The son of a terminally ill father consulted me recently. He was in dire emotional straits. If you had been his advisor, would his outcome have been better?
Don’t pay big bucks to “branding experts,” using manipulative sales techniques, or rely on the questionable advice offered by “referral experts” or those who tell you to sell differently based on the personality type of the prospect.
In your meetings, hand the reins to the client. You may find that your initial assumptions weren’t valid.
Given your background and training, you may believe data is superior to instinct when you’re confronted with challenging decisions.Recent studies question this assumption.
Let’s discuss the impact of kindness on yourself and others.
While advisors don’t suffer more from this trait than others, it’s a huge problem for those who wish to convert more prospects into clients.
There are ways to be different, but few advisors are willing to adopt them.
Most of us believe we’re “right” about our basic beliefs like politics, religion, how we make decisions, live our lives and perhaps how others should live theirs. The reality is we’re not objective.
Gender-based stereotypes have an insidious impact on how women advisors are perceived, their ability to attract clients, and their career path in corporate environments. I blame it on John Gray.
We want to be effective communicators. But achieving that goal isn’t possible unless we overcome barriers we don’t know exist. Here are four of the most formidable ones.
I’m gratified to see the “asking questions” bandwagon gaining so much traction. Unfortunately, there’s a massive amount of misinformation about this subject.
Advisors may have the most informative videos on their site, but it’s likely that few prospects will watch them.
We transitioned from scrambling to manage priorities to a technology-driven company where everything is viewable (and actionable) with a mouse click. Here’s what worked for us.
The impulse to advance one’s interests will be self-destructive for advisors when they fail to listen carefully and demonstrate curiosity.
The advice to master an “elevator pitch” in your prospecting efforts is not helpful for many reasons.
When you understand the reasoning behind the approach used by psychiatrists, you are well on your way to better meetings with prospects and clients.
If I was still a wealth advisor, I’d consider another career.
Unless your planning contemplates the negative physical and mental health ramifications of widowhood, which include “psychological distress, physician visits and institutionalization, and higher rates of morbidity and mortality,” it’s not comprehensive.
Many of you have a higher purpose. It’s inspiring. Here’s how I realized what my higher purpose is.
Advisors tell me that my research into neuroscience and decision making has helped them close prospects and grow their practices. But its most profound impact has been from conversations I’ve had with my wife.
Until I did the research for this article, I didn’t realize there was something called the “damsel in distress” syndrome. It’s technically defined as, “where you feel compelled to ‘rescue’ your partner, often at your own expense.”
I frequently get calls from advisors with this request: “How do I make the phone ring?”
Over dessert, one of our dinner guests shared a difficult experience they were having with their adult son.
I’ve coached many advisors over the years and spoken to thousands of others. Here’s what I’ve learned.
You can enhance the lives of others by being one of the few people who shows a genuine interest in them.
You may think you know what’s of interest to your prospect, but you are probably wrong.
To understand what drives a prospect to choose you as an advisor, consider what happens when a vendor tries to sell you a service.
I have acted against my self-interest and benefitted. Let me share these examples and provide takeaways.
By not recognizing Naomi Osaka’s mental health status, the tennis bigwigs made a fundamental error.
I live and breathe my process. I’ve taught it to thousands of advisors all over the world. Yet I slipped.
While we continue to assist our clients with digital marketing, we recently explored another strategy, which has fallen out of favor and been eclipsed by social media initiatives: Traditional public relations.
There is a question you are uniquely ill-suited to answer.
While no advisor wants to take on an unprofitable client, setting a rigid, initial barrier based on minimum account size may not achieve that goal.
I have taken a consistent position on the “value” issue: Don’t explain your value or justify your fee unless you are expressly asked.
Much has been written about the need to justify your value. Once you buy into this premise, there’s no end to the advice about how to do so. But it’s a terrible idea.
This is the fifth (and last) part in a series about my late partner, Emery Kertesz.
This is the fourth part in a series about my late partner, Emery Kertesz. I’ve summarized his management principles. They have broad applicability
A fruitful Q&A between Dan Solin and Beverly Flaxington, two resident authors of Advisor Perspectives on practice management issues.
For more than 20 years, Emery Kertesz guided our audio equipment company through every minefield imaginable. Part of his success was based on his raw intelligence, military training, passion and curiosity.
I will share with you some principles that guided Emery’s management of our businesses. You may find them applicable to yours.
This is the first of a five-part series on my partner, Emery Kertesz. He died on January 29, 2021, at age 64.
The assumption that will kill your conversion rate is this:
There are many studies that provide aspiring leaders with sound guidance on how to manage your firm, and how to create a happy, collegial and productive environment.
We can learn a lot from Oprah Winfrey’s bombshell interview of Harry and Meghan.
The temptation to offer solutions for those facing a problem is overwhelming. Therein lies the trap for unwary advisors.
Those of us in the coaching business may be doing some harm, notwithstanding our good intentions.
It takes courage and humility to realize you’ve erred and to issue an apology. Don’t waste it by doing it in a way that negates your intent and may exacerbate the problem.
We can learn valuable lessons from T.J. Ducklo’s written apology.
The customary Valentine’s Day activities ignore the real issues many relationships face.
While your chances of winning an argument on any given topic are slim, there’s one situation where it’s non-existent. That’s when you’re confronted with a high-conflict personality.
