/ by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
To perform the many financial and arithmetical tasks required of an Advisor requires a high IQ. Therefore, most, if not all, successful Financial Advisors have a high IQ.
If we all have high IQ’s, if we are all well trained, if we all work hard, if we all chase the same business, and if a prospect must choose one among us, IQ can’t possibly be the sole, determining factor in a prospect’s mind.
Who, then, among all these smart Advisors, gets the new account?
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When Starting as a Financial Advisor …
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
The financial services industry is incredibly competitive and the first few years can be especially gruelling for new advisors. When you first start out you won’t have many clients or a network to get you referrals but so long as you have a plan and stick with it, you will soon make an impact. You are not going to become successful by accident.
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How to Find What Makes You Different from Other Advisors
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
The financial services marketplace is heavily commoditized. There are lots of firms offering basically the same products to the same people, so being the same as everyone else in this industry will not cut it. In order to succeed you need to quickly identify what makes you stand apart from the crowd. Ask yourself these questions in order to find out if you have the unique attributes you need to succeed.
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10 Things Clients Want from Their Advisors
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
One of the things I’ve observed over the years is that good service does not sell. Great service sells.
Watch this video to hear Don explain how to make your service great.
One of the firms I really admire has done something that is so good that when you put together your service proposal, you have to refer to it.
The firm is Cadaret Grant. The late Mac Cadaret was a wonderful guy, Art Grant is a friend. The men and women that work there have built a tremendous organization. They took the time and the presence of mind to ask clients what top ten things they wanted from their advisors. I thought you’d like the answer.
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Five Actionable Ways You Can Stand Apart from The Crowd
/ by Don Connelly / Marketing Yourself / 0 comments
If you want to succeed as a financial advisor, you need to achieve a competitive advantage. There needs to be something about you that highlights you not superior to other advisors but different. You need to possess a ‘certain something’ that makes people want to do business with you.
Dare to be different
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Why Thoughtful Advisors Get Referrals
/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments
Referrals are the cornerstone of your business. In order to get them you need to cement the relationship with your clients by being passionate and committed. If you are creative and look for different ways to engage with your clients you will become more referable.
To get referrals you need the soft skills that illustrate you can get along with people as well as a self-awareness.
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How to Manage Your Emotions in Difficult Situations
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
You know by now that I believe the development and use of certain soft skills contributes far more to our success than does the development and use of hard skills. Self-awareness is just such a soft skill. The importance of being aware of and controlling our emotions cannot be overstated.
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Every Time You Sit with a Client, Your Leadership Skills Are on Display
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
I want to remind you that next to the family doctor, you are the most important person a family will meet. You are not a vendor. You are the person who has been chosen to lead this family to their safe retirement heaven. The burden is on them to make the sacrifices necessary to guarantee peace of mind in their later years. The burden of you is to make sure they do it.
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How to Use Stories and Analogies to Influence and Persuade
/ by Don Connelly / Storytelling, analogies and power phrases, What's New / 0 comments
During our latest monthly webinar, held July 24, 2104, we discussed the importance of speaking in such a manner that our listener understands everything we say. It is the Advisor’s job to influence and persuade and it all begins with communicating clearly. “We want to go home and think it over” is often code-speak for “We don’t really understand you.”
When you give a good presentation full of sound advice and people choose not to act, what went wrong? Why did they choose not to do business with you? Why did you fail to move them?
There really aren’t that many possible answers to this question.
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Acquiring Negotiating Skills Will Help You Open More Accounts
/ by Don Connelly / Prospecting / 0 comments
When a prospective client is trying to decide between you and the Advisor across the street, you need to make the case that you are the obvious choice and the prospective client has to agree with your conclusion.
The time will surely arise in your career when a client wants to move his or her account to another Advisor.
The time will surely arise in your career when a client feels she deserves a lower fee. The time will surely arise in your career when a client balks at a suggested course of action. The time may very well arise when a client decides to manage his account himself. All these issues must be resolved tactfully.
Any dialogue intended to reach an understanding is a negotiation and negotiating involves specific skills.
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Where You End Up in Life Has Less to Do with Your IQ than You Might Think
/ by Don Connelly / Presentation Skills / 0 comments
To perform the many financial and arithmetical tasks required of an Advisor requires a high IQ. Therefore, most, if not all, successful Financial Advisors have a high IQ.
If we all have high IQ’s, if we are all well trained, if we all work hard, if we all chase the same business, and if a prospect must choose one among us, IQ can’t possibly be the sole, determining factor in a prospect’s mind.
Who, then, among all these smart Advisors, gets the new account?
Read more