Archive for October, 2009
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Since January, I’ve been conducting full day workshops to help advisors adjust their businesses to today’s new reality. I’ve had a terrific response to these – typically, advisors emerge excited with a long list of possible initiatives and new ideas. That’s good news at one level – but also risks having advisors feel overwhelmed and fail to act as a result. The difficulty after a workshop is almost never not enough new ideas – it’s almost always too many.
Tags: Act, Advertisement, Array, Business Idea, Business Move, High Impact, Impact Initiative, Initiatives, Likelihood, Momentum, New Reality, Odds, Phone Number, Seven Days, Step At A Time, Team Meetings, Terrific Response
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
When dealing with anxious clients, many advisors find it helpful to point to articles from credible publications that support your case.
Here are some recent articles that may be helpful.As always, be sure to run anything you’re going to send out broadly by compliance first.
Financial Post:
December 11: Over a three-year period beginning on Oct. 28, 1929, the U.S. stock market declined 89%. Why did it happen? And how can we prevent a similar cataclysm in our own era? Niall Ferguson,
Forbes
Tags: Cataclysm, Consumer Spending, Economy Recession, Forbes, Globe And Mail, Globeinvestor, Gloom, Goodnews, Great Depression, Mail Report, Morgan Stanley, Morganstanley, New York Times, News Items, Optimism, Recent Articles, Report On Business, Roach, Theglobeandmail, U S Stock Market
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Here, below, we share with you this thought provoking presentation made by Psychologist Barry Schwartz on the paradox of choice. As an advisor, you may have encountered the problem of potential clients taking a very long time to decide on a course of action that you have proposed to them.
As a former advisor, there were times (in hindsight, of course), in fact, I’m positive, that I overwhelmed potential clients (and they stayed that way) because I was trying too hard to impress them by laying the (investing) world at their feet. In a nutshell, keep it simple. That makes for much easier decision making.
Tags: Aim, Barry Schwartz, Central Tenet, Estimation, Freedom Of Choice, Hindsight, Investing, Long Time, Nutshell, Paradox, Psychologist, Western Societies, World At Their Feet
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Last fall I began posting quarter end letters that advisors could adapt for their own use. Many advisors have told me that they have received an outstanding response to the letters they sent as a result.
There are five qualities to an effective client letter.
A good client letter needs to be:
- Substantive
- Candid
- Backed up by facts
- Clear and easy to read
- Tailored to each advisor’s personality and views
Tags: Aig, Consensus, Financial Collapse, Foundations, Global Financial System, Great Depression, Independent Entity, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Personality, Point Of View, Precipice, Prospects, Radio Television, Scenarios, September 18, Six Months, Stock Markets, Stocks, Substantive, Wall Street
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Making meaningful changes in how we work is one of the hardest tasks we can attempt.
Change is possible however – recently I had a conversation with an advisor on a large team that had succeeded in implementing some significant new initiatives since the beginning of the year.
They key was time blocking, setting aside time each week for a major new undertaking and implementing a proven formula for change behind that commitment.
Recognize the obstacles to change
Change is an incredibly powerful force – it can word for you or against you. The trick is to harness it to work in your favour.
Tags: Accountability, Appointment, Attempt, Calendar, Change Priority, Colleagues, Favour, How To Organize Your Time, Initiative, Initiatives, Meaningful Changes, Momentum, Obstacles, Proven Formula, Success Breeds Success, Team Member, Time Block, Two Ways, Undertaking
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
In recent conversations with investors, I have been struck by the level of skepticism many feel about whether their advisor’s and firm’s interests are truly aligned with theirs.What’s especially interesting is that the majority of these investors haven’t fired their advisors – but are simply looking at the advice they’re receiving with a much more jaundiced view.
An article in the May issue of Atlantic Magazine, titled “Why I fired my broker” does an excellent job of capturing the broad sense of being unsure who to trust that many investors today share.This article is not a rant, far from it. Rather it presents a rational recitation of some of the elements that have caused reasonable investors to become skeptical (and in some cases cynical) about the advice they’ve received in the past and are getting today.
Tags: Bill Gross, Bond Manager, Cable Tv, Client Trust, Conversations, Cop, Downturn, Economist, Financial Services Industry, Mistake, Nobel Prize, Oracles, Random Walk Down Wall Street, Rant, Recitation, Skepticism, Twenty Years, Uncertainty, Wall Street, Wealth Managers
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Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
In January, I had a conversation with a veteran advisor about prospecting.
