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.

How Financial Advisors Can Use Qualifying Questions to Win More Clients

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Qualifying Questions for Financial Advisors to Win More Clients

As a financial advisor, you could think of your first meeting with a prospect as a dance: you could step on their toes by talking too much, or you could lead with grace by asking the right questions. The difference in outcomes is night and day.

Too many financial advisors lean into their presentation, rattling off solutions before understanding the prospect’s needs. The result? A conversation that feels like a sales pitch, not a partnership. Qualifying questions—those deliberate, insightful probes—flip this dynamic. They uncover what prospects truly want and whether they’re ready to act. Master them, and you’ll turn curious prospects into committed clients.

Why Smart Clients Are Still in Denial About Long-Term Care

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You’d think smart clients would be the first to plan ahead for long-term care. They know how to anticipate problems, make tough decisions, and take care of their families. They read the headlines, see the data, and probably even have stories in their own families about caregiving challenges or financial strain.

And yet, when the conversation turns to long-term care, they freeze up. They change the subject. They deflect. They say things like “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” or “I’m not going to a nursing home.”

Even your most financially savvy clients, those with the assets to protect and the foresight to insure against other risks, often treat long-term care as an emotional landmine to avoid.

Why is that?

Because this conversation isn’t about money. It’s about control. About aging. About dependency. And no matter how intelligent your client is, those ideas trigger deeply human fears that logic alone can’t dissolve.

How Financial Advisors Can Adapt Their Approach for Different Client Personality Types

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If there’s one thing that financial advisors must keep top of mind, it’s that no two clients walk into your office with the same mindset. Some want quick answers, others demand every detail, and each expects you to speak their language. As I often tell advisors, “You don’t sell to clients; you build relationships with them,” and relationships are built upon trust.

To build trust and tailor your advice in a way that resonates, you must learn how to tailor your communication style to connect with different client personality types. By adapting your approach, you’ll turn meetings into partnerships and boost your conversion rates.

The Hidden Challenges Financial Advisors Face during Market Volatility

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If you haven’t experienced it, you’ve probably seen it—a sudden 10% plunge in the S&P500 over 48 hours, a gut-punch drop that sends headlines screaming and client inboxes buzzing. But what really goes through a financial advisor’s mind when markets turn chaotic?

Beyond the dizzying charts and numbers, sudden extreme volatility exposes a gauntlet of challenges—some client-driven, some self-inflicted—that test even the most seasoned professionals. Here’s a deep dive into the five biggest challenges Financial Advisors face during market volatility, and how to navigate them.

Assumptive Selling in Financial Advising: How to Open Accounts with Confidence and Consistency

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Although they may resist the terminology, financial advisors understand that to build a successful practice, they must be able to effectively sell themselves and their services. More to the point, they must be able to persuade prospects to become clients and then convince clients to act on their recommendations.

Advisors who work at developing their selling skills have likely heard of “assumptive selling”—a technique often misunderstood as aggressive sales tactics. Done right, it’s a powerful, ethical way to guide prospects toward decisions in their best interest. Many advisors join coaching programs to master this skill, which aims to convert prospects into clients with greater consistency —a crucial key to success as an advisor.

Assumptive selling isn’t about closing a sale; it’s about leading with confidence, building trust, and helping clients take the next step. In financial advising, where relationships drive success, this approach aligns perfectly with a client-first philosophy, fostering long-term partnerships built on clarity and trust.

Why Collaborative Financial Planning Keeps Clients Focused on Long-Term Goals

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One of the biggest challenges financial advisors face during volatile markets is the tendency of clients to focus on short-term market fluctuations, often making impulsive decisions despite repeated discussions about their long-term goals.

The issue isn’t a lack of clear communication or financial education on the part of advisors—it’s a lack of client involvement in the planning process. When clients are passive recipients of a plan, they’re less committed to it and, therefore, more susceptible to short-term myopia.

Collaborative financial planning changes this by making clients co-creators of their strategy. By actively participating in the process, clients develop a deeper sense of ownership, fostering resilience and a focus on their long-term vision.

Your Growth Engine: Building a Consistent Marketing and Follow-Up System for Financial Advisors That Sells

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Your financial advisory business is like an engine: it needs regular fuel and maintenance to run smoothly. Without a consistent system, you’re stuck in neutral, reacting to opportunities as they come, or worse, stalling out. Many advisors know they should market consistently and follow up diligently, but the chaos of daily life—client meetings, market shifts, compliance—makes it hard to stay organized.

The result? Sporadic efforts, missed opportunities, and a business that feels like a rollercoaster. This post offers a clear and actionable blueprint for establishing a repeatable follow-up system for Financial Advisors that attracts prospects, nurtures relationships, and enhances conversions. By implementing simple routines and tools, you can create a growth engine that runs reliably, even when life gets busy. Let’s explore how to make consistency your superpower.

Talking to Clients About Long-Term Care: The Million-Dollar Retirement Planning Risk Advisors Can’t Ignore

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If you’re like most Advisors, you are good with numbers. You model market returns. You stress-test for inflation. You plan for taxes. But there’s one line item that too often gets ignored, one that can blow up a retirement faster than any bear market ever could. It’s not a stock market crash or a bad investment. It’s not inflation. It’s long-term care.

And the reality is this: for many of your clients, the potential cost of needing care late in life is their largest unfunded liability, often bigger than their mortgage ever was, and in many cases exceeding a million dollars over time.

Long-term care is the silent threat. I’m not talking about a rare “what-if.” Seventy percent of Americans over the age of 65 will need some form of long-term care. That means for the majority of your clients, this isn’t just a possibility. It’s a probability.

And yet, few clients have a plan. Why? Because they can’t visualize the numbers. They don’t see it on their net worth statement. And if you’re not putting it in front of them, they assume it’s not worth worrying about.

Stop Random Acts of Marketing: How to Build a Repeatable Client Acquisition System

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Picture this: It’s January, and you’re fired up. You blast out a polished email newsletter to your list, promising yourself you’ll do it monthly. You even make a few cold calls and post a thoughtful LinkedIn update.

Then, life happens. Client meetings pile up, paperwork buries you, and by April, you realize you haven’t sent a single follow-up. Sound familiar? This is what I call a random act of marketing—a burst of effort followed by radio silence.

For financial advisors, this pattern is all too common.

How Advisors Can Navigate Industry Barriers and Build Trust Faster by Mastering the Basics

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Financial advisors are increasingly operating in an industry riddled with structural barriers—systemic challenges beyond their direct control. These include widespread public distrust of fee transparency complexity and jargon, commoditized products, confusing regulations, technology that depersonalizes relationships, and a crowded market of advisors vying for attention.

While these hurdles are daunting, advisors can overcome them by returning to the fundamentals: clear communication, genuine listening, and authentic relationship-building. By mastering these basics, advisors can differentiate themselves, rebuild trust, and open more accounts in an industry that often feels stacked against them.

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Articles by: Don Connelly