/ by Don Connelly / Connelly Corner, Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
I want to pass on to you an obituary, no pun intended, called ‘The Death of Common Sense’. You may have seen this. If you haven’t, it’s just extraordinary, and basically it said, “We’re mourning the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for so many years. No one knew for sure how old he was. His birth records were lost long ago on bureaucratic red tape. He’ll be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as, ‘knowing when to come in out of the rain’, ‘why the early bird gets the worm’, ‘life isn’t always fair’, and, of course, ‘maybe it was my fault’, that’s a great lesson.”
Watch the video or read the transcript below to hear the entire obituary of Common Sense and hopefully help you put things in perspective and think about the world we live in today.
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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.
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The Elevator Repair Story
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship, Prospecting / 0 comments
I met an Advisor at Merrill Lynch in Detroit who told me a very interesting story.
Listen to the audio episode or read the transcript below, adapted from the video, to learn an important lesson about client service.
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Three Decisions People Make When Choosing an Advisor
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
When mom and dad sit down with you for the first time, they want to get to know you. They want to do business with someone they like and trust and someone who is making the right suggestions. They don’t want to do business with the Mr. or Ms. Financial Advisor you. They want to do business with the real you.
Watch this video episode or read the transcript below to learn what people want to know when making the decision to work with you or move on.
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Control Is Important for People Over 60
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices, Connelly Corner / 0 comments
There’s a subtlety about getting old that really concerns people and we don’t talk about it enough. That’s loss of control, loss of being able to control their lives. I know I went through it with my mother when she became too old to drive.
She was driving years before myself and my two brothers were born. To her, her driver’s license was not a privilege. It was a right. And for us to say as her children, ‘You shouldn’t be driving’, it’s loss of control. She freaked out and it infuriated her. I don’t blame her. If someone does it to me someday, I’m going to go nutty also. But we’re all afraid of losing control.
I don’t care if someone has a million dollars or $1. Rich people are poor people with money. We’ve all got the same worries about losing control of our lives and letting other people make our decisions. Listen to this audio episode or read the transcript below to learn about losing control, Frank Luntz, the pollster, and one of his books.
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Death of Common Sense
/ by Don Connelly / Connelly Corner, Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
I want to pass on to you an obituary, no pun intended, called ‘The Death of Common Sense’. You may have seen this. If you haven’t, it’s just extraordinary, and basically it said, “We’re mourning the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for so many years. No one knew for sure how old he was. His birth records were lost long ago on bureaucratic red tape. He’ll be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as, ‘knowing when to come in out of the rain’, ‘why the early bird gets the worm’, ‘life isn’t always fair’, and, of course, ‘maybe it was my fault’, that’s a great lesson.”
Watch the video or read the transcript below to hear the entire obituary of Common Sense and hopefully help you put things in perspective and think about the world we live in today.
Read more
Two Stories to Help You Explain What You Do
/ by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
I have a thought I want you to pass on to your clients. Tell them this from me. The only people who lose weight are the people who hire trainers. People that buy equipment and put it in a house don’t use the equipment. How many times have you seen a treadmill with a neck tie or a blouse hanging on it? You’re the trainer. You make them do sit ups and you get them on the treadmill. It’s a great analogy.
Listen to this audio episode or read the transcript below to learn two more quick simple stories about advisors who were great at getting people on the treadmill.
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Put Success in Perspective, Be Humble and Believe in Yourself
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices, Connelly Corner / 0 comments
One of the challenges we all face is staying humble in the face of success. We work very hard to attain success. Stay humble when you do, and you’re going to be successful. I have a story I love about being humble, about putting success into perspective. It’s a story about the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Watch this video or read the transcript below to learn the story about two Alpine skiers who achieved their two, very different goals at the Olympics.
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5 Steps to Create and Sustain a Winner’s Mindset
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
I’ve already written about self-sabotaging behaviors, and how to avoid them. But today, I’d like to address the flip side of the coin: How you can actively develop and maintain a winner’s mindset.
I’ve known many hugely successful advisors in my time. And they all have certain traits in common:
– They take a proactive approach to time management;
– They don’t make excuses for themselves. Instead, they take on and eliminate or bypass obstacles;
– They surround themselves with positive influences and accountability partners;
– They constantly expose themselves to positive messages and ideas.
– They get help when they need it.
So here are five things you can do to help develop that winner’s mindset – and sustain it over time.
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A Reminder: The Trend Is Your Friend
/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom / 0 comments
I get asked a lot if I coach Advisors and the answer is “No, I don’t coach. I remind.” Literally. I think teaching is showing someone how to do a job. Coaching them is showing them how to get better. I think you get better by going backwards, by going back to the basics, so let me give you the most basic investing thought I can give you.
Watch the video or read the transcript below to learn the most basic investing thought and why the trend is your friend.
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Use Your Clients as Your Sales Force
/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments
A few years ago I got a question from Ryan who was wondering if I could give him some tips on how to increase the word of mouth that his clients give on his behalf and perhaps help to bring in more referrals.
Listen to the recording of my conversation with Ryan or read the transcript below to learn what I suggest he does and how he can use his clients as his sales force.
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