Posted on: August 31, 2010 Last week, we had the great fortune of having our regular Marketing Playbook columnist, Kerry Johnson, kickoff Senior Market Advisor Expo as our opening keynote speaker.
Johnson, who is a former professional tennis player and coach to advisors, is an exciting public speaker, to say the least. He takes an interactive approach. To put it another way, there’s not a lot of sleeping or yawning in one of his power sessions on “How to increase your sales by 80 percent in eight weeks.”
As we reported in our Show Daily, which was distributed to all of the attendees: “One of the most hands-on strategies Johnson suggested was the amazing influence a simple touch on the underside of your prospect’s arm has in emphasizing a point: As he says, 89 percent of clients surveyed are more interested in their relationship with their advisor than the financial returns.”
That makes for a golden opportunity for you to focus on the human connection. Once that is established, as Johnson said, the money will follow.
One other thing Johnson talked about was the 12 most influential words that people respond to in advertising and in human interaction. See how many of these you use with your clients:
1. Discover
2. Easy
3. Guaranteed
4. Health
5. Love
6. Money
7. New
8. Proven
9. Results
10. Safety
11. Save
12. You
Posted on: August 26, 2010T.J. Pool, president of Arlington Senior Alliance, is speaking today at Senior Market Advisor Expo on how producers can exceed their annual sales goals by doing the right thing.
Pool says it’s vital to “know your client and make sure your client knows exactly what he or she is getting.”
I spoke to Pool earlier this year to find out how he became an ethical advisor and what advice he would give to other producers on how they can incorporate high ethical standards into sales success:
SMA: What led you to your role as an advisor?
Pool: I started in the insurance business in the 1980s, but as a captive agent. I soon realized I couldn’t recommend the best solutions; I could only offer what the company offered. I needed to move out on my own and become an independent to be a true advisor. The term “advisor” is used very loosely in today’s world, and there are so many types of advisors, but what people are actually looking for is a trusted advisor. If everyone would do everything they can for their client and prospects by taking on a fiduciary responsibility, we would be a whole lot better off. So many advisors go into a meeting to push a specific product instead of what is really needed by that client or prospect.
SMA: What is it about seniors that led you to make them a focus of your practice?
Pool: I worked with IBM for 20 years, and with my specialization in state, federal and local governments, I kept running across all of these programs that were geared towards seniors, but so many of the services never got into the hands of the people they were designed for. I saw a niche I could fill, and I could be someone who could bring programs to seniors. I feel like my business is set up to answer any questions seniors have, or at least be a resource to get them the right information.
SMA: We hear a lot about suitability in this industry, but in your mind what is it that makes one an “ethical advisor?”
Pool: People are looking for a trusted advisor. Ethics is more than a word; it’s a work in progress. If your clients’ needs are not put first, you have missed your goal. Early in 2002, we happened upon a veteran who had dealt with three other advisors over the last five years. They’d each taken him to various paralegals to try to establish a living trust, but all they’d really done was sell him numerous different annuities from different companies. When I heard how he’d been treated, we took it upon ourselves to get this gentleman in touch with an attorney and we paid to have a trust done for him. We felt that he had been mistreated by people in our industry and the only way to make it right was to accomplish for him what others had been unwilling to do. Happily, several years later, he became a client.
SMA: What do you do in meetings with clients to put them at ease and to show them you’re looking out for them and not your own pocketbook?
Pool: I tell them up front, from the first call, that no decisions are to be made today. The only thing on the agenda is for us to get to know each other. And for me to learn what they really want and what their timetable is. The biggest question everyone has is, “Will my money last me?” But most people have not put those details on paper. They have money, but they don’t know where it’s located. I just met with a client who had a pile of papers eight inches thick. Her family had a cattle farm and when they needed money, they’d sell a cow, and whatever was left over after paying their bills, they’d buy a CD. But they were all over the place and the banks would just keep renewing them, so she wasn’t even keeping up with the cost of inflation. Over the last 22 years, we’ve helped her build more than she could ever know what to do with.
