Best Practices Archives - Page 7 of 21 - Don Connelly & Associates

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.

Financial Advisors: What You Should Be Doing During the Holidays

December 7, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

First things first: Use the Holidays to spend time with friends and family. That’s what you want for your clients; That’s what I want for you. Recharge your batteries, and remember why you’re working so hard: To provide a better life for the people you love.

Besides: The immediate return on investment (ROI) of generic cold calling techniques tends to decline after Thanksgiving. Not that it doesn’t pay off eventually. I’m a hard-core prospector, and I hope you are, too. Smart prospecting always pays off in the long run. But it’ll take a little longer to pay off at the end of the year, because you’ll get a lot of people saying, “call me again after the Holidays.”

So, if you’re going to take some time off to be with the family, the Holidays are as good a time to do it as any!

Then, here are a few more holiday marketing ideas if you’re spending time at the office after all.

5 Steps to Create and Sustain a Winner’s Mindset

November 30, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

I’ve already written about self-sabotaging behaviors, and how to avoid them. But today, I’d like to address the flip side of the coin: How you can actively develop and maintain a winner’s mindset.

I’ve known many hugely successful advisors in my time. And they all have certain traits in common:

– They take a proactive approach to time management;
– They don’t make excuses for themselves. Instead, they take on and eliminate or bypass obstacles;
– They surround themselves with positive influences and accountability partners;
– They constantly expose themselves to positive messages and ideas.
– They get help when they need it.

So here are five things you can do to help develop that winner’s mindset – and sustain it over time.

Being a Financial Advisor in Uncertain Times – What You Need to Know

November 2, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

As I write this in mid-October, 2020, the stock market is sitting right at an all-time high. But there’s still an ongoing pandemic – and a presidential election looming. Either of these things can cause big short-term swings in stock prices.

That means things are pretty risky at the moment. In the short-term, anyway.

As financial advisors, we have to help our clients understand that risk, and help them manage their money so they can accomplish their financial goals, but also so they can sleep at night in the meantime.

Those of you who have been around since before 2008 know this process well. For those of you who are just getting started, here’s what you need to know.

6 Tech Essentials for Financial Advisors

October 19, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Unquestionably, the advisory industry has been experiencing a significant transformation. Through advances in technology and the democratization of investing, financial advice is quickly becoming commoditized, much to the detriment of Financial Advisors who continue to languish in traditional business models. Today, adopting the right technology is becoming table stakes for advisors who want to maintain the trust of their clients and stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

4 Challenges Financial Advisors Face in the New Digital Environment – And Solutions

August 24, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

There’s no doubt about it: The past six months have changed our business. It’s not just because those of us in the financial advisory business have changed. Our markets and our clients have changed, too. Their habits and behaviors are different.

Case in point: Those of us of a certain age remember closing lots of sales at the kitchen table – often late at night. But with the pandemic, few people are going to invite a salesperson into their home. That way of doing business was disappearing even before the pandemic. Now it may be gone forever.

Here are four communications challenges your peers are facing – and a few words on some possible solutions. We’ll have more in depth content on each of these topics in the future. But here are the basics to get you started.

5 Soft Skills You’d Need to Work Entirely Online as a Financial Advisor

July 27, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Times are changing, and suddenly we have all been thrust onto the online space, whether we were prepared or not. While the country is slowly opening back up despite the increasing number of covid19 cases, many businesses are choosing to stay remote, and people are still wary about office meetings. Financial Advisors are in a fortunate position to potentially increase their client base, as now you are not limited to the geographic area that you are physically located in.

Want to Succeed as a Financial Advisor? Do These Five Things.

July 6, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 2 comments

Helping people achieve their financial goals and provide security for their families is one of the greatest, most rewarding career paths on the planet. But it’s a very tough business to succeed in, especially in your first few years.

Here are the five things you must do, if you want to maximize your chances of surviving your first five years as an advisor.

Bear Market: What You Do Will Make or Break Your Financial Advisor Career

June 15, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Every advisor gets just a few great career-building opportunities: Times when they can really establish themselves as experts, build long-term credibility, and differentiate themselves from the competition – most of whom are hiding from their clients because they don’t know how to guide them through the bear market.

What do the real pros do when things are scariest? When your clients are calling you scared witless, and they want to go to cash?

5 Advantages Young Financial Advisors Have Over Older Advisors

June 8, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

When it comes to asking people to handle their money, having a few grey hairs does bring a small advantage. People are just naturally reluctant to trust people with managing their money who are younger than their own children.

But there are some huge advantages to being a younger advisor, as well. In fact, I can tell you after decades in this business, there has never been a better time in the history of the financial services business to be coming into this business as a young advisor, or even a career changer under 40.

Seven Things to Do to Set Yourself Up for Success as a Financial Advisor

June 1, 2020 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

All Financial Advisors need a track to run on. That is, a set of activities that you know are productive, and that will continue to guide you on your path to success, even … and this is key… even if you don’t feel like working!

Here is a set of seven principles that will help keep you focused and moving along your path to the very top of our profession.

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