/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
As a financial advisor, it’s essential that your clients ask questions. It means they want to engage with you, and they trust your expertise. Every question a client asks is an opportunity to educate them, which is a good thing. When your clients are comfortable enough with you to ask questions, it’s a sign of a healthy advisory relationship.
But what if a client blindsides you with an unexpected question, one you didn’t see coming? The relationship could turn on how you handle the question. If you hesitate, appear uncomfortable, or try to avoid the question, you could find yourself outside the client’s circle of trust, at least for the moment.
However, if you’re prepared to manage these impromptu and uneasy moments with confidence and professionalism, you will reinforce the trust you’ve already built.
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The Power of Open-Ended Questions for Financial Advisors
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
Effective communication is the cornerstone of enduring and trusting relationships. For financial advisors, it’s the key to meaningful client engagement that fosters deeper discussions and stronger connections. At the core of meaningful engagement is asking the right questions.
Open-ended questions, in particular, can transform a conversation, moving it beyond stunted yes or no answers to delve more deeply into what matters to a client—to understand the “why” behind their thinking. Unlike closed-ended questions, which tend to limit responses, open-ended questions encourage an open dialogue full of insights advisors can use to tailor their advice in a way that resonates with the client.
Mastering the art of crafting and asking open-ended questions is critical to pinpointing client needs, concerns, and priorities while building trust and driving more successful outcomes for your clients.
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How Financial Advisors Can Create Engaging Financial Presentations
/ by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
A significant challenge for financial advisors is translating complex financial concepts into terms clients can easily digest. For many, presentations serve as an effective medium for closing the gap between what advisors know and what clients can understand. However, many advisors struggle with transforming intricate concepts into accessible content and maintaining their client’s interest throughout the presentation.
Advisors must elevate their presentation chops when presenting at client meetings, educational workshops, or public seminars. Here are some critical strategies advisors can use to prioritize clarity, engagement, and professionalism when delivering financial presentations.
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How to Handle Unexpected Client Questions
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
As a financial advisor, it’s essential that your clients ask questions. It means they want to engage with you, and they trust your expertise. Every question a client asks is an opportunity to educate them, which is a good thing. When your clients are comfortable enough with you to ask questions, it’s a sign of a healthy advisory relationship.
But what if a client blindsides you with an unexpected question, one you didn’t see coming? The relationship could turn on how you handle the question. If you hesitate, appear uncomfortable, or try to avoid the question, you could find yourself outside the client’s circle of trust, at least for the moment.
However, if you’re prepared to manage these impromptu and uneasy moments with confidence and professionalism, you will reinforce the trust you’ve already built.
Read more
Future-Proofing Your Financial Advisory Career: The Power of Soft Skills in an AI World
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
Financial advisors are bracing for the “next big thing” as artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly prominent role. The rise of AI-powered tools and robo-advisors is automating many of the routine, data-driven aspects of financial planning, creating more efficient and accurate solutions.
Robo-advisors, for example, offer algorithm-based portfolio management services that can reduce the need for human intervention in certain advisory functions. AI tools can sift through massive datasets, analyze market trends, and generate investment strategies, all at a fraction of the cost and time it would take a human advisor.
However, as AI takes over the technical aspects of financial advising, the human touch remains irreplaceable.
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Three Analogies to Use in Volatile Markets
/ by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Obviously, the stock market’s volatile and you’re going to encounter volatility your entire career. It’s the normal part of the market. Even though volatility is normal, it makes clients very nervous. Fear is a bigger emotion than greed.
One of the challenges for you in volatile markets is that clients can slip into a behavior called anchoring. When clients give you a specific amount of money, that becomes the anchor amount of their portfolio. They refer back to that initial amount when evaluating any ups and down in value. Let’s say hypothetically that a $100,000 portfolio falls in value to $90.000. Right away, they think to themselves, “Oh, it’s broken.” Something’s wrong.”
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5 Effective Ways Financial Advisors Can Educate Clients
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
Even though overeducating your clients can intimidate or overwhelm them into analysis paralysis or lost trust, still, one of your critical roles as a financial advisor is empowering your clients to make informed decisions.
Financial advisors who prioritize client education foster trust and instill confidence in their clients. The more trust and confidence your clients have in you and your advice, the more enduring the advisory relationship will be. But you must walk the fine line between overeducating your clients and empowering them with the right amount and type of financial literacy.
Here are five of the most effective ways financial advisors can educate their clients:
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5 Relatable Analogies to Explain the Perils of Market Timing to Clients
/ by Don Connelly / Investing Wisdom, Storytelling, analogies and power phrases / 0 comments
Let’s face it: Most people are lousy timers. Think about the last time you switched to the shortest line at the grocery checkout. That feeling of smugness turns to scorn when the line crawls to a halt while the longer lines churn through.
Or, when you constantly switch to the fast-moving lane on the freeway only to watch a long river of red brake lights stretch out in front of you. The actual cost, in terms of time, frustration, and dignity, almost invariably exceeds any possible gain you might have achieved by making the switch.
The stakes for investors seeking bigger gains or cutting losses by timing the market are much higher.
Financial advisors know that few people, if any, are adept at picking winners or predicting the market’s direction. Yet many still try, often driven by the powerful emotions of fear and greed.
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7 Common Mistakes Financial Advisors Make that Repel Clients
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
To be successful, financial advisors must work tirelessly to master their craft while putting in countless hours to build their business. Some have an easier time of it than others because they avoid the many missteps that can drive prospects and clients away. Even the most well-intentioned advisors can sometimes engage in behaviors that unintentionally repel potential and existing clients, creating an enduring uphill battle to grow their practice.
You spend a lot of time and resources to gain a foothold in this business. But if you’re not aware of the crucial mistakes many advisors make in trying to build relationships, you are less likely to avoid them yourself, making your job much more difficult—maybe even impossible. Here are seven common missteps many advisors make that you must avoid to have any chance of success.
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