Too many advisors use “junk” words with clients and others that negatively impact their effectiveness. If you’re using any of the words or phrases below in your communications with clients, prospects, your team…or anyone…stop saying them.  1. Actually…  “Actually, the reason I’m calling is…I’m actually going to be seeing a client right near you…and actually,

Before his death in 2015, the famous publicist, Forrest Wallace (“Wally”) Cato interviewed me for an article he was writing that included an interview with Tom Hopkins and quotes from the Zig Ziglar, who had passed away a few years earlier. The following are excerpts from Cato’s interview: Wally: What do clients expect from a

Advisors talk with me about how unhappy they are with their results. “I’m not seeing enough people,” is one complaint. “I’ve got more work than I can handle,” is another. My response is usually something like this: “You’ve created the perfect system for the results you’re getting. If you’re not happy with the results, you

In Napoleon Hill’s OUTWITTING THE DEVIL, he gives us 7 principles to help achieve mental, spiritual, and physical freedom from the Master of Evil: Definiteness of purpose. Decide on your purpose… a grand aspiration, a monster goal, and move towards it with ruthless abandonment. Mastery over self. Discipline equals freedom. If you’re driven by impulse

The photo above is a still from a video my colleague Rich found online and recently wrote about. The young man says to the crowd, “Hi guys! She’s gonna be here any minute now. I’m gonna propose to my girlfriend!” She arrives, and he launches into an emotional speech dedicated to his girlfriend of four

[From BECOME A CLIENT MAGNET] If you’re racing toward a curve and you focus on the wall you don’t want to hit–you’ll probably hit it. Race car drivers like Scott Dixon and Jimmie Johnson know that whether it’s a wall or a wreck in front of you, your focus needs to be on where you

Some time ago, I opened up a fortune cookie at the conclusion of a Chinese dinner and read: “To Be Successful in Business Be First, Be Daring, Be Different.” I dropped the fortune into my nearly empty tea cup. But then it struck me that this little slip of paper extolled the exact advice I

In a world with so many coulds, woulds, shoulds and wants, how do you know how to select what’s best for you—what will make you successful? Is it being way rich, way famous, way beautiful or way powerful? Or is something that comes from the inside? Here’s how you tell: First, complete this sentence: “I know how successful I am by how _________(fill

I often talk with clients and in workshops about the “success formula” Napoleon Hill shares in his 1935 classic, Think and Grow Rich: (1) Set a clear goal. What do you want to accomplish? (2) Develop a detailed plan to reach that goal. Define exactly what actions you will need to take (3) Take immediate (and, as Tony

Advisors come to me believing that they need certain things they’re not getting.  But usually what they think they need is not what they actually do need.  See if something here sounds like you: You think you need confidence. You don’t. Confidence is a result, not a prerequisite to taking action. Fear is often a byproduct of desire. Think