build a successful business Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

You Can’t Be Afraid to Fail. It’s How You Succeed.

March 20, 2023 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Who doesn’t want to be a success? It’s what people, particularly financial advisors, strive for every day. No one wants to be a failure. But did it ever occur to you that it’s virtually impossible to be a success without failing? Successful people must be very comfortable with failure because they probably fail more often than they succeed. They’re successful because they use their failures as learning experiences to propel them forward.

Yet, many people seem to have such a dysfunctional relationship with failure that they can’t see the value in it, choosing instead to avoid it by not taking the same risks that led to it. That’s not learning. That’s capitulation, which never leads to success.

5 Ways You’re Setting Yourself Up to Fail

August 8, 2022 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

I don’t think any financial advisor wakes up in the morning and intentionally sets out to fail. But I can think of many examples of advisors who unwittingly find ways to sabotage their efforts to build a successful practice. It’s often the little things they are either unaware of or don’t recognize as problems. But they’re big enough to turn prospects and clients away from you.

While you may not think you are setting yourself up to fail, you have to consider whether you’re doing the things necessary to prepare yourself for success. That includes taking a critical look at yourself and the way you conduct business and making immediate course corrections.

While there are dozens of ways advisors may be sabotaging their business, here are five we see most often.

Procrastination Will Ruin Your Chances of Success

December 19, 2016 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Procrastination can take different forms. You may consciously procrastinate and avoid what you know you should be doing, or you may unconsciously put off your top priority tasks by attending to a series of ‘never ending fires’. Whatever type of procrastination you suffer from it can be ruinous to your business. Here’s what to do instead.

Happy 4th of July

July 4, 2016 / by Don Connelly / What's New / 0 comments

Happy 4th July from Don Connelly & Associates

Nations throughout the world celebrate important holidays in ways important to its citizens. America has eleven federal holidays and each is special. The Fourth of July might be the most special of all. We call it Independence Day or simply the Fourth. Read on.

Three Must-read Success Stories for Financial Advisors

March 7, 2016 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

As a financial advisor you need to work flat out on building your business. But it also pays to take the time to stand back and find inspiration from the best in the business. By understanding what helped some top pros rise to the top of their profession you can gain valuable pointers to motivate you both personally and professionally. Here’s a brief introduction to three professionals you should have on your radar.

Visualization Techniques Help Financial Advisors Succeed

April 13, 2015 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

Visualization is a technique used by many top athletes to help them stay at the top of their game. It’s what athletes call ‘mental rehearsal’. They develop clear pictures in their mind of what they want to happen, and repeat these images over and over, rehearsing the mind to enable the body to perform what has been visualized. It’s a highly effective technique with some studies reporting that practicing visualization improves performance almost as much as physical practice alone.

Visualization is not just for athletes either. It’s a highly valuable tool that can help you succeed in your career as a financial advisor.

Do You Really Know Your Numbers?

October 2, 2014 / by David Hubbard / Best Practices / 0 comments

Know Your Numbers - Financial Advisors Tips

Ok, you’re a great financial advisor, but are you a great businessperson? Really great people in business always know their numbers, but not just any numbers, the really important numbers!

Many people think that being a great businessperson is to be someone that is entrepreneurial, who can market and grow their clientele. While these are important aspects of running a great business, the great businessperson always focuses on the really important numbers of their business.

So, what are the REALLY IMPORTANT numbers that a financial advisor in business must know?