“A year ago, all kinds of new clients were coming on board – I was firing on all cylinders” he said. “Today, I’m having trouble getting prospecting into first gear. I feel like I’m stuck in a rut and I’m not sure how to get out.”
In response, we spent a few minutes sketching out a plan for two low cost prospecting lunches, with six simple steps taking ten to twelve hours per lunch.
The advisor got a good response to the initial lunches – since then, he’s held six similar sessions.
Tags: Advertisement, Audio Interviews, Blog, Boardroom, Chairs, Core Idea, Dual Purpose, Few Minutes, Firing On All Cylinders, Informal Lunches, Invitations, Lunch Program, Minute Time Slots, Prospects, Scripts, Sessions, Simple Steps, Six Weeks, Templates, Twelve Hours, Www Ca
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Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
In the next week to ten days, clients are going to be receiving their year end statements.
Almost every client knows that the news won’t be good. In some cases, they’ve been tracking their portfolio regularly, sometimes going online every day to see how they’re doing. In other cases, however, clients have only the vaguest ideas about how hard their investments were hit ,,, and their statements will be bad news. In some cases, concerned calls may result.
Tags: Act, Advertisement, Anxiety, Bad News, Boardroom, Clie, Conference Call, Email, Important Things, Investments, Luncheon, Phone Appointments, Phone Call, Send Email, Time Is Of The Essence, Worst Case, Year End
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Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
I never get why so many of us in business look for easy answers – a black or white declaration of where our business focus should be resting.
“It’s either productivity or excellence – which do you believe is the most important?”
Here’s what I think: it’s both. And the tension of insisting on putting the emphasis on both forces us through the easy answer to find true insight.
Let’s set the parameters of this debate in the areas of:
- Managing results
- Activity management
Numbers or quality? The Two Sides
Tags: Activity Management, Adolph Rupp, Basketball Player, Business Focus, College Coaches, Desired Results, Easy Answers, Journey Man, Lakers, Management Business, Management Numbers, Nba Championship, Ncaa Basketball, Pat Riley, Rear View Mirror, Sales Productivity, Successful College, True Insight, University Of Kentucky, Wikipedia
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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
At some point, all of us have procrastinated when it comes to difficult or unpleasant tasks.
For many advisors, this has become a big issue. Seldom has the gap been larger between the things we feel comfortable doing on one hand and those we know we need to do on the other – whether it be scheduling client meetings that are likely to be difficult or setting aside time each week to reach out to prospective clients.
This last point came home recently in a vivid fashion. I asked a group of successful advisors how many hours they’d spent in the past week talking to prospects. The most common answer: Zero.
Tags: Avoidance Behaviour, Business Publications, Client Meetings, Fashion, Five Minutes, Focus, Friday Afternoon, Gap, Key Business, Opportunity, Priorities, Prospective Clients, Prospects, Scheduling, Unpleasant Tasks
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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Recently, I was talking to a successful advisor who met with one of his top clients – and made a mistake that he vowed never to repeat.
In reviewing performance of the client’s portfolio, he said: “Your portfolio was down 15% last year, which was pretty good in the circumstances.”
The client looked at him, paused and said: “It may have been 15% to you, but it was $300,000 to me.”
The advisor recovered and the meeting wrapped up amicably, but this advisor walked away with two resolutions.
First, never again to diminish the amount of money a client loses.
Tags: Amount Of Money, Circumstances, Conversations With Clients, Dollar Terms, Losses, Met, Mistake, Percentages, Portfolios, Resolutions, Target, Tip Top, Traps
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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Tuesday’s article “Wake-up call for advisors” drew by far the largest response of any article since the launch of this blog a year and a half ago.Focusing on a number of recent articles on affluent investors leaving existing advisors, the post laid out five strategies to respond to this trend.
Of course, laying out the strategies is the easy part – it’s acting on them that’s tough. One approach that might help was suggested in a recent email from Patty O’Connor of Price Metrix.
Tags: Adler, Blog, Email, Emotional Energy, Ffffff, Global Leader, Initiative, Intention, Investors, Launch, Metrix, O Connor, Priority, Recent Articles, Target, Wake Up Call
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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Recently, I met with a very successful investment advisor (IA) who told me that his strategy for growing his business was to get referrals from satisfied clients and centres of influence. While that is an effective method or tactic for growing an advisory practice, it is not a strategy.
