bring value Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

Make It Your Focus to Be Referable

/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments

I don’t think any one method of prospecting works particularly well, but they all work. The idea is to pick one and stick with it. Whichever method you choose, give it a chance. Don’t bounce around. Get so good at the method you choose that getting referrals become as natural as brushing your teeth in the morning. Position yourself to be referable.

Watch this video or read the transcript below, adapted from the video, to learn how to make yourself referable.

A Guide to Securing Second Meetings with Prospects: Turning First Impressions into Lasting Partnerships

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

It’s no exaggeration to say that the initial meeting with a prospective client is a make-or-break moment that sets the tone for the relationship and determines whether it will continue in a second meeting. The initial meeting is a crucial dance between the advisor and a naturally skeptical prospect who wants to know why they should work with you.

In a crowded field of financial advisors, the initial meeting presents a critical opportunity to differentiate yourself. Prospects are likely to meet with multiple advisors. You must make the prospect feel they’re making the right choice in working with you and that they should expect an advisory experience with you that they can’t get from anyone else. That’s a tall order.

But if you’re organized, practiced, and have the end in mind—a second meeting with the prospect—you can make each initial meeting a success.

Factors Financial Advisors Should Consider When Choosing a Fee Structure for Their Practice

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Among the more critical decisions a financial advisor must make is determining their fee structure—what to charge clients and how to charge them. After all, the fee structure sets the tone for how clients perceive the value they receive from your services.

If clients feel that the fees are too high relative to the value provided, it can lead to dissatisfaction and attrition. Conversely, if they perceive your fees as fair, it can foster trust and long-term loyalty. However, if they are too fair, it could threaten your business’s bottom line and sustainability.

Choosing the proper fee structure is a delicate balancing act for advisors. It requires consideration of client expectations, business sustainability, and your own financial goals. Your fee structure should align with your business model and client base, leading to stronger client relationships and business success while fulfilling one’s fiduciary obligations to clients.

Here are the pivotal factors to consider when determining how to structure your fees:

How to Write a Highly Effective LinkedIn Summary – Examples for Financial Advisors Included

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

It’s well established that LinkedIn is a vital platform for financial advisors to showcase their expertise and connect with potential clients. Advisors who use LinkedIn agree that the social media platform plays a key role in building connections and expanding their opportunities for finding potential prospects.

We’ve discussed LinkedIn’s important role in generating leads and how to use it effectively for prospecting. We also covered the five grave LinkedIn mistakes advisors make, including giving short shrift to their LinkedIn Summary. In fact, a poorly crafted LinkedIn Summary can render your profile unreadable, causing anyone looking for a financial advisor to move on to the next profile.

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.

The Fee Discussion: It’s Not the Fees That Bother Clients. It’s the Mystery Surrounding Them

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

For many advisors, discussing fees with their clients is about as comfortable as going to the dentist. They know they have to do it, but they’d much rather be doing something else. Why is that? Is it because they don’t feel their fees are justified? Are they afraid the client will balk at them? Are they concerned they will ruin the rapport they built up to that point?

It may come as a surprise to advisors, but clients expect to talk about fees. In fact, for most clients, it’s not the fees that bother them; it’s the mystery surrounding them when they don’t get the whole story. Some clients have a hard time understanding how fees work, which makes them feel uncomfortable. But they feel worse and may presume the worst when they don’t feel they’ve received all the information.

The fee discussion is a pivotal moment in the process and can set the tone for the relationship going forward. It’s also an opportunity to differentiate yourself if you do it right. That’s why it’s essential that advisors be well-prepared with a practiced presentation and the confidence to deliver it with the highest degree of transparency and professionalism.

How to Command and Maintain Control over Conversations with Prospects and Clients

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

How often have you been in a meeting with a client or prospect and felt like you lost control of the conversation? After starting on one subject, the other person goes off on tangents or takes the conversation in a new direction. Clients who are upset may launch into a rant with no particular point or one that isn’t related to the work you do with them. Or they simply want to talk about something other than the subject matter you broached with them.

Whatever the reason, when a client or prospect conversation goes off the rails, it’s incumbent upon you to steer it back in the right direction. Otherwise, your value to that person diminishes as long as you’re not in control. Taking control doesn’t mean taking over the conversation and dominating the talking space. Instead, it means getting it back on track, on the path to where it can achieve a productive or desired outcome. That can’t happen if you’re doing all the talking.

How to Tell When a Prospect Is Ready to Become a Client

/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments

In their interactions with prospects, financial advisors reach a critical juncture when they must determine when or if a prospect is ready to become a client. If they make the wrong determination, it will likely result in a missed opportunity. Trying to close prospects before they are ready can push them away, while waiting too long can cause them to lose interest.

Wouldn’t it be nice if, when they are ready to buy, prospects would just pipe up and say, “I’d like to get started?” Unfortunately, it rarely happens that way. Your prospects are just as apprehensive about making a buying decision as you are asking them to buy. Most people need to be held by the hand and reassured that they’re making the right decision. Some may need a stronger nudge. But in almost every instance, financial advisors must know when the time is right and take the appropriate action.

If you bring a prospect far enough along in the process, it means you’ve probably done a lot of things right—built rapport, discovered their pain, explained your process and how you bring value, etc. Then it becomes a dance. Like that girl or boy you’ve been staring at across the dance floor, they will provide clues or buying signals when they’re ready to be asked. Here are a few such signals or clues.

First Meeting with a New Client—Preparation Checklist

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

The first meeting with a new client should be a momentous event for both you and the client. For your client, it’s the first opportunity to validate their decision to select you as their advisor. For you, it’s the first opportunity to showcase your professionalism and reinforce your new client’s decision. You both hope this will be the beginning of a long and trusting relationship.

As you prepare for your first client meeting, it’s critical to remember that you are being carefully evaluated. Your new client is essentially taking a leap of faith in choosing you, and you must always strive to make them feel like they have made the right choice. With that in mind, your first meeting sets the tone for the entire relationship. Plan it with care.

Overcome the Fee Discussion by Focusing on the Things that Matter to Your Clients

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

Among the many trends affecting the way financial advisors must operate these days, fee compression has been the most impactful. The discussion of fees charged by advisors has moved to the forefront due to the low costs and transparency of digital advice platforms and the highly competitive arena in which they find themselves. As a result, clients are more willing to confront their advisors on the subject of fees and the value they receive in exchange for them, catching many advisors off guard.

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