SMA: What kind of plan did you set in place for her?
Pool: I set up four different plans simply because I needed to determine what her goals were. She had lots of land, and she wanted to make sure this land was set up to stay in her family.
SMA: What advice would you give other advisors on how to conduct themselves in the right way and to do right by their clients?
Pool: Don’t prejudge your prospects. And don’t prejudge what your clients need. Keep the client involved at all times. One key is communication. We have meetings with our clients, many of them monthly, some annually, depending on their needs. They want to feel secure, and if they don’t get the chance to talk with someone, they don’t feel secure. Someone needs to talk with them and let them know what’s going on. From an ethical standpoint, most people in sales only have one or two items in their briefcase-- that’s what they sell. But this is not a world of one-answer-fits-all, one-hat-fits-all. Everybody’s needs are different. You need something that will fit each client.
Posted on: August 24, 2010 By the time you’re reading this blog, I’ll be in sizzling Las Vegas for a week of Senior Market Advisor Expo. A glance at The Weather Channel tells me the thermometer will hit 107 today. The good news is it will dip below 105 by Friday, so be sure to pack an overcoat.
Our opening keynote speaker on Wednesday is advisor coach Dr. Kerry Johnson. A former professional tennis player, Johnson toured the world in the late 70s in the heyday of Connors and Borg, Evert and Navratilova.
These days Johnson works with and mentors a different type of peak performers—top advisors. In doing so, he has noticed these peak producers share several common characteristics. Following, in his own words, are a couple of those common traits Johnson has observed:
Put your activity on a point system. Low activity is the single biggest reason producers fail. In my interviews with million-dollar commission producers, I have discovered they combat this problem with tremendous self-discipline. Nearly all daily—and sometimes even hourly—goals for themselves.
Top producer Belen DeJesus of Manila, the Philippines, is one of the highest-paid sales pros in the South Pacific. DeJesus realized early on that if she were to make a living in the competitive financial services industry, she must not only set hourly goals but also develop a system for keeping herself committed to those objectives when her enthusiasm waned. Her method was to make 10 phone calls in the morning before her first a cup of coffee. She would force herself to ask each client for referrals before she left the closing interview. Forgetting to ask meant depriving herself of participating in a favorite hobby for that week.
Don Speakman, a Pittsburgh-based advisor, also has an effective method of keeping himself on track. He works on a daily point plan. He assigns 10 points to a face-to-face interview, five points to a phone call by which he is trying to sell, and one point to dialing the phone. His goal is to hit 50 points—or he does not go home. Speakman believes activity equals success. Who can argue with a guy who makes more than a million dollars in commissions? Sometimes he takes his sleeping bag to the office, knowing a busy day is no excuse for avoiding the prospecting routine that makes him money.
The kind of discipline DeJesus and Speakman demonstrate is what makes true winners. It is virtually impossible to be stopped short of success when you are doing the right things so consistently.
Make the first sale a client-builder, not a quota-maker. One of the things top producers consistently do is develop relationships for the long term. The advisor who just wants to make quick money asks for the big sale first. The one who understands the importance of relationships knows that big money comes only after trust is developed. When you have trust, commissions and fees fly into your arms. Concentrate on getting your prospect to buy the relationship with you, rather than a given product or service—cost matters little.
Clients will give you enough money to test the trust they have given you. Then, they will observe how you treat them after the check is cashed, so protect those relationships like the precious assets they are.
One of my coaching clients, Bill Smith, loves to hear a prospect say at the outset he will only gain a portion of their assets. He knows it is only a test to see if he has built a relationship instead of a transaction.
Posted on: August 17, 2010 I’m currently planning out next week’s big event: The 2010 Senior Market Advisor Expo. As I’m putting together the final editorial and content touches on this year’s show, I ran across notes I kept from last year, which involve interviews I conducted with the 2009 keynote speaker, Brian Tracy.