We define strategy as the alignment of three elements:
1. The outputs or objectives you want to achieve.
2. The capabilities and resources you have available to realize your objectives.
3. The opportunities and challenges the environment provides.
Tags: Alignment, Articulation, Business Opportunity, Business Plan, Business Planning, Investment Advisor, Key Objectives, Mission Statement, Mission Values, Objective, Paragraph Description, Profitability, Referrals, Segment, Strategic Planning, Tactic, Three Elements, Time 3, Timeframe, Vision Mission, Vision Statement
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
As we move through round two of the hockey playoffs, many advisors and investors are glued to their televisions. Meanwhile, all of Canada is left rooting for the Vancouver Canucks.
In a recent article, coaches who had taken their teams to the Stanley Cup finals were asked what it takes to succeed at that level. Their answers provide some important lessons for financial advisors.Some responses were obvious – talent, leadership (both by the coach and the veteran players) and some luck in avoiding key injuries.
There were also three other ingredients to success that also apply to advisors.
Tags: Absolute, Canada, Coach, Complacency, Discipline, Financial Advisors, Focus, Fundamental Plan, Game Plan, Hockey Playoffs, Investors, Leadership, Leadership Coach, Mental Toughness, Nhl Playoffs, Nhl Teams, Recent Article, Stanley Cup Finals, Televisions, Tough Times, Vancouver Canucks, Veteran Players
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Recently, I came across an article that outlined the critical role of technology in Barack Obama’s remarkable presidential campaign.Among the key contributors to his success was the unprecedented $500 million his campaign raised online. The article discussed some of the innovative tactics that were used – one of which has direct relevance to financial advisors looking to attract new clients.Rather than asking for donations online, the Obama campaign’s online advertising had the single minded objective of getting people to sign up for their email list, agreeing to receive more information. The reason for this was quite simple – obtaining an email address and the owner’s agreement to receive future communication about the campaign was considered vastly more valuable than a single donation.
Tags: Barack Obama, Brian Costello, Credibility, Critical Role, Email List, Financial Advisors, Garth Turner, Gordon Pape, Initial Conversation, Intermediate Step, Junkies, Mid 90s, Period Of Time, Political Campaign, Presidential Campaign, Prospective Clients, Prospects, Raising Money, Relevance, Saturation
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
This article is a guest post written by David Weinberger, Senior Researcher at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and the author of Everything Is Miscellaneous (www.everythingismiscellaneous.com) and a co-author The Cluetrain Manifesto (www.cluetrain.com).
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION
Transparency is the New Objectivity
By David Weinberger
July 19, 2009
A friend asked me to post an explanation of what I meant when I said at PDF09 that “transparency is the new objectivity.” First, I apologize for the cliché of “x is the new y.” Second, what I meant is that transparency is now fulfilling some of objectivity’s old role in the ecology of knowledge.
Tags: Agendas, Aspiration, Autho, Berkman Center, Biases, Blogging, Cluetrain Manifesto, Co Author, David Weinberger, Democratic National Convention, Harvard, Journalist, Journalists, New Objectivity, Point Of View, Pulitzer Prize, Realm Of Science, Researcher, Transparency, Unattainable Goal, Walter Mears
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
During the last week there has been a great deal of interesting and unusual but positive commentary about the upturn in the market and the economy.
In our first selections this week, Laszlo Birinyi, who runs an excellent asset management shop, a long-time contributor to Forbes Magazine, and runs Tickersense.com, comments that the market rally is a signal that the economic recovery will be far stronger than forecasters’ consensus estimates. In a follow up article, Birinyi says that waiting for an economy Roubini can believe in means missing rally.
Birinyi Says Stocks Rally Signals Economic Rebound, August 24, 2009, Bloomberg.com
Tags: Central Banks, Consensus Estimates, Dow Jones, Economic Rebound, Economic Recovery, Forbes Magazine, Forecasters, Global Economy, Imf, International Monetary Fund, John Lipsky, Laszlo Birinyi, Market Rally, Phase One, Roubini, Telephone Interview, Time Contributor, Upturn, Wall Street Week, Wall Street Week With Louis Rukeyser
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