Six Words that Open the Door to Accountant Referrals

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Put together a list of the things that frustrate advisors targeting high-end clients and roadblocks to referrals from accountants are sure to be close to the top. Successful advisors recognize the power of a recommendation from a HNW prospect’s most trusted advisor.

Many have invested lots of time and energy trying to build referral relationships with accountants, with little to show for their efforts. My recent round table conversations with accountants have identified an approach that substantially increases the odds of success.

It all starts with looking at things from an accountant’s point of view. I’ve highlighted number of obstacles to getting referrals:

Tags: Accountant, Accountants, Commissions, Conversations, Financial Advisors, Goodwill, High Priority, Hnw, Hourly Billing, Obstacles, Paramount Concern, Point Of View, Referral, Referrals, Roadblock, Roadblocks, Six Words, Trusted Advisor, Voice Mails, Woes
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What Makes You Different?

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

The following is based on one of Norm Trainor’s clients, Joel Goodhart.

I asked Joel, “What makes your advisory firm different?” He answered: “Experience”.  Joel and his partners, Stuart Leibowitz and Dennis Freedman have 90+ years of experience. It was a good answer, but not the right one.

The right answer is rooted in the values that define how the partners approach their careers.

Tags: Advisory Firm, Affluent Societies, Born Teacher, Burning Desire, Choice Products, Cliff Notes Version, Due Diligence, Experience Economy, Financial Advisors, Financial Health, Freedman, Generous Man, Good Answer, Health And Wellbeing, Interest In Politics, Leibowitz, Norm Trainor, Peak Performer, Professional Approach, Symbiotic Relationship
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Thirty seconds to better client conversations

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

These days, we’re all looking for ways to make the time we spend talking to clients  on the phone and in meetings more productive.Recently, I spoke to an advisor who has made one small change to his routine that has led to better results from client interactions. With an investment of just thirty seconds before each call and meeting, he has seen a meaninful change in outomes.At the beginning of each day, he takes a piece of paper with three columns.

Each time he picks up the phone to call a client or gets set to go into a meeting, he takes thirty seconds to enter the client’s name in the left hand column.

Tags: Advertisement, Client Interactions, Conversations, Investment, Key Goal, Led, Left Hand Column, Middle Column, Objective, Phone Call, Piece Of Paper, Single Most Important Thing, Success, Thirty Seconds
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Template for a mid-year letter

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Below is a template for a mid-year letter to go to clients. Please make sure you read the accompanying post, Guidelines for An Effective Mid-Year Letter.

Please remember that this letter is intended as a template only, be sure to take the time to modify this to reflect your personal views.

June  22, 2009

A mid year note to clients

For many of us, the July 1 Canada Day holiday is the official beginning of summer.

Tags: Beginning Of Summer, Business Sentiment, Canada Day, Corporate Earnings, Decade, Depression, Economic Growth, Economic Indicators, Forecasters, Global Economies, Global Markets, Job Losses, July 1 Canada Day, Market Bottom, Personal Views, Pessimism, Prospects, Recession, Resumption, Second Half, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal
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Putting the Right Team in Place

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

The following is based on one of Norm Trainor’s clients, Eric Scott.

The first thing that stands out about Eric Scott is his commitment to serving his clients. Eric shares two qualities of top advisors. The first is high self-efficacy i.e. the desire to grow and become as much as you can be. The second quality is generosity of spirit. Eric is a giver. He is passionate about making a difference in the lives of others. This transcends his business and touches every area of his life. He views his chosen career of a financial advisor as a call to serve. Yet, his commitment to service often left him feeling exhausted at the end of each day. There were just not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything that needed to be done.

Tags: Administrative Officer, Advertisement, Advisory Firm, Best Fit, Breakthrough, Coach Eric, Desire, Eric Scott, Financial Advice, Generosity Of Spirit, Mantra, Norm Trainor, Operational Aspects, Passion, People, Realization, Relationships, Self Efficacy, Study Group, Support Staff
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Feeling Good at the End of Your Day

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

We’ve all walked away at the end of a busy day, wondering where the hours went – and discouraged because we didn’t get everything done we’d hoped to.

Last week I’d talked to an advisor who had invested $2 to make a small change in his routine – and immediately began feeling better about his progress at the end of the day as a result.

The $2 investment was for a yellow highlighter.

He starts each day with a list of calls to make and things to do.

Tags: Busy Day, Checks, Different Ways, External Reinforcement, Investment, Mid Morning, Motivation Level, Simple Steps, Starbucks, Stroke, Yellow Highlighter
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Breaking through the procrastination logjam

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

A couple of weeks back, I got a call from an advisor who found himself way behind on contacting clients, felt overwhelmed at the prospect of tackling this and was paralyzed by procrastination as a result.

We all suffer from procrastination – the only difference is the magnitude of the problem.

For advisors looking to overcome procrastination, here’s the three-step solution I suggested to this advisor.Step One:

At the end of each day, identify two things you’ve been procrastinating about.

Each should be something that can be addressed in fifteen minutes or less – a prospect or client to call, email to write or admin problem to resolve.

Tags: 30 Minutes, Address, Advertisement, Calendar Free, Day Timer, Fifteen Minutes, Logjam, Lunch Time, Magnitude, Next Morning, Piece Of Paper, Procrastination, Productivity, Step Approach, Step Solution, Suggestion, Target, Temptation
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Ten Ways to Connect with Clients’ Children

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

This article by Nancy Opiela, is reprinted from AdvisorPerspectives.com

Establishing a connection with the children of affluent clients is one of those happy cases that can be a win for both clients and for advisors.

First and most important, many high net worth clients worry about their kids’ finances and attitudes to money and sleep better if they feel their children are in good financial hands.

As a result, establishing relationships with clients’ children can have existing clients feel better served and help deepen the bond with them as a result.

Tags: Advisory Relationship, Affluent Clients, Assets, Attitudes, Cincinnati Ohio, Consulting Firm, Family Relationships, Fracture, Generation To Generation, Generations, High Net Worth Clients, Intergenerational Relationships, Investment Issues, Kind Permission, Legacies, Money, Nancy, Nancy Opiela, Perspectives, Sleep, Transition
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Building a Values-Based Practice

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

The most successful advisors whom we have worked with have taken the time to really think about what’s important to them in their work and their life. They have thought about their values.

A value is a thing or condition we consistently act upon to get and to keep. A value is a vector – a direction with a force. The clearest indication of what we value is how we spend our time and our money. It is not what we say that tells people what we value, it is what we do.

When your values are clear, decision making is easy.

Tags: Advertisement, Business Definition, Business Values, Clearest Indication, Decision Making, Direction, Financial Advisors, Insurance, Insurance Company, Lunch, Money, Myriad, Practice Values, Receipt, Stakeholders, Tax Purposes, Value Honesty, Vector
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