagement that fosters deeper discussions and stronger connections. At the core of meaningful engagement is asking the right questions.

Open-ended questions, in particular, can transform a conversation, moving it beyond stunted yes or no answers to delve more deeply into what matters to a client—to understand the “why” behind their thinking. Unlike closed-ended questions, which tend to limit responses, open-ended questions encourage an open dialogue full of insights advisors can use to tailor their advice in a way that resonates with the client.

Mastering the art of crafting and asking open-ended questions is critical to pinpointing client needs, concerns, and priorities while building trust and driving more successful outcomes for your clients.

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Articles by: Don Connelly