Over 15 years ago, when I became the National Sales Training Director for First Investors, I introduced an idea that was very controversial. I told veteran FAs to find a niche, pick one product or service that their target client needs, and be able to articulate why they were the best advisor that target client…
[This article was inspired by one shared with me a while ago by my coaching colleague, Rich Litvin. I want to acknowledge that I “borrowed” some of his ideas and language.] The last time you sat down with a prospect, you probably went through some awkward small talk while you anticipated getting down to fact
After over 20 years working with financial and insurance professionals, I have learned that most of them don’t see themselves as business owners, so they don’t look that closely at their business metrics. Usually, they can tell me about their gross income and their assets under management. Sometimes—but not always—they can give me a breakdown
Dear Sandy, How do I get past my run of bad luck and get my practice back on track? It seems that every time I get close to landing a big client, something bad happens to kill the deal: My alarm clock doesn’t work and I oversleep; I forget an important document I needed for
“Before we discuss whether we’re all in sales,” I asked at a recent workshop, “someone tell me what selling is?” “Getting people to buy what you’re offering,” one attendee answered. “Manipulating them into doing what you want them to do,” volunteered another. “Twisting their words around so they feel like they’re foolish if they don’t use your services,” proclaimed another.
A lot of the work I’ve been doing lately with advisors starts with their story that they are disorganized and have poor time management. They want me to share tips and strategies for becoming more organized and managing their time better. But in most cases, their problem isn’t time management at all, it’s a problem
