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September 2008

Cover Story
Senior Market Advisor is proud to announce that Rosemary Caligiuri is the 2008 SMA Advisor of the Year. Caligiuri took an interesting road to success as an advisor. She spent her first decade out of college as a nurse. Attending a financial seminar...


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Featured Articles


Best foot forward
Each of us is familiar with the phrase, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” But what if the perception is already formed before you enter the room or have had a chance to meet or even speak with the...

LTCI: Sell the need
“The product doesn’t sell the product,” says Dane Petchul, the owner of Long Term Care Insurance Pros in Irvine, Calif. “You can go through all of the options and the numbers all day and still not sell the...

How to get top-notch testimonials
There’s a reason Ron Tuchin devotes an entire page of his firm’s Web site to client testimonials. Among the various marketing tools advisors use to promote their practices and their expertise, he says, testimonials — whether they...

Estate planning is a winning ticket to referrals
Estate planning is an add-on service and a necessary offering for financial planners or advisors who wish to be received by the community as comprehensive service providers. Many advisors want to represent themselves as an estate planner, but do not...

Finding the perfect fit
There is a curse that frequently gets quoted when things get chaotic: “May you live in interesting times.” The first half of 2008 has certainly qualified as interesting for financial advisors and their clients. Oil prices are approaching...


Special Section: What's hot in life insurance?
The life insurance industry has unquestionably been redefining itself over time. For many years, it had been a field solely known to deliver agreed upon sums of money in the event of the insured individual’s passing. However, it has grown to...


Columns


Up Front
What you hold in your hands is the first issue of Senior Market Advisor’s new design. I won’t point out every little tweak and tuck in this column, but will let you turn the pages and experience what we believe are improvements to a...

That's Life
“Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.” — Confucius Complex generation. Heterogeneous group. These are not historically the titles we’ve come to associate with baby boomers. But, as various...

Coach's Corner
Last month I introduced myself so you could get an idea about my background and marketing strategies. This month begins a series of articles regarding public seminars, which can be the cornerstone of success in building your business. The first...

Profitable Practice
In the middle of a very fine publication called Senior Market Advisor is the word “market.” Just what does that keyword imply? It is possible there might be more to be discovered in the word “market?” Have we lost our vision...

LTCI Insider
Q. I sell LTC insurance in an area with a lot of veterans. I know the Veterans’ Administration will pay for LTC coverage in certain situations, which certainly affects my sales. What kind of coverage does the VA provide? A. The...

Annuity Advisor
I cannot tell you what the stock market will do tomorrow. But I can tell you if you are age 50 today and put $100,000 into any number of fixed annuities offering guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits (GLWBs), you will receive an annual lifetime...

Marketing Playbook
Have you ever wondered why your closing ratio on seminar buying units never exceeds 40 percent? The reason is in the numbers. Twenty-five percent of seminar attendees are “plate-lickers” — many seniors actually look for seminars...

Know More
Back in April, “Dateline NBC” aired a segment called “Tricks of the Trade,” which exposed questionable sales practices that some agents and advisors have employed to sell equity indexed annuities and other products to...

Practice Management
Do you ever wish you were more successful in the financial services industry? Do you ever find yourself wondering why others have $10 million to $20 million in production while you only have $5 million or less?  If you want to get over that...

Ethics in Action
Watch out for the word “yes.” Saying “yes” too often can lead you to spend too much money, grow too fast or take too many financial risks. It can even ensnare you in unethical or illegal business practices that get you thrown...

The Motivated Seller
The person who coined the phrase “time is money” must have been a sales rep paid on commission. In the selling profession, that old cliché rings true. If you are not talking to a prospect or customer, you’re unemployed. How...

Compliance Watch
Q: You are a registered representative with a FINRA-registered broker-dealer. You also have your own business, John Smith and Associates. You create a Web site and set up email under that name. Can you do this? You also have your own fixed business...

“You bring into your life whatever it is you are clear about.” —Susan Scott in “Fierce Conversations” Success. Many financial advisors go about getting it as if they expect it to be here right now. Yet, success...

The Close
Our country is being challenged by a dramatic transformation that has never happened before. We are transitioning from a world of young people to a world of old people. Eighty percent of all the people who have ever lived past age 65 are still alive...

Departments


Seniors Speak Out
I dabble a little in investments so I like to do most of the initial research on my own. I get that by studying the financial markets. Then when I meet with my advisor I feel like we can talk the same language and be somewhat on a level playing...

For me, it works out great that our advisor comes to the house. He’s actually a family friend and we get together and go over the finances twice a year. Last time, we cooked out and had barbeque. It might be better at the office if we...

Vitals
Web sites aren’t just nice places to put your picture and a short biography. They can be lead generators if used correctly. Mark Willaman, president of HRMarketer.com, says a Web site can be a lead-acquisition machine if it is easy to find and...

Keeping the pipeline full is the surest way to earn a decent living and improve sales numbers from day to day and year to year. It’s easy to lose sight of that when things are going well or going poorly, for different reasons. Advisors, even...

Effective marketing is figuring out what motivates people and getting them to act. Marketers have been doing this since time immemorial. So the big question has always been, What motivates people? Price is obviously a concern, but that’s only...

Women are a great market for financial advisors. Half the population lacks a Y chromosome and women outlive men statistically, so they need financial advice. A recent Hartford Financial Services Group survey uncovered the top three concerns women...

Cold calling is the least favorite way of prospecting for most advisors. Those who can, avoid it altogether. But if cold calling is a necessity, there are ways to do it well. Brian Maroevich of Insurance-Leads-Advisor.com offers these tips for cold...

New Products
This fixed, five-year product offers a five-year interest rate guarantee, tax-deferred growth and a guaranteed death benefit to heirs. At the end of five years, clients have full access to their money. Withdrawals may be subject to regular income...

Allows clients to take part in a group guaranteed income annuity product. Promises that investors receive income for life even if the markets have depleted account value below the account minimum. Minimum investment for the mutual fund model is...

Protection Advantage lets policyholders take advantage of positive market performance while still offering a guarantee they will not lose the death benefit if the market underperforms. It offers a variety of portfolio options to clients. Cash...

Red Flag Reminder
FINRA is increasing the pace of investigations and enforcement actions against advisors who defraud older investors, according to the Wall Street Journal. FINRA’s goal is to protect seniors against unscrupulous financial advisors who take...

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