/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
You never see it coming, and you may never know the reason why. A prospective client you have carefully cultivated agrees to a meeting to learn more about how you can help them. It seems to go well. Their heads were nodding up and down, and they laughed at your joke. At the end of the 30-minute meeting, you suggest the next step with an offer to follow up with them. Turning toward the door, they reply, “We’ll let you know.”
You know that’s the end of it. So, you replay it in your head, asking, “What were the red flags that soured their perception of me?”
Whether the outcome of a prospect meeting is good or bad, you should always replay it in your mind. With a positive outcome, you need to know what worked and why. For a negative outcome, it’s vital to understand what didn’t work and why. Identifying the negatives is often more difficult because it’s hard to be self-critical. But that’s where the path to self-improvement begins. To help in your diagnosis, we list the five of the most common red flags that could cause your prospects to dismiss you.
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Using Listening as a Powerful Client Retention Tool: What Most Advisors Miss
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
Imagine this: your client of ten years, with a solid portfolio and steady growth, suddenly moves their account. No warning, no major performance issues—just a vague email about “needing a change.” When you dig deeper, you hear the real reason: “I didn’t feel heard.” It’s a gut punch.
Most financial advisors pride themselves on their communication skills, but many fall short in strategic listening—a powerful client retention tool that extends beyond mere nodding. Listening isn’t just a soft skill; it’s a measurable, proactive strategy for maintaining client loyalty. Here’s what most advisors miss and how to turn listening into a retention powerhouse.
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How Advisors Can Navigate Industry Barriers and Build Trust Faster by Mastering the Basics
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
Financial advisors are increasingly operating in an industry riddled with structural barriers—systemic challenges beyond their direct control. These include widespread public distrust of fee transparency complexity and jargon, commoditized products, confusing regulations, technology that depersonalizes relationships, and a crowded market of advisors vying for attention.
While these hurdles are daunting, advisors can overcome them by returning to the fundamentals: clear communication, genuine listening, and authentic relationship-building. By mastering these basics, advisors can differentiate themselves, rebuild trust, and open more accounts in an industry that often feels stacked against them.
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The Art of Active Listening in Financial Advising: Building Trust and Uncovering Client Goals Beyond the Numbers
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
We’ve devoted a lot of space here to discussing the concept of “active listening.” Why? Because it’s essential for connecting with clients on a more meaningful level. Beyond merely listening, active listening is an immersive, empathetic approach that enables you to pick up unspoken cues, explore clients’ deeper motivation, and get to the crucial “why.” Active listening is critical to moving clients to take action.
Advisors who master active listening are able to transform the advisor-client relationship to understand and anticipate their client’s needs beyond the surface of financial data and gain insight into what truly matters to clients.
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Transitioning Conversations: How to Change the Subject without Offending Your Client
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
In a recent post, we highlighted the importance of maintaining control over conversations with prospects and clients—that your value as a financial advisor diminishes without it. Part and parcel of maintaining control of a conversation is being able to switch gears when a client takes it in a direction you don’t want to go. Getting trapped in a tangent is a time waster, but how do you change the subject without making it awkward or alienating your client?
People go off topic for many reasons. Whatever the reason, they feel that what they have to say is important, so if you’re going to try to change the conversation, it needs to be done delicately and gracefully to not make them feel as if what they have to say is not important.
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5 Soft Skills You’d Need to Work Entirely Online as a Financial Advisor
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
Times are changing, and suddenly we have all been thrust onto the online space, whether we were prepared or not. While the country is slowly opening back up despite the increasing number of covid19 cases, many businesses are choosing to stay remote, and people are still wary about office meetings. Financial Advisors are in a fortunate position to potentially increase their client base, as now you are not limited to the geographic area that you are physically located in.
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