For any of you that know, Brian Tracy is one of the preeminent gurus on helping business professionals become better business professionals. Following are excerpts he shared with Senior Market Advisor on his thoughts about discipline and prospecting. Enjoy and see you next week in Las Vegas!
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Developing discipline
How do you develop the discipline you need to become the successful person that you are capable of? It is simple, but not easy. First, make a list of everything that you have to do the next day, and make the list the night before, before you finish work, or on a Sunday night. Second, go over your list and ask yourself this question, “If I could only do one thing on this list before I was called out of town for a month, which one activity would contribute the greatest value to my work or my life?”Whatever your answer to that question, set that as your top priority for the coming day. When you get up in the morning and get ready, the first thing you do is to go to work on the most valuable thing that you can do, and then work at it single-mindedly until it is complete.
Work on prospecting
In many cases, the most important thing you can do is to prospect. The fact is that very few people like to prospect. Why? Because prospecting is always accompanied by rejection, negativity, rudeness, frustration and failure. As healthy, normal human beings, we avoid these experiences as much as possible. But in order to succeed in sales, we have no choice but to prospect, to find new, qualified people to talk to.
The central focus of your selling activities must be “face time.” The average sales person in America works only about 1 to 1 ½ hours per day, about 90 minutes out of an eight hour day.
This is the number of minutes that the average sales person spends face to face with qualified prospects who can and will buy and pay within a reasonable period of time. All the rest of the day is usually spent warming up and warming down, talking with co-workers, checking e-mail, reading the newspaper, coming in late, leaving early, and going for extended coffee breaks and lunches. Only 90 minutes a day is spent on actual selling.
If you want to take complete control of your sales career, focus on increasing the number of minutes that you spend face-to-face with prospects each day. There is a direct relationship between the ratio of minutes spent with prospects and your income. The more time that you spend with prospects, by the Law of Probabilities, the more you will sell, in any market. One of the great definitions of self-discipline is that “persistence is self-discipline in action.”
Posted on: August 10, 2010 As I write this blog, we’re only two weeks away from the annual shindig known as Senior Market Advisor Expo. Held this year at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Aug. 25-27, this year’s SMAX is focused on helping advisors maximize their potential, to look for any holes in their practice, and to take their business to the next level.
In talking with Hal Becker, one of our keynotes, we’ve identified a few of the key points to look for at the show. Let me know if this is what you’re looking for in your practice—and come by and say hello in Vegas.
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Closing keynote speaker Hal Becker will be talking Friday, Aug. 27 about how to “Attract new clients and keep the clients you have.”
Becker says he sees a need for more training among people in the sales profession. He notes that companies have shifted resources away from sales training and that has hurt salespeople’s performance. “There are 34 million salespeople in the U.S. and less than 3 percent are over quota, which is kind of shocking,” he says. “Most salespeople hover around average or below average and that’s with virtually no training.”
Becker presents a multistep process to improve performance.
Step one: get organized. Great salespeople are highly organized, he says. They keep track of the details in their business and keep their appointments and commitments.
Step two: become aggressive. This doesn’t mean beating prospects up with the world’s hardest close. By aggressive, Becker means staying in contact with clients and prospects. “The key is: how many calls can you make a day, whether it’s to high-net-worth individuals or to small businesses,” he says. It’s a constant process.”
Step three: honesty. “I know it sounds corny, but all we have is our reputation,” he says. “A lot of salespeople forget that. You want to build a fabulous brand or reputation and when it’s all said and done, that just takes time.”
Posted on: August 03, 2010 As part of our 10th anniversary issue, I reached out to many of the top advisors in the industry to get a better read on what they’re doing to thrive in today’s topsy-turvy business climate.
