June 14, 2021 / by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
Undoubtedly, you are familiar with the theme: You have a prospect in front of you with a clear objective. After gathering all the facts and probing them on why it’s important to them to achieve the goal, you present an iron-clad solution that checks all their boxes, throughout which they nod in agreement. You lay out the steps to get started and ask them for their approval to move forward. When they shift back in their seats, you know what’s coming—the pause, the hesitancy, and the anxiety over making a decision, leading to the standard, “We’d like to think about it.”
After addressing their concerns, walking them through how your solution helps them achieve their objective, once again with approving nods, they again shift in their seats and confide that they just don’t think it’s a good time to start investing.
That’s a very good sign—a strong indication you’ve done your job—up to this point. But your job is not complete until your prospects take action to improve their situation. All they need now is a reassuring nudge. All they might need is some perspective—some time perspective.
Read more
The File Note: How to Increase Your Closing Rates to 9 out of 10 in Life Insurance Sales
May 2, 2022 / by Russell Collins / Connelly Corner, Presentation Skills / 0 comments
At the conclusion of my previous guest post – “Making Every Initial Meeting with a Prospect Successful” – I mentioned that if I could point to one thing that increased my closing rate to 9 out of 10, it was the file note. This in effect acted as a pre-presentation vehicle and I believe it motivated people to really look forward to our next meeting and my eventual recommendations.
Here’s how to start using the file note to increase your life insurance sales.
Read more
Use the Perspective of Time to Move Your Prospects to Action
June 14, 2021 / by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
Undoubtedly, you are familiar with the theme: You have a prospect in front of you with a clear objective. After gathering all the facts and probing them on why it’s important to them to achieve the goal, you present an iron-clad solution that checks all their boxes, throughout which they nod in agreement. You lay out the steps to get started and ask them for their approval to move forward. When they shift back in their seats, you know what’s coming—the pause, the hesitancy, and the anxiety over making a decision, leading to the standard, “We’d like to think about it.”
After addressing their concerns, walking them through how your solution helps them achieve their objective, once again with approving nods, they again shift in their seats and confide that they just don’t think it’s a good time to start investing.
That’s a very good sign—a strong indication you’ve done your job—up to this point. But your job is not complete until your prospects take action to improve their situation. All they need now is a reassuring nudge. All they might need is some perspective—some time perspective.
Read more
Financial Advisor Webinar Marketing: 7 Reasons Why You Should Do It
March 29, 2021 / by Diana Marinova / Marketing Yourself / 4 comments
For several decades, financial advisors successfully used seminars to introduce themselves to potential clients. Seminar marketing is still the most effective way to present yourself as an authority and knowledgeable resource—two traits investors covet in a trusted advisor. However, thanks to Covid19, live seminar events may be a thing of the past, at least until […]
Read more
Self-sabotage – 10 Behaviors to Avoid
December 3, 2018 / by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
Self-sabotaging behaviors can create problems, interfere with goals and ultimately put your career at risk. Without even realizing it you could be a victim of self-sabotage. Be honest and identify the traits that are holding you back so you can make the positive changes required to move forward.
Here are ten ways you could be self-sabotaging – along with some recommendations on how to do things better.
Read more
Four Common Client Objections and How to Counter Them
September 11, 2017 / by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
There’s so much uncertainty surrounding investing that people postpone the decision. Clients and prospects can think of a multitude of reasons not to invest: Whether it’s tax time, retirement looks too far away or they want to buy a new car or kitchen.
However, when clients say they’ll ‘think it over’ it doesn’t mean they’ve found a good reason to delay investing; perhaps it means they don’t trust you enough yet, perhaps they don’t understand what you said or perhaps you simply haven’t convinced them to act. So how do you get them to do the right thing and start securing their financial futures?
Here are some common objections you’ll face – and how to answer them.
Read more
Believe in Your Value and Never Do These Three Things with Clients
July 31, 2017 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
When prospecting see yourself as the professional consultant you are. Your job is of the utmost importance – you’re there to safeguard your clients’ financial future. It doesn’t get much more important than that and you are due respect.
So, if you find you’re fighting to win new clients, rushing through a presentation or apologizing for asking for the order, take a step back. Understand that you add value to your clients’ lives. Because of you people will be able to retire comfortably or get their kids through college. Your clients should feel privileged to do business with you, not the other way around.
Here are three things to avoid doing with clients.
Read more
Why Financial Advisors Should Do Seminars
September 21, 2015 / by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments
One of my Don Connelly 24/7 subscribers asked me how I liked seminars for a prospecting idea. The answer is ‘I love seminars’. Here are a couple of reasons why.
Listen to this audio episode to hear Don’s full answer, or read the transcript below.
Read more
5 Reasons to Develop Effective Listening Skills
April 16, 2015 / by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship, Prospecting / 0 comments
The fact is, most of us simply don’t listen enough. That could be because of the increasing number of distractions going on around us, or because we often find it easier to focus on non-verbal clues – such as body language – rather than on what people are actually saying. But if you want to get ahead as a financial advisor you need to develop effective listening skills.
Read more
Communicating as Intended Is Vital to Your Success
July 14, 2014 / by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
Since it is your job to influence and persuade, what you say is not nearly as important as what the other person hears. To be successful, you’ve got to communicate as intended.
When folks say to you that they want to go home and think about what you proposed, they are most likely telling you that they haven’t fully understood what you said. They aren’t rethinking their decision to retire comfortably. They simply don’t want to buy into what they don’t understand.
Why are we misunderstood and what can we do about it?
Read more