To Be The Best Financial Advisor You Can, It’s Essential to Challenge Yourself
There are two paths you can follow in your career: One that goes uphill or the easy one, which involves simply getting through the day. Not many people take the steepest and hardest path, which is why so few really achieve success. But if you’re prepared to challenge yourself and commit to hard work, practice and persevere, you will maximize your talent and do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.
So, step out of your comfort zone and start creating your own success story. Here are a few important self-challenges.
Challenge yourself to always do the right thing
There are so many factors in life outside your control – from the stock market and the economy to interest rates and so on. Your clients’ money is constantly at risk – and as you’re no doubt painfully aware – it’s you that holds the key to its eventual security.
It’s important not to constantly fret about making decisions. Instead make your goal to be the best advisor you can be, no matter what. Concentrate on doing the right thing. Always be honest, and work harder than others. Everything else is white noise.
Bring your A game, because unfortunately there’s no plan B – this is your opportunity to grow a great career and it’s a one-time offer. If you set yourself high standards and stick to them, you have done the very best you can do – no one could ask for more.
Challenge yourself to introduce yourself to new people every day
The more people you meet the more money you make. Simple as that.
Of all the tasks, you perform throughout the day prospecting will give you the biggest payoff. But you may, like the majority of advisors, have an inherent dislike of prospecting, because it brings with it a fear of rejection.
To get used to approaching strangers there’s a simple exercise you can use: Pick a day and challenge yourself that day to greet everyone you meet – whether you come across them in the street, in the lift or in a mall. It sounds crazy, but it’s fun and it works. Just saying hello is a simple yet harmless gesture that will help you overcome your discomfort and hesitation when meeting new people.
Challenge yourself to never repeat the same mistake twice
Your inner life determines your outer success. Research validates this. People who are still trying to find success can often point to a pattern in their behavior which explains why they are making repeated mistakes.
Challenge yourself into better understanding your inner life. Encountering pain is an unavoidable aspect of life, but we can choose not to repeat the same failures twice. Your task is to find out what it is that’s making you stall – and decide never to do it again.
Challenge yourself to become more charismatic
If you want to get people to want to hang out with you, you need to have a certain something the French call ‘je ne sais quoi’. This indefinable characteristic is your key to influencing people and presenting your message in such a way that it incites them to act. If you don’t feel you have a natural propensity for charisma, then your challenge is to practice techniques that will improve this.
Challenge yourself to practicing your soft skills continuously, every day. Develop your use of metaphors, similes and analogies, stories and anecdotes. Practice using an animated voice, facial expressions, eye contact and positive body language.
Challenge yourself to hit your daily goals
Ask yourself if you are as committed to your goals as you should be. If you haven’t written them down then the answer is probably no.
Your goals must be in plain sight at all times, and your task is to hit them daily. Only then can you effectively measure your progress. Your goals should be challenging but definitely achievable – they should be magnetic – pulling you towards them to let you know you’re heading in the right direction.
Most advisors fail because they stop challenging themselves.
They get bored of doing the same things over and over. They stop or slow down their prospecting efforts, and stop perfecting their soft skills. They stop trying to do things to the best of their ability.
If you challenge yourself and work daily at refining your skills you can look forward to continuing to work on your skills. It’s a never-ending process – like working out; the more you work out, the more you look forward to working out as your desire to get better grows. Challenge yourself by setting concrete goals and hitting them, practicing your soft skills and get your work done so you can get yourself in front of as many people as possible.
Join Don Connelly 24/7 to develop and perfect the soft skills you need to succeed as an Advisor.
