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5 Common Mistakes Financial Advisors Make When Developing Their Storytelling Skills

/ by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments

Financial advisors are increasingly recognizing the power of storytelling in their practice. Storytelling helps them earn the trust of prospects, build stronger relationships with clients, simplify complex financial concepts, and inspire action. However, developing this skill comes with challenges, and many advisors make common mistakes that hinder their storytelling effectiveness. Here are five of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them.

‘Why Should I Do Business with You’: Crafting a Compelling Response to a Prospect’s Critical Question

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

For every financial advisor, the question, “Why should I do business with you?” hangs heavy in the air during initial consultations, whether spoken or not. It’s a pivotal moment, a crossroads where trust and value must intersect to convince the potential client to take the next step. While tempting to launch into a self-promotional monologue, a nuanced, client-centric approach is critical to unlocking that coveted “yes.”

It’s crucial to understand that a prepared, cookie-cutter approach, such as reciting your value proposition, won’t work. Every prospect is unique, so it’s essential to adapt your approach based on their specific circumstances and needs using the following framework:

5 Ways Financial Advisors Can Establish Credibility and Build Trust

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

We’ve made no secret of the fact that a trust deficit exists between the public and the financial services industry. Advisors, new and experienced, must work consciously and deliberately every day to overcome it. The challenge for advisors is they could be the most trustworthy person in the world, but without credibility, there can be no trust.

There could be trust, but it might only be fleeting without proof that it’s genuine. That’s where credibility comes in. The building blocks of trust include honesty, transparency, reliability, consistency, competence, empathy, authenticity, and vulnerability—traits that, when demonstrated by actions, create credibility. An advisor’s credibility is bolstered even more when both parties feel they benefit mutually with a vested interest in each other’s success.

Here are five ways advisors can establish credibility by demonstrating the building blocks of trust.

5 Things Prospects Need to Know About You from the First Meeting

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Every initial meeting with a prospect is crucial. It took a lot to get them to finally agree to meet with you, and, in most cases, you only have one shot at making the right impression. If a prospect leaves the meeting still wanting critical information, you will not likely see them again. So, you carefully craft your initial meeting to ensure you check all the boxes, including:

– Your background and experience
– Understand your prospect’s needs and concerns
– Your process
– Your firm’s strengths and why you’re different
– Customer service expectations
– How you get paid
– Next Steps

As far as key information your prospect needs, that covers all the bases. It should also give you plenty of opportunities to demonstrate your competence and capacity to address your prospect’s needs and concerns.

Authenticity: The Key to a Favorable First Impression

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship, Presentation Skills / 0 comments

No doubt you’ve heard the old axiom, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” And it’s tough to fix a bad first impression, especially in a world where some clients are predisposed to not trusting financial advisors. That’s a high hurdle to overcome when first meeting potential clients who may be looking for any reason to walk away.

You’ve probably also heard that the human brain processes information about a person’s face and mannerisms within a matter of seconds, leading to a quick conclusion about their abilities. The hurdle just got higher.

It doesn’t matter how old you are or how long you’ve been in the business. Potential clients instinctively weigh and measure you, not by your expertise, capabilities, or knowledge, but by how much they think they like you. They’re looking for someone they can trust, and most people can’t trust someone they don’t like.

How to Succeed at Giving Financial Advice

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

So, you want to be in the business of giving financial advice. That’s understandable because not only can the career of a financial advisor be financially rewarding, it can also be very fulfilling. Through a relationship that can span a lifetime, you become the essential source of advice in one of the most important aspects of your clients’ lives. There’s just one problem. You don’t have any clients—yet.

As a new financial advisor, your number one job is to find new clients. That has always been advisors’ biggest challenge but more so today due to the trust deficit that exists in the financial services industry. According to a CFA Institute survey, only 57 percent of retail investors trust the financial services industry, which is up from a few years ago, but it’s still a wide chasm to overcome. The same survey found that retail investors listed “trust” as their top consideration when hiring an advisor. Prospective clients simply won’t work with an advisor they don’t trust.

Make Yourself Irreplaceable by Making Yourself Different

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

If you do what every other advisor is doing, you’ll be just like all other advisors. To become successful, you need to offer something different – something that makes you worthy of being talked about.

Don’t be intimidated by self-perceived ‘smarter’, ‘more experienced’ or ‘more confident’ advisors. Don’t try to ‘better’ them. Think instead about what you can do differently.

Make it your aim to do what other advisors don’t do, and you’ll attract and retain clients for the long term. Here are a few things you can do to make yourself different.

Why You Need a ‘Why I Am Here’ Story

/ by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments

We all know that everyone likes a good story, a fact that’s backed up by science. When we hear a story that resonates with us, our levels of the ‘feel good’ hormone oxytocin rises. This motivates us to work with others and has a positive impact on our social behavior.

Stories can also help to build connections and create empathy with prospects and clients.

So, it’s no surprise that story form is great for illustrating to prospects that you are there for the right reasons – that you’re not in this business simply to make money but to add value to people’s lives.

Here are a few ways developing a ‘Why I Am Here’ story will help you grow your business.

How to Connect with Clients Emotionally

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

As financial advisors we’re objective thinkers. We use the left, logical, side of our brains, to work out the technical aspects of financial planning. But simply being able to do the math won’t differentiate you from the competition – even robo-advisors are pretty good with interest rates and algorithms. The way to stand out is to make an emotional connection with people.

Your clients won’t make big decisions based on the numbers. They will base them on how they feel about you, using the right (emotional) part of the brain. To form a connection with clients you need to work out what it is you have to offer them on an emotional level.

Here are three suggestions to help you connect with clients emotionally.