Today’s Most Important Client Conversation

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Canadians today have lots of financial concerns – some are worried about the prospects for the economy and their jobs, others about whether they can rely on their company pension to be there for them.For  those Canadians who aren’t in pension plans, the number one concern often relates to their retirement – and what effect have recent markets had on their retirement plans.

Where this is a client’s pressing issue, it’s essential that advisors address this directly. Unless you do that, clients will not fully listen to your recommendations – and will also be more open to talking to another advisor who offers to take them through the process of revisiting where they stand. Concerns about revisiting where clients stand

Tags: Answer Questions, Canadians, Company Pension, Conversations, Core Questions, Economy, Exercise, Financial Concerns, Investment Advice, Investment Strategies, Investors, Jobs, Pension Plans, Prospects, Retirement Planning, S Market, Software Packages
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Ten tips to be more likeable

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Ask advisors about what it takes to attract and retain clients and you’ll get answers like above average returns, preserving capital in tough markets and strong communication.

Those are all true – to these can be added delivering strong value and having clients trust your competence and integrity.

But there’s one other factor that’s often underestimated – and that’s likeability.

The importance of being likeable

I’ve heard clients say they’re a bit disappointed with recent returns or they haven’t heard from their advisor in the last while quite as much as they’d hoped – but they really like him or her and just don’t see themselves leaving.

Tags: Blog, Brisk Walk, Competence, Dumps, Exercise, Fresh Air, Integrity, Investors, Likeability, Likeable, Martin Seligman, Optimism, People, Positive Attitude, Positive Energy, Psychologist, Researcher, Sunshine, University Of Pennsylvania, Workout
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Avoiding the black hole of business planning

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

This month, many advisors are working on next year’s business plans.

For many advisors, these business plans will end up like a black hole in space – lots of energy will go in and little or nothing will come out.

Causes of the “black hole” effect

There are number of things that cause business planning to fail to translate into results.

First is underestimating the impact of entrenched habits – and failing to build in routines around new initiatives emerging from the business planning process.

Tags: Absolute Commitment, Advertisement, Black Business, Black Hole In Space, Business Planning, Business Plans, Business Process, Cause Business, Commitments, Consequences, Exercise, Failure, Goals, Initiatives, Loyalty, Mid Term, Practice Efficiency, Prospective Clients
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