Following are highlights from their responses:
Each of us in our industry is the hub of our practice and, like a wagon wheel, we need multiple spokes emanating from the hub to support the hub and make the wheel [our practice] strong. Likewise, through strategic alliances with accountants, attorneys, etc. as well as outreach radio programs, financial workshops, philanthropy/community involvement and a variety of other methods, more people will recognize who you are and what you represent and your commitment to what you do. My practice is thriving, in part due to these difficult economic and volatile times. It is because we bring guarantees and provide financial security to individuals that our practice should be thriving amid all this uncertainty. --Stefanos Loisou
It's been a great year. Submitted business YTD has increased by 166 percent over last year in the same time period. New applications YTD = 80, premium $120,785. I can say unequivocally, the Webinar approach has energized my practice. --Lee Eizenberg, LTCP
My business is thriving in this economic environment because of the marketing strategies used. CPA and attorney partnering is critical as many boomers have developed long term relationships with their attorneys and CPA's and rely upon them heavily for advice and referrals to the proper individuals to help them with their retirement goals. The secret to my success is two fold. One is the great mentoring and support from my fmo. Secondly, by giving back to the communities in which I serve via pro-bono financial literacy workshops, I am slowly becoming the "go-to" person in the area in which I serve. --Barbara Walker, IAR
Just more hard work, especially in estate planning. --David H. Morgan
We are thriving! I think the strategy is to "keep on keeping on". Stay visible, active, and involved in professional and community organizations. Let others know you're still in business while others have gotten out. We are also seeing many people considering LTC insurance now that would not have five years ago--they now realize they may NOT be able to self-insure based on the volatility in the market. --Betty Doll, MBA, CLTC
I am grateful for thriving in this market after 12 years. My devotion and knowledge are most appreciated. Of course integrity counts as well. --Mei-Li Chen
I strongly subscribe to the philosophy 'Tough times do not last, Tough people do'. Keep doing it. Show up, the secret is to Last. --Rao K. Garuda, CLU, ChFC
Posted on: July 19, 2010 The September issue of Senior Market Advisor will be our 10th Anniversary Issue. I know it’s only July, but our editorial team is already piecing together a really cool retrospective of the last decade. You’ll have a chance to take a jog down memory lane to see what was going on in the industry, what predictions were made, which ones hit the nail on the head and which ones fell flat.
The following are selected highlights from 2010. As we get closer to the release of the September issue, look for more tidbits to roll out. Let us know about your own highlights from the past decade or email me at dwilliams@sbmedia.com. Whether it's success stories, funny anecdotes or photos, it makes no difference, we'd love to hear about your career from 2001-2010.
Selected 2010 highlights:
Stop cold calling. “It’s a total waste of time. Your time. The prospect’s time. Research shows it takes 9-12 touches to reach a prospect with a cold call campaign, and you get voicemail 80 percent of the time. In addition, you convert less than 10 percent into clients. Why bother?” Joanne S. Black, “50 Best Ways to Generate Leads,” January 2010
Communicate. “The prospect is completely left out of the picture because of a lack of communication. The first rule of making a decision relative to your financial future is to know what and why you are doing something.” T.J. Pool, “The Ethical Advisor,” February 2010
What keeps you up at night? “Qualified leads are harder and harder to come by nowadays, as many people are bombarded by information that oftentimes doesn’t even relate to their personal situation. On top of unscrupulous sales practices and with the huge economic downturn, people are wary of trusting anyone, and rightfully so.” Reader Christopher Richter, first annual Advisor Survey, March 2010
Sales focus. “A successful, talented salesperson takes complicated matters and makes them very simple for clients to understand.” Honey Leveen, “Trends 2010: The Science of Sales and Marketing,” April 2010
On Boomers. “There’s such a large number of boomers retiring and that really means a tidal wave of change for all of us.” Barbara Walker, “The Boomer Expert,” May 2010
Posted on: July 13, 2010 I received a note from Sheryl J. Moore, president and CEO of AnnuitySpecs.com this morning with an announcement that “the court has vacated the SEC’s rule 151A.”
Moore has long been an opponent of 151A and has been calling for it to be overturned. Others fighting the battle are NAFA and the Coalition for Indexed Products, among others.
