Once you’ve developed a clearly defined and differentiated value proposition, there are many different routes to getting the word out to high end prospects.You can build profile as the “go to” resource within a defined client group, build referral relationships with accountants and lawyers or focus on developing media profile in your community.
And then there’s the role of patience – one of the most important qualities to an effective prospecting campaign.Recently, I talked to an advisor about the fine line between communicating that you’d LIKE to work with prospects on the one hand but that you don’t NEED to work with them on the other. In conversations with prospects, you need to avoid anything that makes them fear that they may be rushed or pressured when meeting with you.
Tags: Accountants, Cfa, Client Group, Client Meetings, Conversations, Fall Back, Job, Lawyers, Part Time, Patience, Personal Visit, Profile, Prospects, Referral, Relationship, Relationships, Retirement, Serial Entrepreneur, Take The Lead, Value Proposition
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Advisors have two competing and contradictory imperatives when meeting with clients.On the one hand, it’s essential to establish an emotional connection and have clients feel truly listened to. You do this by engaging clients with good questions and by being alert for nuances in how they answer, maintaining eye contact and reading their body language.
On the other hand, we need to make notes to ensure that we capture new information and key points in our conversation.
The difficulty for some advisors is the focus on taking notes undermines your ability to fully concentrate on the subtle things that can be important tip offs in a conversation and prevents clients from feeling that they have your complete, undivided attention.
Tags: Administrative Burden, Body Language, Client Interaction, Client Meetings, Effective Meetings, Emotional Connection, Express, Eye Contact, Full Attention, Imperatives, Many Meetings, Nuances, Tip Offs, Undivided Attention, Upcoming Meetings
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Simon’s background and cultural experience gave him a great advantage in his chosen career as a financial advisor. Unfortunately, he was not aware of it. When we first started working together, it was clear that one of Simon’s strengths was his network.
Born and raised in Lebanon, he spoke English, French and Arabic. His clientele consisted primarily of people from his native country. Unfortunately, it was a small community that he had virtually tapped out. He did not realize that the characteristics of the people in his natural market created the greatest opportunity to grow his business.
Tags: Backgammon, Building Relationships, Client Profile, Clientele, Coffee Games, Countless Hours, Demographics, English French, Establishing Credibility, Family Values, Fourth Year, Games Chess, Network Of Friends, Norm Trainor, People Of Lebanon, Solution Seekers, Spades, Staple, Statistical Analysis, Strong Family, Value Relationships
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This article a guest contribution by Patti Branco, author of The Path to Million Dollar Production.
Why host a seminar, and do they really work to generate business? With a little planning and some personal savvy, the answer is yes, if done correctly. This blueprint will show you the way to have an effective and profitable event at almost no cost!
But, what do I have to offer as a new advisor? You might be surprised. The moment you stand in front of a crowd, whether to introduce another speaker or to take the floor yourself, you are the perceived expert. Don’t squander the opportunity to make a great and long lasting impression. It’s important to remember that like any other sales call, a seminar requires that you close, or ask for the order.
Tags: Blueprint, Branco, Dollar Production, Economic Trends, Fan Fare, Fluff, Insurance Products, Interaction With Others, Investment Professionals, Lasting Impression, Lavish Events, Limited Partnerships, Mass Market, Mid Eighties, Mutual Funds, Nineties, Old Stuff, Prospective Clients, Prospects, Whole Life
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As prefaced in today’s newsletter:
During this period of heightened requirements for communications to your clients, keeping in touch with your network of clients and prospects is critical. While there is no substitute for one-to-one meetings and phone calls, weekly or periodic emails are an effective way of staying visible and developing frank and open discussions with both clients and prospects.
Starting today, and every Wednesday from today, as a service to you, we will be sending a listing of 3-5 articles from high value sources (e.g., G&M, WSJ, NYTimes) that you may use to send to your clients and prospects as part of your communications strategy. We will also include some helpful prefacing notes that you may use as well.
Tags: Communications Strategy, Dashboard, Dividend Paying Stocks, Dividend Stocks, Earnings, Economic Cycles, Economic Forecasting, Economic Forecasts, Economic Outlook, Economists, Income Dividend, Jeremy Siegel, Lakshman, Leading Indicators, Offerings, Open Discussions, Periodic Emails, Prospects, Recession, Skepticism, Slate, Spocks, Vantage Point, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Wharton, Wsj
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I was walking through the airport on my way to business meetings in California
I saw a poster of a pair of hard core cowboy boots and denim with the word “Follower”. It immediately got my attention. The ad immediately confronted my expectations by playing on what we usually project when we think of a ‘follower’.
I was curious, who’s the leader? Sure enough, the next poster, “Leader” had a figure in a snappy suit, shirt and tie. That seemed to make sense but I wasn’t sure I saw the point.
