Over the last several weeks, our entire country has come to recognize the critical need to isolate ourselves to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. And even when we venture out of our homes to buy groceries or pick up a take-out meal, we are careful to stay six feet away from anyone else and wear a mask that covers half of our face. Along with isolation can come a heightened sense of fear – fear of catching COVID-19, fear of losing someone close to us, fear of being furloughed […]
Building on last week’s Practical Tips for Turmoil, hopefully by now, you’ve reached out to all your clients using some of our Talking Points for Client Conversations. Tip #1: Continue to contact your clients! Until we see evidence of a decline in coronavirus cases, we’re likely to see ongoing market volatility. So, we continue to recommend contacting clients – by phone, videoconferencing and emails – to see how they are doing, offer support and provide guidance. => Side note: we’ve been busy these past few weeks helping many of you […]
In times of volatile markets, for consistent messaging as well as to stay focused and confident, it’s helpful to have a set of talking points for your client conversations. We suggest framing your conversations with clients based on what you know or believe; what you don’t know; what you cannot control and what you can control. Feel free to add your own talking points to our list and rearrange them to an order that suits your message. What we know/believe About the financial markets Periods of economic and market uncertainty […]
As we see 2020 as the year of perfect vision, our last several articles have focused on your perfect vision for your practice and your vision as inspiration. Once you have a clear picture of your vision, sharing it with your team or staff is your next step. People feel more confident when they know where they are going and are equally excited to get there. When you were young, did your family go on road trips? Or do you take road trips with your own family? If so, you […]
In last week’s post, 2020 – Your Perfect Vision, I described vision as the word we use in business to dream about the future, to think about the possibilities of what that future could look like. A well-defined vision description should be as detailed as you can make it. When your team reads it, they should be able to imagine exactly what you have in mind and be inspired to want to help you achieve it. Many people use pictures to help them stay motivated toward accomplishing what they want […]
Welcome to 2020 – the year of perfect vision. The opportunity to write about 2020 and vision at the beginning of this new year and new decade is irresistible. Vision has always been precious to me for several reasons. Starting in third grade, I became aware of my extreme near-sightedness. Eye doctors said that my uncorrected vision was 20/800. Fortunately, glasses, contact lenses and finally Lasik surgery helped me immensely. One of my dearest friends, who lost her vision to Type 1 Diabetes, taught me a lot about the challenges […]
This week begins the start of a new decade as well as a new year. So, it’s a good time to stop, take a breath, reflect and refocus. Here is a checklist you can use to guide your thinking. Look back on 2019. What are you most proud of? What do you regret? Look ahead to 2020. What are you most excited about? What are your biggest concerns? Read up on new legislation and industry trends. For example, how well do you understand the SECURE Act and what it means […]
As we approach the end of one decade and the beginning of another, it’s good to reflect on past goals as well as take the first steps toward establishing new ones. Let’s begin by differentiating between two very different types of goals and the importance of each. Results goals Results goals represent the outcomes you want to see at the end of a specific period of time but over which you have minimal or no direct control. Annual revenue is the most important goal for most advisors and planners. Revenue […]
Last week we received an interesting notification from the Contact Us page on our website. Here was the message: “This is Don and Sarah Smith [not their real names]. You were our financial advisor when we first started in the market. You are amazing. We would just love to touch base with you after all these years.” Adam had no idea who they were, but I certainly did. Don and Sarah were in their twenties when they stopped by our office in the local Sears store in Fairview Heights, IL. […]
The lead article in the email I received from Investment News was titled, “This Week Marks the Beginning of a Seasonal Rally.” The article notes that the six-month period beginning at the end of October “historically trounces the performance of the prior six-month period” and goes on to explain the rationale and indicators. Was it that long ago that everyone was concerned about rising interest rates and the inevitable recession on the horizon? And what about the effect of a contentious election cycle? Whether you are a bull or a […]
