May 7, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
Saying goodbye to clients often seems counter-intuitive to new advisors, whose primary concern is to grow a customer base. But failing to ‘weed out’ unprofitable clients is a bad idea for any advisor’s business. To succeed in this industry, you need to spend your time servicing your most profitable relationships and this necessitates dropping unprofitable accounts from time to time.
There can be many reasons why certain clients are no longer a good fit for you. Perhaps you’ve identified a need to downsize your business because it’s become impossible to serve a multitude. Or maybe you’re working with clients who ignore your advice, are too needy or blame you for poor market performance.
Whatever the reasons your focus should be on providing great service to your most valuable clients – which means you need to let the others go.
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Poor Communication Is The #1 Reason Advisors Get Fired
July 2, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
The chief reason clients fire their advisors is not, as you may have thought, poor performance – it’s poor communication. A survey by Financial Advisor Magazine revealed that 72% of clients said they fired their advisors due to their advisor’s failure to communicate on a timely basis.
The best advisors put their communication strategy at the very heart of their business – and so should you. Not only should you build in time to communicate with clients – but take time to develop your soft skills so that you communicate effectively.
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5 Ways to Reduce Risk
June 25, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
I want to talk about reducing risk. I believe in my heart to not invest money is to go broke safely. You simply can’t save enough for retirement. Bertrand Russell said, ‘to conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom’. All clients are afraid of investing; they are afraid of losing money. In order to trust you with their money, clients have to conquer or at least control their fear.
Watch the video or read the transcript below to learn how to address their concern about risk and explain you can reduce risk.
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4 Things Clients Need to Know about Volatility
June 18, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom / 0 comments
When markets are volatile investors can get spooked and start to question their investment strategies. Especially if they’re new to the process of investing. This could prompt them to withdraw from the market and wait on the sidelines until things get better.
As their financial advisor you’re there to help them see things in perspective. By helping them understand the nature of volatility they will find it easier to stick to their plan.
Here are four things about volatility you need to explain to them right away.
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What Clients Need from You to Stick to The Plan
June 11, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom / 0 comments
To get clients to stick with their long-term investments you need to get inside their mindset and understand how they think and feel. If you know how your clients will react in the face of market volatility, you’ll be ideally placed to counter their concerns. If you understand what they need from you in terms of maintaining a long-term relationship, you will know which soft skills to focus on.
Here are a few things clients need to help them persevere with their long-term investments.
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You Don’t Need to Be Better – You Need to Be Different
June 4, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
As Steve Jobs said, ‘Don’t do something better, do it different’. Facebook wasn’t necessarily ‘better’ than Myspace, it was different. Netflix wasn’t ‘better’ than any other movie-rental system – it was different. Make yourself authentic and you will succeed. Find out what it is that differentiates you from the competition and communicate it to prospects and clients.
Concentrate on developing superb soft skills and you will stand out in a crowded marketplace without trying to be ‘better’ than anyone else.
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The Market Is on Sale When It Dips
May 28, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
This session of Mr. and Mrs. Client I want to thank Ruth Sully. Ruth is a friend and advisor in Californiawho told me a great story. You can use it if you have clients who want to put their investment plan on hold when the market takes a downturn.
Watch the video or read the transcript below to learn the story.
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5 Things That Could Ruin Your Clients’ Trust in You – in Seconds
May 21, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
It can take many years before clients come to know you and trust you, and during this time you’ll need to work hard to win them over. In order to earn their trust, you’ll need to demonstrate exemplary behavior and deliver a service that goes above and beyond.
But that’s not where it ends. It may have taken you years to build up trust but it takes just seconds to break it down. Just one slip and all that hard-won trust is gone forever. Make sure this doesn’t happen to you by avoiding the following behaviors.
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4 Reasons Why You Should Prepare Your Bear Market Presentation When The Market’s High
May 14, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
When the market declines your clients will no doubt be aware of the simultaneous fall in the value of their portfolios. And they will be concerned. Human nature dictates this. That’s why when the time comes, it’s crucial that you are prepared to counter their insecurity with reassurance. You must be ready to instill them with confidence that their investments are secure.
If you run and hide when the markets tumble (like a surprising number of advisors do), your clients’ fears will multiply. As a consequence, they could end up making a bad decision about their investments – or about working with you.
So, make sure you’re ready to step into the breach by having your presentation ready to hand. Here are four reasons why you should prepare that presentation right away.
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Best Practices for Letting Go of a Client
May 7, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
Saying goodbye to clients often seems counter-intuitive to new advisors, whose primary concern is to grow a customer base. But failing to ‘weed out’ unprofitable clients is a bad idea for any advisor’s business. To succeed in this industry, you need to spend your time servicing your most profitable relationships and this necessitates dropping unprofitable accounts from time to time.
There can be many reasons why certain clients are no longer a good fit for you. Perhaps you’ve identified a need to downsize your business because it’s become impossible to serve a multitude. Or maybe you’re working with clients who ignore your advice, are too needy or blame you for poor market performance.
Whatever the reasons your focus should be on providing great service to your most valuable clients – which means you need to let the others go.
Read more
Every Financial Advisor Needs to Tell Great Stories
April 30, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Human beings have an innate desire to tell and listen to stories. Good stories grab the attention and inspire people to act, which is why storytelling should be an essential tool in your armory. If you become a great storyteller, prospects and clients will leave your office remembering both you and your message.
Stories are also a great way to help make the unfamiliar familiar – they promote the understanding of complex issues. Plus, they’re effective at creating an emotional bond between storyteller and listener.
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