/ by Don Connelly / Long-term Care / 0 comments
You’d think smart clients would be the first to plan ahead for long-term care. They know how to anticipate problems, make tough decisions, and take care of their families. They read the headlines, see the data, and probably even have stories in their own families about caregiving challenges or financial strain.
And yet, when the conversation turns to long-term care, they freeze up. They change the subject. They deflect. They say things like “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” or “I’m not going to a nursing home.”
Even your most financially savvy clients, those with the assets to protect and the foresight to insure against other risks, often treat long-term care as an emotional landmine to avoid.
Why is that?
Because this conversation isn’t about money. It’s about control. About aging. About dependency. And no matter how intelligent your client is, those ideas trigger deeply human fears that logic alone can’t dissolve.
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Why Smart Clients Are Still in Denial About Long-Term Care
/ by Don Connelly / Long-term Care / 0 comments
You’d think smart clients would be the first to plan ahead for long-term care. They know how to anticipate problems, make tough decisions, and take care of their families. They read the headlines, see the data, and probably even have stories in their own families about caregiving challenges or financial strain.
And yet, when the conversation turns to long-term care, they freeze up. They change the subject. They deflect. They say things like “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” or “I’m not going to a nursing home.”
Even your most financially savvy clients, those with the assets to protect and the foresight to insure against other risks, often treat long-term care as an emotional landmine to avoid.
Why is that?
Because this conversation isn’t about money. It’s about control. About aging. About dependency. And no matter how intelligent your client is, those ideas trigger deeply human fears that logic alone can’t dissolve.
Read more
How to Convince Prospects and Clients That You Understand What They’re Going through
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
It’s long been said that people might forget what you say. But they will never forget how you made them feel.
There’s a lot of truth to that. And one of the first things your clients and prospects should feel is that you understand what they’re going through. Before some of you were born, there was a great, great sales trainer and educator named Zig Ziglar. Look him up! He learned to sell by selling brushes. Door-to-door.
He went on more sales calls before breakfast than some of you go on in a month. And he used to say “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care… about them.”
There’s two steps to that equation: First, you need to genuinely understand what they are going through. Second, you need to communicate that to them.
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How to Manage Your Emotions in Difficult Situations
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
You know by now that I believe the development and use of certain soft skills contributes far more to our success than does the development and use of hard skills. Self-awareness is just such a soft skill. The importance of being aware of and controlling our emotions cannot be overstated.
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Empathize, Don’t Sympathize
/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom / 0 comments
There is never a convenient time to invest. The market is too high, the market is too low, we need a new kitchen first and a million other reasons are readily available. The toughest investment decision every prospective investor faces is the decision to do it. This is where you must play bad cop.
A big part of your job is getting people to do what they don’t always want to do.
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