Walking The Walk

What has been a shock to me for many years is the fact most advisors do not have their own investment plan, financial plan, and budget. Think about it like this. Let’s say you wanted to go to a fitness and nutrition trainer because you wanted to get back into shape and live a healthy lifestyle. When you met that person for the first time they looked absolutely like a train wreck. Fat, low-energy, etc. Would you hire them? Probably not.

Now when someone comes to us for advice because they can’t “see” behind the scenes they make assumptions. The problem is that you never will be able to communicate 100% with congruency because, in essence, you are living a lie. As advisors we must also be role models and coaches to our clients. I cannot tell you how many advisors I run across today in my travels are one bad quarter from bankruptcy. It’s time to become a model not just an in-congruent advisor. Please listen to my expanded audio comments below and claim you FREE trial membership at my virtual coaching site –practicepower.net

Your Focus Zone

You will always have tasks and projects that will need your 100% undivided attention. The problem is we are besieged with interruptions and distractions. Think about it, your inbox, voice mail, text messaging, your web-browser, your dashboard, etc. I have witnessed advisors who are so caught-up with information, they twist themselves in a knot and get none of their tasks done. You need to create a process and a place that I call your focus zone. This is where you can literally shut yourself our form the outside world and it’s distractions. You can use your office (if you are disciplined), a conference room, a home office, Starbucks, etc. The one criteria is you can eliminate all distractions and focus on your important projects. Please listen to my expanded audio comments below and claim you FREE trial membership at my virtual coaching site –practicepower.net

Welcome to March 2010

I don’t know about you, but this year seems to be flying by. Now it’s March and it’s time to make sure you have written goals and a plan of attack for the month. Below is my list that will allow you to create a simple monthly game plan or use the Monthly Game Plan Builder at Practicepower.net.

Your Top 5 Goals For March (Please make them measurable and specific)
Your Marketing Activities for March (Introductions, Newsletters, Client Events, etc)
Your Personal Development Deliverable (Mental Diet, Exercise, Education)
A List of Your Top 10 Opportunities For This Month (Prospects, Client Upgrades, Events)

By creating this simple one page Monthly Game Plan you will have clarity to go ahead and create powerful Weekly & Monthly Game Plans. Please listen to my audio comments for more detailed information.

Time For Measurement & Reflection

Welcome to the end of the month of February and month two of 2010. Since we are about eight weeks into our new year, it’s time to take a look at how you are doing versus your plan. If you remember my comments at the end of January, I said January was mostly about habit building. February is the month you start seeing tangible results from your efforts. One of the key distinctions that seem to separate high achievers from everyone else is a sense of urgency. They understand the importance of getting things done today..not someday. What I want you to do is get out your February monthly game plan and your 2010 business plan. Now, set aside about an hour over the next few days and really measure your results verses both your February and 2010 plans. Pay close attention to those action items and how consistent you were at both the morning success ritual and written daily game plan. Please listen to my audio comments for more detailed information.

An Act of Liberation

One thing most advisors do is tolerate a bad, unprofitable client relationship. A relationship that is high maintenance, negative—you know, when they call you, you get a knot in your stomach and hope they get off the phone quickly. You secretly hope for that ACAT form that never arrives! Why allow one person to put you day and mental sanity at risk? Most times it’s because you operate in a fear – scarcity mode. In other words everyone is important to you. Remember Pareto’s law of 80/20. Eighty percent of your success is derived by twenty percent of your households. The only thing holding you back is fear. So here is my challenge. Today call one of the eighty precent that is causing you grief and polity fire them! After the call you will feel great. Remember no fear! Please listen to my audio comments for more details.

The “I Will Do It Tomorrow” Lie

One of the most career debilitating conversations that you can have with yourself, is to keep telling yourself it is OK to keep deferring important tasks until tomorrow. Let’s face it, most advisors do a really poor job at holding themselves accountable to get the important done. Usually, we are talking about following up with prospects, proposals, referrals, etc. If you read my blog post on consistency, then you know it is impossible to be consistant if you keep “punting” critical tasks down the road each day. One very important strategy to use is get those tasks done in the day, as early as possible in the day. If you keep putting things off to later in the day, it becomes so much easier to defer it. Please Listen to my audio comments for more detailed information.

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The Importance of Consistency

When I am on the road speaking to advisors I am often asked what is a key difference between those advisors who succeed and those advisors who struggle. I have found that success is really not just one thing, but a recipe of different habits. One key ingredient in that recipe is the habit of consistency. Being consistent with your morning ritual, mental diet, daily game plan, etc is a must to be successful. Think about getting off to a great start in a week on Monday, having a very good Tuesday, Wednesday is OK, then you fall off Thursday and Friday. In this example, Thursday and Friday cancel out all your great work on Monday and Tuesday. So you are left with an OK Wednesday and just an OK week. That is why you must set daily minimum standards in order to maintain your consistency. Listen to my audio comments for more detailed information.

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The Concept of Retirement

Over my years of coaching, I have worked with those clients who have a goal to sell their business and retire. What I find most interesting is the fact that when they find someone interested in purchasing their business, the numbers rarely workout. Whenever someone purchases a book of business, all they are really buying is client goodwill–an intangible. If you have built a very successful practice, then chances are you are a driven individual. So, if you did sell and retire then what? I know that I am the type that would literally stick bike spokes in my eyes than be board. What would happen if you decided the semi-retire today and take mini-retirements throughout the year. Let’s handle the bucket-list while you have your health to enjoy it. If you really enjoy what you do then why would you want to stop doing it. Listen to my audio comments for more detailed information

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Get Out Of The Office

There was a time that if you wanted to make money as a “stockbroker” or financial advisor you had to be in your office, at your desk, and on the phone. Fast forward to today, and chances are you lose money in your office and at your desk. Remember, we are in the people business which means our primary function is to communicate and solve peoples problems. In the Advisor 2015 practice model I want your office to be wherever you are at the moment. Technology and investment models allow us to un-tether ourselves from our office. Imagine the possibility of working, communicating, and advising your clients from anywhere in the world. Listen to my audio comments for more detailed information.

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The Concept of Strategic Time

Over the last year I have come to the realization that trying to “think strategically and act tactically” each day does not work very well. When you jam too many different tasks inside of one day all you create is a feeling of overwhelm and a lack of continuity. The concept of Strategic Time is the adaptation of using specific days just for; working on yourself, working on your business, and downtime. Each month I block-out the last week to use as my strategic window to get some balance and work on some projects. As an advisors you probably don’t get paid by the hour, then why be concerned with the standard concept of time? It’s all about your output. Think about how productive you become just before leaving on a business trip or vacation. How about bringing that kind of intensity to your business and life each month. Listen to my audio comments for more details.

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Walking The Walk

Your Focus Zone

Welcome to March 2010

Time For Measurement & Reflection

An Act of Liberation

The “I Will Do It Tomorrow” Lie

The Importance of Consistency

The Concept of Retirement

Get Out Of The Office

The Concept of Strategic Time

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