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February 14 - May 4, 2019
Think about it this way: When you’re at home and the power goes out, you call an electrician. He shows up. What do you want? You want the lights back on. Do you want to know everything he knows? Do you follow him around and ask him for the schematics of the breaker box? Perhaps you do, but I don’t. I don’t know how electricity works, and it doesn’t matter. I know one thing; the electrician can fix it so that when I hit the switch the lights turn on, and that’s about all I want to know.
“Have you ever tried to solve a jigsaw puzzle without the picture from the box lid?”
If you had a machine that printed money, you’d insure it, knowing that to have insurance and not need it is preferable to needing it and not having it. The market is the machine – your services are the insurance.
A Thanksgiving card is unique. The client can hold it in their hands and you can say thanks for a great relationship. It’s powerful. It arrives on its own, it stands out and it shows you thought of them.
Run Your Business like a Business - As each year goes by, you want the equity value in your business to increase based on two factors: Your production and your processes. A process-driven business creates predictability and efficiency. Repeatable procedures create a consistent experience for clients, and that enhances loyalty, empowerment and advocacy. Streamlined systems and a focus on efficiency increase capacity and create liberation, order and scalability.
Eckart Tolle’s book The Power of Now,
You may already be familiar with Bryan Dyson’s great speech on balance, goals and what’s of greatest value in life. Dyson, former CEO of Coca Cola™, summed up the issue better than anyone else I am familiar with: “Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air. “You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – Family, Health, Friends and Spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they
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friends and have proper rest. Value has a value only if its value is valued.”
Many people still think of professional advisors as salespeople on commission. Your actions on a daily basis will either validate that or prove them wrong.
You need to be a shepherd, not a hunter-gatherer.
it is more important to reach people who count than it is to count the number of people you reach.
You can’t just randomly or haphazardly approach the future; you must design it. You’ve
heard about the fool who goes hunting with a crossbow and fires an arrow into the forest, saying to himself, “Boy, I sure hope something runs into that.” Later, he finds the arrow lodged into a tree and draws a bull’s eye around it.
“You can’t mistake motion for action.”
before you start trying to convince new people, you should work more closely with the people who are already convinced.
“Dig your well before you’re thirsty.”
Step 1 – The Call Rotation Make a list of your top 50 to 100 clients and put them into a 90-day call rotation. You aren’t trying to be the bearer of any profound news, you are just touching base to check in with them after the summer/holidays/etc. to see how they are doing. Use F.O.R.M. as your guide when you ask questions about their family, occupation and recreational interests. Make relevant and timely comments about money and markets. F.O.R.M. helps you Listen to Learn instead of Listen to Respond. Salespeople tend to process a response as they are listening to someone in order to shape
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alignment of interests.
“How are your friends and family coping with (their expressed concerns/ current industry concerns/other worries)? Are they looking to the future with anticipation or apprehension?”
“If you don’t mind me asking, when you talk about me with a friend or family member, what do you say? How do you describe me?”
“The reason I’m asking you these questions
is because I want to remind you about a value added service that I provide for my best clients that many find to be very useful. Specifically, I make myself available to act as a sounding board for friends and family members of my clients. Now I’m not asking you to think of anyone right now, this is for down the road. If a friend ever asks about me or you feel compelled to introduce someone to me, simply call me to get the wheels in motion and I will make myself available to address their concerns. And please understand they do not need to become a client to take advantage of this service.”
“I wasn’t aware that you provided this service.”
“The reason I do this is because I became a professional advisor to help people make informed decisions with their financial future. It’s very fulfilling. One of two things typically occurs when a friend or family member goes through this process. Either I validate for them that their current approach is fundamentally solid, or I reveal a few minor flaws that they might want to consider adjusting. And as you know, minor adjustments can often lead to major improvements down the road. But either way, if they are a friend or family member of yours, I will make myself available and ensure that
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Here are five key points to hit in this conversation: Express your sense of purpose as a professional advisor to validate why you are doing this. Project clarity so that your client knows exactly how an endorsement like this will reflect on them in the eyes of their friends. Replace the word “referral” with “introduce.” Replace the words “second opinion” with “sounding board process.” Be certain that they know that you won’t be trying to sell their friend on becoming a client. There may or may not be a fit in the future but that isn’t the point in providing this service.
“Water dripping on a stone will eventually make a mark.”
We would like to wish you and your family all the best for the Thanksgiving holiday. We’d also like to thank you for a great relationship.
