/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
I’m convinced that the fastest growing industry in the world is cheap advice. From discount houses to DIY websites to blogs like this one, everybody’s got advice for us and most of it’s worth exactly what it costs, little or nothing.
That’s because it’s not advice. It’s information and information without a user’s manual is useless. There’s so much information disguised as advice being shoved our way that it’s hard to tell the good from the bad. Real advice gets lost in the shuffle.
Our advice is hard to sell precisely because there is so much information flying around falsely packaged as advice.
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Advice Is the Hardest Thing in the World to Sell
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
I’m convinced that the fastest growing industry in the world is cheap advice. From discount houses to DIY websites to blogs like this one, everybody’s got advice for us and most of it’s worth exactly what it costs, little or nothing.
That’s because it’s not advice. It’s information and information without a user’s manual is useless. There’s so much information disguised as advice being shoved our way that it’s hard to tell the good from the bad. Real advice gets lost in the shuffle.
Our advice is hard to sell precisely because there is so much information flying around falsely packaged as advice.
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New Year’s Resolutions for 2014
/ by Don Connelly / What's New / 2 comments
I make too many New Year’s resolutions. I know that because I have never once kept them all. That’s ironic since I preach simplicity. So this year, I’m going to eat my own cooking. I’m going to simplify my list. I’m going to make one resolution for you and one resolution for me. Let’s start with you.
Repeat after me: In 2014, I resolve to ask for the order.
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Do Full Service Advisors Deserve Commensurate Compensation?
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
There’s probably precious little a Financial Advisor can offer that you aren’t offering. Some Advisors do taxes and some do not, but basically we all generate revenue the same way. We offer the same products and the same process at essentially the same price. It’s hard to charge more than the other guy if you are both doing the same thing.
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Care More than People Expect You to Care
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
When people get poor service, they are not the least bit surprised.
People no longer expect good service except in the very finest of establishments, places where they willingly pay a lot in exchange for that good service. Mediocrity is the new standard.
That opens an enormous door for you. Once people get used to mediocrity, anything above mediocrity stands out.
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Think like a Lifer – Being a Financial Advisor Is a Career, Not a Job
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
If anybody asks, you don’t have a job. You have a career. Think that way. Think like a lifer. You are here to stay.
A job involves the pursuit of money. A career involves the pursuit of a lifelong ambition.
A job is something you have to do. A career is something you love to do.
Jobs come and go. Careers last a lifetime.
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Can Charisma Be Learned?
/ by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
Charismatic Financial Advisors are great communicators. They connect on an emotional level. They get people to buy in, to believe. Just imagine that you alone can make someone act and feel a certain way. No other Advisor lights up a room the way you do. Just being near you makes people feel important. That’s charisma. You would be untouchable if you had tons of charisma. Can you learn how to acquire charisma?
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Your Goal Today Is to Get an Appointment
/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments
What’s so magical about having goals? It’s not so much that we don’t achieve them. It’s that we too often conveniently forget we even have them. With or without goals, we still go in and chip away day after day. Not having goals is not going to cause us to skip a day. I work hard with or without goals. What’s the big deal?
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Tell a Story – Crafting a Great Story
/ by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Geoffrey James writes a wonderful column for Inc.com. Recently he reviewed a book about business storytelling. In his article, James recapped the seven ingredients that make a story great. Just as one size does not fit all, the same story does not appeal to everyone. Therefore, you need to craft at least three stories and be proficient at telling them. Here’s how you do just that.
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What Is #1 Reason Advisors and Wholesalers Fail
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
Lance Armstrong once observed that a boo is a lot louder than a cheer. He’s right. And a no is a lot louder than a yes.
Advisors (and wholesalers) who fail often do so because they don’t see enough people.
Imagine the financial planning gods coming down and granting you immunity for a year. You don’t need to rely on your skills. Every time you call for an appointment, the person says yes. Every time you ask the person to become your client, the person says yes. Every time you ask for an introduction to your clients’ friends, they give you five names and go with you on the appointments.
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