October 2, 2014 / by David Hubbard / Best Practices / 0 comments
Ok, you’re a great financial advisor, but are you a great businessperson? Really great people in business always know their numbers, but not just any numbers, the really important numbers!
Many people think that being a great businessperson is to be someone that is entrepreneurial, who can market and grow their clientele. While these are important aspects of running a great business, the great businessperson always focuses on the really important numbers of their business.
So, what are the REALLY IMPORTANT numbers that a financial advisor in business must know?
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In this category, we will share stories and practical tips for financial advisors and consultants which have proven to be best practices throughout the years.
5 Reasons You Should Get a Mentor
November 20, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
When you first start out as an Advisor you’re given a set of products to sell, but unfortunately they don’t come with an instruction manual. You need to learn how to market and sell them yourself. This is where a mentor can step in, by helping you prospect, sell and manage your practice.
Mentors can also help you stay on track and improve, no matter how long you’ve been in business. Making sure you can still execute the fundamentals is key to becoming the Advisor you always wanted to be.
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A Valuable Lesson from Disney on Customer Service
November 17, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 2 comments
Let me quote from a speech, given by Valerie Oberle, who at the time was the Vice President of Disney University. You know Disney’s not clean by accident. Disney is Disney, that’s top down management. So here’s the speech she gave:
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4 Things Elite Advisors Do that Average Advisors Don’t Do
November 13, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices, Don Guest Authoring at... / 4 comments
This is a guest post by Don Connelly published on the website of FA Magazine earlier this week.
Elite Advisors are not born elite. They ply their craft for years, making mistakes and learning from them.
Once such mistake is to assume that numbers matter. Newer Advisors talk about the numbers because that’s the focus of our training. We have to learn our products and processes and we have to pass the tests. When we get in the field, we naturally lead with what we know.
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What Elite Advisors Do That Average Advisors Don’t Do
November 10, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices, What's New / 0 comments
What Elite Advisors Do That Average Advisors Don’t Do
I am happy to report that our webinars keep growing in size and popularity. On November 5, 2014, we had several hundred Advisors join in to listen to words of wisdom from Richard Capalbo. Richard was so scintillating that the questions poured in at the end.
Richard told the participants that he intended to focus on three main topics:
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Wisdom and Knowledge – What’s the Difference for Clients and Financial Advisors?
October 16, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices, Don Guest Authoring at... / 0 comments
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.
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12 Practice Building Tips for Financial Advisors
October 9, 2014 / by Kirti Anand Sharma / Best Practices, Connelly Corner / 0 comments
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the projected change in the number of Personal Financial Advisors from 2012 to 2022 is +27%, which is much higher than the average growth rate (11%) for all occupations.
This is a sign of opportunity as well as an increase in competition.
To help you outrank this growing competition and at the same time, build an enjoyable and dynamic practice, check out the infographic below – featuring the top 12 practice building tips by Don Connelly. Check out the infographic.
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Do You Really Know Your Numbers?
October 2, 2014 / by David Hubbard / Best Practices / 0 comments
Ok, you’re a great financial advisor, but are you a great businessperson? Really great people in business always know their numbers, but not just any numbers, the really important numbers!
Many people think that being a great businessperson is to be someone that is entrepreneurial, who can market and grow their clientele. While these are important aspects of running a great business, the great businessperson always focuses on the really important numbers of their business.
So, what are the REALLY IMPORTANT numbers that a financial advisor in business must know?
Read more
What Does ‘Think on Your Feet’ Mean for a Financial Advisor?
September 4, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices, Don Guest Authoring at... / 0 comments
An idiom is a phrase that cannot be taken literally. For anyone learning English, it must be disconcerting to hear that it’s raining cats and dogs outside. You and I know it’ll rain cats and dogs when pigs fly.
Think on your feet is just such an idiom.
Every Financial Advisor knows what it means to think and speak without special preparation. Being forced to think this way is neither fun nor comfortable. And it can lead to an awkward moment. We all wait for the train wreck when a speaker who is dependent on a teleprompter wanders off course. We all wander off course at one time or another.
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Make the Most out of Your Hiring
August 28, 2014 / by David Hubbard / Best Practices / 0 comments
Last month, I wrote about the importance of putting together an effective team. The key to doing that is to hire the right people. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? It’s not.
The most difficult thing that I have done over the past 30 years is trying to hire the right people. In fact, I have probably interviewed 500 prospective employees, hired well over 100 and currently have a staff of about 40 people. I wish that I could say that I have learned how to always hire the right people. Unfortunately, I can’t. Nobody can.
Think about it.
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How to Manage Your Emotions in Difficult Situations
August 21, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
You know by now that I believe the development and use of certain soft skills contributes far more to our success than does the development and use of hard skills. Self-awareness is just such a soft skill. The importance of being aware of and controlling our emotions cannot be overstated.
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