The following are excerpts from Moore’s letter clarifying what has taken place:
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Here is language from the court’s order:
“Having determined that the SEC’s S. 2(b) analysis is lacking, we grant the petitions [assertion that] the SEC failed properly to consider the effect of the rule upon efficiency, competition, and capital formation… We therefore order that Rule 151A be vacated.”
So, what does this mean to all of us?
This means that the court effectively settled 151A. As far as the judicial branch is concerned, there is not sufficient evidence to suggest that indexed annuities should be regulated as securities.
Is the securities status of indexed annuities settled for good?
No. Remember - the Securities and Exchange Commission first questioned the securities status of indexed annuities in 1997. They did so again in June of 2008 with their proposed rule 151A. If we want to ensure that indexed annuities will be regulated as fixed insurance product indefinitely, we need to continue our current legislative strategy.
When will the securities status of indexed annuities be settled for good?
Stay tuned!
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Return to www.seniormarketadvisor.com for more updates on SEC 151A and finance reform. Let us know what you think about this latest development.
Posted on: July 06, 2010 Sometimes, it’s the little things advisors do that can take them to the next level of success. William J. McLaughlin of Wall, N.J.-based The McLaughlin Financial Group LLC told me that little bit of wisdom in a phone conversation last week.
For McLaughlin, that “little thing” is listening to what his clients have to say. In fact, McLaughlin recognizes “the lost art of listening” as one of the central pieces to his success.
He tells me he sees his role as an advisor as having similarities to a priest, where the clients come to him in the form of a confession. They pour themselves out to him, he says, and McLaughlin listens.
“I hear what they say. It’s important to hear what they say and to get to know what makes them tick. I wish there was a silver bullet. That would be easy, but it’s not like that. The key is to have integrity, to be transparent.”
Senior Market Advisor columnist John Boe writes that an ancient Chinese proverb reminds us “to listen well is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well.”
Do you consider yourself a good listener? Are you hearing what your clients are saying, what they’re asking of you?
Boe concludes his column on listening by writing: “Where communication is poor, mistakes increase, relationships breakdown and opportunities to make the sale are missed. If you want to enhance your professional image, strengthen relationships and dramatically improve your sales effectiveness, I encourage you to listen while you work.”
Posted on: June 29, 2010 If you are among those who are against SEC 151A, are you celebrating after subcommittees in the Senate and the House agreed to the Harkin Amendment, which would keep equity indexed annuities state-regulated?
Do you smell it in the air, the smell of victory? Do you hear the sound of the fat lady singing? Well, maybe you don’t because nothing’s over until the ink’s dry. And when we’re talking about Congress, even then, you wonder about them using that dastardly invisible ink that disappears once you get home.
I spoke with Andy Unkefer yesterday who was one of the leading forces in the grassroots organization that opposed the initial SEC ruling. As Unkefer mentioned in quoting wordsmith Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
He went on to say (Unkefer, not Berra) that “although opposition forces may influence whether the Harkin Amendment is changed or remains in the final bill, we do have reason to be optimistic. (We) will continue to work with NAFA and the Coalition for Indexed Products until this Bill is signed with the Harkin Amendment intact.”
NAFA leader Kim O’Brien issued a statement and rallying cry as well, reiterating Unkefer’s ideas and adding: “Please continue your sales and support of fixed indexed annuities to ensure that all Americans have a safe and secure retirement.”
A potential curveball hit early Monday when Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd died. Byrd was a dependable vote for the financial regulation bill. President Barack Obama spoke to reporters on Tuesday and said he feels confident the Bill will pass.
“I’m confident that given the package that has been put together that senators hopefully on both sides of the aisle recognize that it’s time we put in place rules that prevent taxpayer bailouts and make sure we don’t have the financial crisis that can take the economy. I think there’s going to be enough interest in moving reform forward that were doing to get this done.”
Return to www.seniormarketadvisor.com for more updates on SEC 151A and finance reform. |
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