March 18, 2024 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
Anyone who has ever accomplished anything of significance started with a goal. Professional athletes, entertainers, business titans, and the millionaire next door will all tell you that they began with the end in mind, visualizing their destination and then mapping the road to get there.
We’ve written about the importance of goal setting and the significance of writing them down and keeping them in front of you to remind you of what’s possible. However, the process of goal setting is often marred with unrealistic expectations or ambivalence about what you want to achieve, resulting in unachievable or unmeasurable goals.
Financial advisors on the path to success can’t afford to wallow in hopes or pipe dreams. You need clearly defined, actionable goals that reflect your professional and personal ambitions. Although goal setting isn’t rocket science, it does require a deliberate process to ensure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. In other words, it requires the SMART goal-setting framework.
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Getting SMART About Setting Goals for You and Your Clients
March 18, 2024 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
Anyone who has ever accomplished anything of significance started with a goal. Professional athletes, entertainers, business titans, and the millionaire next door will all tell you that they began with the end in mind, visualizing their destination and then mapping the road to get there.
We’ve written about the importance of goal setting and the significance of writing them down and keeping them in front of you to remind you of what’s possible. However, the process of goal setting is often marred with unrealistic expectations or ambivalence about what you want to achieve, resulting in unachievable or unmeasurable goals.
Financial advisors on the path to success can’t afford to wallow in hopes or pipe dreams. You need clearly defined, actionable goals that reflect your professional and personal ambitions. Although goal setting isn’t rocket science, it does require a deliberate process to ensure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. In other words, it requires the SMART goal-setting framework.
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Why Financial Advisors Need a Coach
January 8, 2024 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
For challenging endeavors in which people seek to achieve a level of performance beyond their current capacity – such as sports, weight loss, or running a business – they have a better chance of getting over the top by working with a coach. Even successful business executives and sports figures recognize the significant gap that separates a plan from action, theory from practice, and activity from results.
For most people, it often takes an external force to push them beyond their comfort level. That’s what a coach does. The top athletes in the world hire a team of coaches because they know they can’t get to the next level without them. In complex and vital endeavors, we could all use a coach to keep us detached from our emotions and accountable to our goals when our discipline fails.
Ask any professional athlete, corporate executive, or entrepreneur why they hire a coach, and they’ll tell you they want to increase their earnings by improving their performance. It’s no different for financial advisors.
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5 Ways to Develop Accountability
March 19, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
Accountability is a trait many advisors lack, but one that elite advisors always possess. No matter how great your talent you won’t get ahead unless you become accountable for your actions and the actions of your clients. Without accountability you won’t develop the self-discipline you need to take charge of your career and make changes for the better.
If you need help to develop accountability, here are five ways you can get started.
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Why Is Online Reputation Important for Your Success as a Financial Advisor
November 30, 2015 / by Diana Marinova / Connelly Corner, Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
As Don Connelly always says, only three things must take place for you to get a new client: that person must like you, trust you and think you are smart. But how could prospects like you, trust you and think you are smart if they never met you? How do you come across as likeable, trustworthy and smart if you have no prior relationship with them?
The answer lies in your online reputation.
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What Happens When You Lack Accountability?
October 26, 2015 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
It’s essential to acknowledge that you alone are responsible for your success as a financial advisor and this means you must be accountable. If you’re not accountable you will never feel in control of your destiny or understand how to turn things around if they take a downturn. No matter how smart or talented you are, if you lack accountability you will not develop the self-discipline you need to change your outcomes for the better.
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5 Reasons to Be an Accountable Financial Advisor
December 18, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices, Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
Many advisors know ‘what’ they do, but they don’t know what they ‘need to do’ to achieve their goals, and enjoy real success. They leave their potential undeveloped. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, how confident you are or how much you care about your clients, you will find success elusive, unless you become accountable. Accountability is the secret to your success and here’s why.
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