/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
The industry pressures that have weighed on financial advisors over the last few years will continue into 2021 and beyond, especially with the lingering effects of the pandemic. Fee compression, increasing regulation, heightened competition, and the commoditization of services are all part of an inevitable trend that threatens the survivability of many advisors. From now on, advisors who fall short of clearly differentiating themselves will have a difficult time bucking the trend, and advisors who fail to put their entire focus on their client relationships may be doomed.
Unfortunately, many advisors learn too late in their careers what I have stressed numerous times—that this isn’t a money business. It is a people business! For the first several years of an advisor’s career, the focus is almost solely on acquiring product knowledge, investment expertise, and planning skills. While that is essential for building necessary competencies, too few advisors come to realize that money management is not the lifeblood of their business—their clients are.
For financial advisors, the profit is not in the financial analysis or the transactions they conduct; it’s in the relationship.
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5 Essential Things New Financial Advisors Must Know to Be Successful
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
There’s never been a better time to be in the financial advisory business. And if you’re new to the industry, the opportunity is limitless—if you’re adequately prepared. But if you aren’t, the journey can be a long, slow, uphill slog with a minimal chance of success.
Too harsh? Not at all. It’s a fair warning to anyone who gets into this business with little or no understanding of what it is about and what it takes to succeed.
Historically, the advisory business has attracted young people enamored by numbers, analysis, and their application in the investment world. And most are motivated by the desire to help people achieve financial security. Here’s the deal, though—you can’t help people if they don’t trust you. You can’t build a practice if you can’t convince people to follow your advice. You can’t stay in business if you don’t prospect, and prospects won’t gravitate toward you if you don’t stand out.
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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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Why Financial Advisors Quit
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
It’s estimated that nine advisors out of ten don’t last three years in the industry. That seems high for a career that offers so much promise and potential. Most people come into the business checking all the appropriate boxes for having what it takes. Still, when you consider the gap between reality and expectations of fledgling financial advisors, it begins to make sense why most choose to leave the business.
To put it bluntly, not everyone is cut out for a career as a financial advisor, even for those who do check all the boxes. However, with a better understanding of why many financial advisors quit the business, you can beat the odds by avoiding that fate.
The reasons why financial advisors quit are varied, but here are some of the most common.
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Top 5 Critical Acquired Skills Financial Advisors Need for Success
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
There was a time in the not-so-distant past when the only skill you needed to succeed in financial services was how to sell. The business of selling investments was almost entirely transactional, and all a financial advisor needed to do was shake the bushes for prospects and close them on a product sale. It was not easy by any means, and only the most tenacious advisors survived.
Certainly, that required some skill, but most were learned through memorizing scripts and drilling on closing techniques. The rest was all about persistence in dialing the phone.
Fast forward to today, and the game has changed drastically. With compensation coming largely from recurring revenue from assets under management or planning fees, advisors have had to develop an entirely new skill set. Tenaciousness, persistence, dogged determination, and knowing how to sell are still essential, but they take a back seat to more critical skills needed to succeed in the business today. Here are five such acquired skills you need to master.
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What No One Tells You About Being a Financial Advisor
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 2 comments
In my opinion, there has not been any better time to be a financial advisor. At a time when the world is inundated with chaos and hyperbolic media noise, financial advisors are proving their worth. An increasing number of people are seeking guidance and clarity beyond the cookie-cutter world of robo-advisors and financial pundits.
Those who seek a career in helping people achieve their life ambitions with personalized advice have the chance to be very successful and personally fulfilled. However, with less than 300,000 practicing financial advisors in a country of 330 million people, relatively few people are choosing that path, and even fewer are succeeding.
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Priceless Lessons for Financial Advisors from George Bailey
/ by Don Connelly / Best Practices / 0 comments
“Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” Angel Second Class, Clarence
For many of us, it took these words, proffered by a fledgling angel to a despairing George Bailey, to realize one of life’s most enduring truths. The timeless movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, is full of valuable lessons. But its central theme – that each of us is a hero in waiting – should remind us that it’s through our challenges that our superpowers and unique gifts are eventually revealed.
For me, the essence of the story is conveyed in a scene not usually associated with the classic moments people remember about the movie.
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For Great Financial Advisors, the Profit is in the Relationship
/ by Don Connelly / Managing the Relationship / 0 comments
The industry pressures that have weighed on financial advisors over the last few years will continue into 2021 and beyond, especially with the lingering effects of the pandemic. Fee compression, increasing regulation, heightened competition, and the commoditization of services are all part of an inevitable trend that threatens the survivability of many advisors. From now on, advisors who fall short of clearly differentiating themselves will have a difficult time bucking the trend, and advisors who fail to put their entire focus on their client relationships may be doomed.
Unfortunately, many advisors learn too late in their careers what I have stressed numerous times—that this isn’t a money business. It is a people business! For the first several years of an advisor’s career, the focus is almost solely on acquiring product knowledge, investment expertise, and planning skills. While that is essential for building necessary competencies, too few advisors come to realize that money management is not the lifeblood of their business—their clients are.
For financial advisors, the profit is not in the financial analysis or the transactions they conduct; it’s in the relationship.
Read more