/ 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?
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Why You Need to Be a Good Business Person to Succeed as a Financial Advisor
/ 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.
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You Don’t Need to Be Better – You Need to Be Different
/ 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.
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5 Costly Mistakes That Could Lose You Clients
/ 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.
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Five Rules to Follow to Build a Healthy Business
/ 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.
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Telltale Signs That a Prospect Is About to Waste Your Time
/ 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.
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Learn to Make The Choice to Not Open The Account
/ 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.
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Recognize When It’s Time to Move On
/ 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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How to Be a Better Prospector
/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments
To succeed in this competitive industry, you need to be creative when it comes to acquiring new clients. No one universal approach is likely to be your Holy Grail when it comes to prospecting. Instead, you will need to adopt a number of prospecting approaches and learn, through trial and error, which work best for you. Once you’ve found a method you’re good at, you’re likely to enjoy finding clients that way, boosting your job satisfaction as well as your ability to attract new clients. Here are a few prospecting approaches to try.
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Common Mistakes New Advisors Make – Ones that Could Ruin Your Business
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
There are many pitfalls to face when you’re first starting out as an advisor and mistakes are easy to make. Look out for these potential mishaps because they could halt your business in its tracks before it even gets off the ground.
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