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?
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
How to Be a Better Prospector
July 25, 2016 / 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.
Read more
Common Mistakes New Advisors Make – Ones that Could Ruin Your Business
June 27, 2016 / 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.
Read more
5 Grave Mistakes Financial Advisors Make on LinkedIn
May 30, 2016 / by Diana Marinova / Connelly Corner, Marketing Yourself / 6 comments
You already know how dangerous for your business not using LinkedIn could be, don’t you? With more than 5 million affluent investors on the network, Financial Advisors cannot afford to overlook using it as a networking and prospecting tool.
But like with any aspect of your marketing, there are best practices for making the most of LinkedIn, as well as common mistakes to avoid. .
Here are five grave mistakes Financial Advisors make on LinkedIn.
Read more