ideal client profile Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

5 Reasons Why You Should Only Work with ‘Ideal Clients’

November 12, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments

Rather than pouring all your energy into searching for any and all new clients, you should be working out how to attract your ‘ideal clients’. If you agree to work with everyone who comes your way, your business will not continue to be sustainable.

Here are five reasons why it will pay you to drill down to your target market and decide only to work with these types of people.

5 Top Priorities for Advisors Who Want to Build a Healthy Practice

September 17, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

If you want to build a healthy practice, there are several things you must prioritize, including the following.

#1. Prospecting
To run a healthy business, you need a pipeline full of good leads. Referrals will probably not be enough to grow your business – and networking, whilst productive, won’t guarantee that you’ll meet the right people. So, prospecting (i.e. actively recruiting or seeking out new clients) must become your priority.

Prospecting may be the least favorite part of your job. If this is the case, work on developing your soft skills so you become more comfortable with this task.

Why You Need to Be a Good Business Person to Succeed as a Financial Advisor

September 10, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

A large percentage of financial advisors fail, not because they aren’t good at what they do, but because they lack the core competencies of running a business.

If you want to succeed in this profession, you need to become a business person.

Let’s look at what this entails.

You Don’t Need to Be Better – You Need to Be Different

June 4, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments

As Steve Jobs said, ‘Don’t do something better, do it different’. Facebook wasn’t necessarily ‘better’ than Myspace, it was different. Netflix wasn’t ‘better’ than any other movie-rental system – it was different. Make yourself authentic and you will succeed. Find out what it is that differentiates you from the competition and communicate it to prospects and clients.

Concentrate on developing superb soft skills and you will stand out in a crowded marketplace without trying to be ‘better’ than anyone else.

5 Costly Mistakes That Could Lose You Clients

March 5, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

When a client takes you on, they’ve decided they’re comfortable getting into a long-term relationship with you – and that’s a huge compliment. If you want to retain them, you must work hard to maintain the integrity of that relationship over the long term.

Don’t make one of these errors, or you could end up in the firing line.

5 Signs That It’s Time to Let Go of a Client

February 26, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments

Signing up a new client – any client – feels like an achievement, especially for new advisors. Keeping money coming in is after all the number one priority. Over time however you’ll find that you have two types of clients: Clients you actively look forward to speaking to i.e. those who are pleasant to do business with, make realistic demands on your time, and are fully onboard with your ideas. And then there are the others – the ones you come to dread dealing with.

As a financial advisor you should aim to only work with clients who are enjoyable to deal with and profitable. It’s not only acceptable to prune out bad clients – but essential to keep your business healthy.

So how do you know when it’s time to let go of a client?

Five Rules to Follow to Build a Healthy Business

January 15, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments

To get to the top of your profession you need to ensure you only work with the right clients – then retain them for the long term. Here are five steps that will help you achieve this.

Telltale Signs That a Prospect Is About to Waste Your Time

December 4, 2017 / by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments

Your time is precious so it’s essential that you spend it productively by prospecting to the right people. Some prospects are not worth spending time on – maybe expressing an interest when they’re not really committed to investing – and despite all your best efforts you won’t be able to do anything to change their minds. The problem is these prospects can be difficult to identify.

Here are a few telltale signs that someone is not about to do business with you.

Learn to Make The Choice to Not Open The Account

June 12, 2017 / by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments

When you’re first starting out as a financial advisor getting any work at all can seem like a good thing. In fact, the prospect of turning down new business could seem terrifying. However, you need to change your approach or you could end up working long term with unprofitable and stressful clients. To avoid such a scenario, you need to make the decision not to open certain accounts in the first place.

Here are a few ways to help you identify whether a prospect is going to be a good fit for you – and how to say no politely if you discover they aren’t.

Recognize When It’s Time to Move On

December 5, 2016 / by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments

Prospecting is the backbone of your business. It’s the one task you cannot delegate, since people need to like and trust you personally if they are to do business with you. So you should be constantly perfecting your soft skills in order to connect with and win new clients.

Inevitably however despite all your best efforts, you will fail to win influence with certain prospects. And it can be hard giving up on them – especially if you believe there’s even the tiniest chance of them converting.

There is a fine line between giving up too quickly and not knowing when to give up.

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