demonstrate value Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

Assumptive Selling in Financial Advising: How to Open Accounts with Confidence and Consistency

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Although they may resist the terminology, financial advisors understand that to build a successful practice, they must be able to effectively sell themselves and their services. More to the point, they must be able to persuade prospects to become clients and then convince clients to act on their recommendations.

Advisors who work at developing their selling skills have likely heard of “assumptive selling”—a technique often misunderstood as aggressive sales tactics. Done right, it’s a powerful, ethical way to guide prospects toward decisions in their best interest. Many advisors join coaching programs to master this skill, which aims to convert prospects into clients with greater consistency —a crucial key to success as an advisor.

Assumptive selling isn’t about closing a sale; it’s about leading with confidence, building trust, and helping clients take the next step. In financial advising, where relationships drive success, this approach aligns perfectly with a client-first philosophy, fostering long-term partnerships built on clarity and trust.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Lead Generation for Financial Advisors

/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments

Of all the functions financial advisors must perform, generating leads consistently is one of the most critical and challenging. While expertise and service delivery are paramount, business growth stalls, and revenue becomes unpredictable without a steady stream of potential clients. Lead generation for Financial Advisors isn’t just about finding clients; it’s about implementing a structured, repeatable process that brings in the right prospects over time.

This guide will walk you through a step-by-step lead generation approach that blends traditional and digital strategies. Whether you are new to the industry or looking to refine your process, these steps will help you build a sustainable client acquisition system.

Leveraging Social Proof: How Financial Advisors Can Use Client Testimonials and Case Studies to Engage Millennial Investors

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

It’s well established that many millennials almost entirely rely on the internet for their daily consumption of information and social engagement. They would rather seek information for themselves than be told what is true. For these digital natives, if it can’t be found on the Web, it doesn’t exist. Or, if it can’t be validated through a quick internet search, it is not to be trusted.

It’s also true that millennials trust reviews and peer recommendations more than any other generation. According to BrightLocal, 91% of millennials rely on online reviews to make purchasing decisions—a trend that extends to choosing financial advisors. This reliance on social proof underscores the need for financial advisors to adapt their marketing strategies.

Social proof, the concept that people look to others’ actions or opinions to inform their own, is a powerful tool for building credibility and trust. This article explores how financial advisors can leverage client testimonials and case studies to connect with millennial investors and turn prospects into loyal clients.

How to Turn Data Collection into a Process Your Clients Will Appreciate

/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Financial advisors love data—until it’s time to collect it from a new client. Advisors know that data collection is an essential component of the planning process, without which they can’t get an accurate picture of their client’s current situation. But mining all the critical data needed to connect current circumstances to future aspirations can be tedious—for both advisors and clients.

It can also be a point of tension in a new advisory relationship, as new clients may still be working through trust issues. Advisors must understand this and continue working fervently to earn their client’s trust by expertly shepherding them through the process. While getting the data is important, advisors need to use this moment as another opportunity to engage their clients on a deeper level, focusing as much on the qualitative side as the quantitative side of data collection.

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.

Financial Advisor Do’s and Don’ts During Extreme Market Volatility

/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom / 0 comments

Financial advisors play a vital role in helping clients achieve their most important financial goals. But where they really earn their fees is during times like these, when helping clients navigate the choppy waters of extreme market volatility. Clients look to their advisors to guide them through scary times and reassure them that everything will be okay.

Emotions run high when the market turns volatile. When stressed, humans instinctively want to do something and take some kind of action to reduce or eliminate the threat. That’s when mistakes typically occur. The value of a financial advisor rises in direct proportion to the anxiety levels of their clients, who look at volatile market swings as a threat to their financial security. The critical role of financial advisors is to keep their clients from making costly behavioral mistakes. During periods of extreme market volatility, there are some things advisors must do and things they should avoid doing to maximize their value to their clients. Here are a few.

Why You Shouldn’t Be Apologetic when Asking for Business or Referrals

/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

For many financial advisors, that moment right before asking a prospect to take action on a recommendation or, in sales parlance, asking for the order is filled with tension. It can be more stressful when asking for referrals. Less seasoned advisors are often overcome with the fear of rejection, which is natural until you’ve developed more confidence in your ability to close. That comes with practice and experience.

The bigger problem is with advisors who, for whatever reason, approach that critical moment feeling apologetic—as if asking a client for a referral or a prospect to act on their recommendation may seem offensive. It’s a bigger problem because it stems from a mindset that can be more difficult to overcome. It demonstrates a lack of conviction in what they are proposing or, worse, in what they do for a living. They’re not convinced they are providing genuine value. If you don’t believe in yourself at that moment, how can you expect your prospect to have conviction in your solution or your client to believe in you when you ask for a referral?

How to Clearly Demonstrate Value so Your Clients Don’t Question Your Fees

/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

As a financial advisor, you know you bring value to your advisory relationships, which, in your mind, justifies the fees you charge. Your challenge is that, from your clients’ perspective, value is difficult to define. It doesn’t make it any easier when you consider that a client’s assessment of value is subjective, which can vary from client to client. A study by Vanguard attempted to quantify an advisor’s value in terms of how the right advice—primarily keeping clients from abandoning their strategy—can potentially increase a client’s returns by as much as 3% annually. The problem is that difference in performance isn’t apparent in your clients’ statements.

So, how do you demonstrate value in a way that makes your clients not feel the need to question why they’re paying the fees you charge—that they are getting their money’s worth? It may be as easy as simply giving your clients what they want.