The Rules Have Changed When It Comes To Influencing Clients & Prospects

One of the challenges we have as an industry and I believe we do as professionals, is the set of tools that we are using to get the job done in terms of influence is antiquated. The concept of bringing a prospect in to our office, whether they are from a seminar, a referral, a cold call, etc and sitting down, finding out what they need technically and then going ahead and putting together a proposal. We then logically they go through their proposal, it sounds pretty good and they take action. That is the way it was until the fall of 2008. Then the last couple of year’s things changed. There is a lot of fear amongst investors and the old rules no longer really work. This also applies to your client base.

You have clients and sometimes you have to recommend they make changes in their investments. Most people will go ahead and make decisions emotionally and not logically. What we want to be able to do is really understand the human dynamics, the human syntax of decision making. Please listen to my expanded audio comments below and start you FREE trial membership at my virtual coaching site –practicepower.net

Our Game

Since the Olympics just concluded, it reminds me how important it is we view ourselves as athletes and our business as a game. Now I know most of you look at yourself as a business person, professional, etc. Now, add some of the characteristics of champion athletes (consistency, energy, perseverance, commitment, dedication, etc). You can see how those attributes really make a difference when it comes to success. Let’s just take one of these–energy and apply it to business. Our business is a business of energy. You cannot be effective and drive results with people just by going through the motions.

You must be emotionally engaged in order to communicate and influence effectively. How much more could you accomplish each business day if you had “level 10″ energy all day. So eat like an athlete and hit the gym. You will definitely make more money! Please listen to my expanded audio comments below and start you FREE trial membership at my virtual coaching site –practicepower.net

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

All Tasks Are Not Created Equal

One strategy that I use with new clients, is to have them send me a copy of their daily to-do and call list. What most advisors do, is try to prioritize these tasks into some sort of high. medium, or low. Usually what I see is a huge laundry list of tasks and calls. I am sure some of you actually stare at that list for most of the day, frozen with the sense of overwhelm and not able to take action–”Let’s check the news or CNBC” you say to yourself.

What I have found in my coaching work with very successful advisors is the fact there are only 2 types of actions or activities. Those that lead to revenue and everything else. Take a look at your list for today or this week and ask yourself one question about each item. “Will this generate revenue in the next 30 days?” If so highlight it or tag it in some way. Focus on getting those actions done first. Please listen to my expanded audio comments below and claim you FREE trial membership at my virtual coaching site –practicepower.net

My 2 Mini-Day Philosophy

A few years ago, I was experimenting with different types of daily game planning. No matter what I did, it always felt a bit daunting and overwhelming. It seemed when I tried to plan out and micromanage my entire day all I would do is get frustrated. I came to this realization that you must have some flexibility throughout your day. Because we are in the people business, people will be interruptions throughout the day with issues and opportunities. I decided to break-up the day into two mini-days (A.M day & P.M. day). This way I am only concerned with a four to five block of time at any given time. This also allows me to regroup at the midway point (lunch) and plan for the second half of the day. Please listen to my audio comments for more detailed information. Don’t forget to take advantage of my FREE trial membership at 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.

Do You Suffer From The Should Syndrome?

When I am evaluating a potential new coaching client, I always pay close attention to how the person is choosing their words in answering my pointed questions. When I ask them what they need to do in order to increase their success, I hear terms like. “I should have a business plan.” “I should ask for more referrals.” “I should get to the gym.” When you frame important, must do action items as a “should” to yourself, you basically give yourself an out. You are so busy in your business and life, anything you view as not a must will not get done. The problem is, most advisors are unaware of how they communicate with themselves. Now a quick question for you. How do YOU frame things to yourself? Please listen to my audio comments for more detailed information.

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