stuck in a rut Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

Why Financial Advisors Need a Coach

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For challenging endeavors in which people seek to achieve a level of performance beyond their current capacity – such as sports, weight loss, or running a business – they have a better chance of getting over the top by working with a coach. Even successful business executives and sports figures recognize the significant gap that separates a plan from action, theory from practice, and activity from results.

For most people, it often takes an external force to push them beyond their comfort level. That’s what a coach does. The top athletes in the world hire a team of coaches because they know they can’t get to the next level without them. In complex and vital endeavors, we could all use a coach to keep us detached from our emotions and accountable to our goals when our discipline fails.

Ask any professional athlete, corporate executive, or entrepreneur why they hire a coach, and they’ll tell you they want to increase their earnings by improving their performance. It’s no different for financial advisors.

Want to Get Out of a Rut? Focus on Becoming Exceptional

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We can all remember when we first became financial advisors, feeling like we could conquer the world. With our entire careers in front of us, we were excited, motivated, and ready to commit everything we had to become successful. The great thing about starting out as an advisor was that there was never a dull moment. Everything was new, and we thrived on the daily challenges of learning how to build a successful practice.

Flash forward a few years, and time seems to slow down. The hours don’t fly by as they once did, and the pace of change has slowed to a crawl. That’s when you know you’re in a rut, which can be agonizing for someone who once braved the many obstacles that lay in front of all new financial advisors. For financial advisors, being in a rut can seem like dying a slow death.

When You Find Yourself Discouraged, Revisit Why You Got in This Business

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I know there are times that you want to quit, you just want to throw in the towel. Clients get in your face, the market is working against you, things are bad, and you’re in a slump. Next time that happens, here’s a suggestion. Ask yourself why you got in the business and answer that question.

Listen to a story that illustrates how asking yourself this question will help you find courage to keep on doing what you’re doing.

4 More Things That Could Get You Stuck in a Rut

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In a previous post we outlined four things that could get you stuck in a rut. Here are four more – along with some recommendations on how to get your business moving forward again.

1. Thinking you don’t need help

If you think you don’t need help in building your business, think again. Over time you will eventually work out how to do things on your own – but why waste time? With help you’ll get there far quicker.

As the ancient Chinese proverb says – if you want to know the road ahead, ask those coming back.

4 Things That Could Get You Stuck in a Rut

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You won’t get stuck in a rut by chance. There’s always a reason behind a lack of career progression – from letting fears rule actions to lacking a career vision.

Here are four behaviors to avoid if you want to prevent yourself from getting stuck in a rut.