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.

5 Marketing Ideas for Financial Advisors to Ignite Their Business

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There are hundreds of thousands of advisors out there but only a small percentage ever hit the $1 million turnover mark. So what gets these advisors into pole position? The answer is ‘marketing’. The amount of time you spend marketing yourself this year will dictate how much you grow next year. If you want your business to grow by 50% you need to spend half of every day marketing yourself, getting yourself in front of people, spreading the gospel. Read up on these five marketing ideas and ignite your business.

Why Waiting for a Pullback is Not the Right Investing Strategy

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According to a preponderance of clients, the stock market is overbought. They’re going to invest, but not until the pullback takes place. What’s an advisor to do?

First, it’s not “the” pullback we’re talking about. It’s “a” pullback.

Why Your Clients and Prospects Need You

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Let’s talk some more about Mr. and Mrs. Client and why they need to invest now and with you. The whole discussion of commissions and fees is not about the question ‘what your commission is’; it’s ‘why should I pay a commission? Do I need to pay a commission or a fee when I can do this on my own? Why should I have a financial advisor?’

So when somebody says “What are your commissions? What are your fees?” I’d say “Let’s discuss the real question here, which is: do you need an advisor?”

Wisdom and Knowledge – What’s the Difference for Clients and Financial Advisors?

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This is a guest post by Don Connelly originally published on the FA Magazine website.

We are living in the Information Era. The government relinquished control of the internet in 1984 and the speed at which we could access information exploded. Each day, information becomes more easily transferable and knowledge more readily gained. Yet things are more complicated than ever.

You’d think that the more information available, the more we’d learn; and the more we’d learn, the clearer and simpler things would become. I find it ironic that the opposite is true.

How to Anticipate, Overcome and Avoid Getting Objections

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship, Prospecting / 0 comments

In our most recent webinar we discussed the issue of client objections. Why do we get objections, what objections are we likely to get, and how do we overcome them? More to the point, can objections be avoided entirely?

We concluded that successfully overcoming objections is a stepping stone in the relationship-building process.

How to Ask for Referrals

/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments

I’m going to make a few comments about referrals. First of all, calling strangers, having to meet strangers, knocking on doors, that’s God’s revenge for not getting referrals.

Secondly, if you don’t ask, you’re not going to get them.

And thirdly, if you’re having trouble asking, let me tell you why. There’s a good chance you’re thinking too much about yourself. You’re saying to yourself ‘Am I begging here? Am I getting red in the face? Am I embarrassing myself by doing this?’

When Financial Advisors’ Self-Promotion Is Not Shameless

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Is self-promotion a shameless thing for Financial Advisors? If we should be self-promoting, what exactly should we be self-promoting? Do I know wealthy people well enough to know what they consider unattractive? Where is the line I probably shouldn’t cross?

I think it’s a bad thing to promote yourself. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to promote the value you can and do add to peoples’ lives. I think it’s a bad thing to inflate your ego. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to explain that you are helping families succeed financially.

Be Organized – Make Prospecting a Priority

/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 2 comments

I can conjure up many advantages to being organized. Less stress is way up there on my list. So is the luxury of having fewer decisions to make. But the number one reason is more time to sit face-to-face with clients and prospective clients.

My friend Jack is fond of saying that your success depends upon how many families you will touch going forward. Advisors who fare poorly generally do so because they don’t see enough people. It’s hard to have appointments when paperwork keeps getting in the way.

Objection Handling – Is It Possible to Forestall Objections?

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This is a guest post by Don Connelly, originally published on FA Magazine website.

The late Zig Ziglar observed that every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, or no trust. Which of these obstacles is a Financial Advisor likely to experience and can they be forestalled?

We can eliminate three of those obstacles as unlikely.

How Interpersonal Relationships Lead to You Being Trusted

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

By now you know my belief about gathering assets. If someone likes you, trusts you and thinks you are smart, you get the assets. If another Advisor ranks higher in those categories, he or she gets the assets.

Follow the Golden Rule and you will be likable. Simplify the business so that your listener can understand every word you say and you will be perceived as smart.

Do what you say you are going to do and you will earn the other person’s trust.

Like most things in life, the solution to each of these perceptions is simple. It’s not easy, but it is simple.

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Articles by: Don Connelly