Tags: Business Meetings, Contradictions, Contrasts, Cowboy Boots, Cruise Ship, Crux, Denim, Follower, Hard Core, Holding The Space, Management Consultant, Party Deck, Patient Support, Paying Attention, Playing With My Mind, Seduction, Shirt And Tie, Steve Walmsley, Top Performer, Top Performers
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Last week’s “Night of the bears” in Toronto drew lots of media coverage.Here are three articles you can send clients that provide perspective on the celebrity bears – two come for the Globe and Mail, the other features Professor Jeremy Siegel from Wharton in an article and audio interview.“Celebrity bears all the rage; but we’ve seen fads before”
Bearish mantras need to be heard; but with a grain of salt
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090410.wtakingstock0411/EmailBNStory/robColumnsBlogs/>
”Bears, bulls and the hazards of gurudom”
Consider the possibility that the bears might miss it when the economy turns
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090408.wdecloet0409/EmailBNStory/SpecialEvents2/>
Tags: All The Rage, Audio Interview, Declines, Eyebrows, Fads, Finance Professor, Future Returns, Globe And Mail, Grain Of Salt, Jeremy J Siegel, Jeremy Siegel, Mantras, Media Coverage, Peak Visit, Professor Jeremy, Servlet, Term Investments, Theglobeandmail, Upenn, Wharton
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Tags: Assets, Flat Fee
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Tags: Client Stress, Stress Points
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A key theme of the morning workshops I recently conducted across Canada was the need and the opportunity to engage in conversation with prospective clients. For that reason, half the morning was devoted to prospecting strategies.
A common question in the section on prospecting related to how to respond to the question of how your own clients did last year. In some cases, apprehension about getting this query is a key obstacle preventing advisors from approaching prospects. As a result, one key to ramping up prospecting is feeling confident about your ability to address this issue.
Tags: Apprehension, Array, Canada, Catalyst, Cusp, Dissatisfaction, Downturn, Eighties, Investments, Investors, Key Reasons, Market Environment, Morning Workshops, Obstacle, Performance Reasons, Perspective, Prospective Clients, Prospects, Relationship, Stand Pat
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This article is a guest contribution by Bill Bachrach, Bachrach and Associates, Inc.
Extreme competence with the first interview means you follow the principle of 5/55: in a one hour meeting, you’re talking for a total of 5 minutes, and your prospect has the floor for the remaining 55. What’s more, almost everything you say is a question, as the term interview implies.
1. Values Conversation (about 6 min./individual, 15 min./couple)
Key Question: “What’s important about money to you?”
Tags: Bill Bachrach, Competence, Conversations, Discoveries, Financial Strategy, How Much Money, M 65, Magic, Principle, Profound Sense, Prospects, Retirement, Staircase, Tangible Goals
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Given last year’s markets, today’s number one priority for most advisors is to have as many face to face and phone meetings with clients as possible.Just talking to clients isn’t good enough, however. To get maximum return on your time, every conversation with clients has to achieve two goals.
First, conversations have to be seen by clients as advancing their needs and being a good use of their time.
And second, conversations have to advance your agenda with investors, taking advantage of the best business opportunities with each client.
Here are six steps to make meetings a good use of times for both you and your clients.
Tags: Agenda, Agendas, Business Goal, Business Opportunities, Client Meetings, Conversations, Correlation, Face To Face, Goals, High Impact, Investors, Maximum Return, Phone Meetings, Priority, Secondary Business, Secondary Goal, Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, Six Steps, Stephen Covey
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“Once an accident, twice a coincidence, three times a trend” is a rule of thumb among observers of political campaigns.
That’s why I was struck by articles last week in the Globe and Mail, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
These articles describe turmoil among high-net worth investors …. and have profound implications for financial advisors.
Business Week
First came Business Week. A story in late June outlined how the number of affluent Americans looking to switch advisors has tripled in one year, leading to a spike in investors seeking out second opinions. (Links to all of these stories can be found at the bottom of this article.)
Tags: Affluent Americans, Brokerage Firms, Business Week Article, Charles Schwab, Financial Advisors, Globe And Mail, Globe Mail, Grain Of Salt, High Net Worth Investors, Independent Advisors, Independents, New York Times, Obama, Political Campaigns, Profound Implications, Rule Of Thumb, Second Opinion, Silverware, Wake Up Call, Wall Street Journal
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Today’s article focuses on what it will take for advisors to emerge as winners from the turmoil in which the industry currently finds itself.
My December column in Investment Executive starts with the premise that a new breed of empowered customers and aggressive competitors have changed the rules of the game for most manufacturers and retailers – and are in the process of doing the same for the investment industry.
The only way to ensure that you’ll emerge a winner from this process is through an intense, single minded focus on providing compelling, outstanding value – today, providing tepid value means you’re toast.
Tags: Aggressive Competitors, Commodities, Financial Advisors, Instances, Insurance, Insurance Advice, Investment Executive, Investment Industry, Investors, Minded Focus, New Breed, Overwhelming Volume, Premise, Prospective Client, Rules Of The Game, Sensible Plan, Subset, Toast, Traditional Business Model, Turmoil, Variety
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Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.
—
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