The GIVE:  In prior posts, I’ve noted I’m a member of NAIFA-Tampa, a financial advisors professional association. They recently asked for my help at their recent charity golf event for Epilepsy (see picture). I’ve also pinch-hitted as a speaker and moderator for them a couple of times. Not big investments of my time, and a nice way to personally connect with my target market.

The GAIN: In casual conversation with one of the group’s leaders, he suggested linking my free online advisor assessment to their website as a member benefit. But there’s more: here is what he wrote to me after his meeting with the board of directors :

“Your reputation and hard work with the association made it so easy to get approval.  Those who know you simply said this is good and let’s vote.” 

The purpose of my sharing this is not to toot my own horn, but rather, to share an insight that could help you. Here’s the insight” my ”hard work” has been anything but – I’ve enjoyed every minute and see it as “playtime” away from the office! And, talk about free advertising right to my ideal market! It doesn’t get any better than that.

And,here is an excerpt of the intro letter written by the association president-elect – again, you can’t get a better endorsement ”from the horse’s mouth” like this:  

“..  In short,  the “Advisor Blind Spot Assessment”  throws light on some areas of our business we might otherwise want to ignore. Take a few minutes to ….. take the assessment.  The time you devote to this survey and implementing the recommendations will be rewarded by increased effectiveness. ”

The best part for me was that these “gains”  were unexpected and easy, and simply grew out of my willingness to show up and give alittle of my time. I know you will agree that this way of “selling” is much more fun and effective - than the pushy, hard-sell tactics we all hate.

By the way, if you want to shed light on your advisor practice…just click on the link at right for your own, free custom Advisor Blind Spot Assessment. You’ll receive instant results online and via email.

How about you? – What examples can you share of your own” Giver’s Gain” experiences? We all learn from each other’s lessons. Oh, and feel free to pass along this article to your friends to inspire their creative giving!

As a member of the Tampa chapter of NAIFA, I recently moderated a panel of advisors who were honored by their peers. You can read about it here:  http://bit.ly/byYdT1

Which groups do you participate in and support with your time and contributions? How do you benefit from them?

Please share your comments here in the interest of professional development.

Thanks!

Take my client, Kevin, who needed to rebuild his practice.  With a 20-year, thriving practice as a wealth advisor, he was earning in the high 6-figures –  until last year. Now, like most advisors, he has lost many of his clients to bankruptcy, first-time unemployment and devastated retirement savings. Several have left, and he knows others are about to jump ship. “I know I’ve got to change something”, said Kevin to me. “I’m rowing as fast as I can, but just treading water, and, not to overuse the metaphor, but unless I plug the holes in this bucket,  my boat is going to sink!” (Kevin was a rowing captain in college, so we forgive him).

As Kevin explained what had happened to his practice, his eyes clouded. He wiped them quickly and said, “For the first time, I don’t know how to fix this. With Thanksgiving coming up, I know I should be grateful but, I’m embarrassed to admit I’m having a tough time being thankful right now. I’m  putting on a happy face for my clients, but they probably can see right through it”. He muttered under his breath, “ I know my family can.”

His voice trailed off and he looked away. “Kevin, I know that you have good reasons for why you see things the way you do, and though I can’t control the uncontrollable, I can help you. Are you willing to try something  different?” Kevin looked at me cautiously, “Sure, why not?”

“Great, thank you for your open mind! Now, the first thing you can be thankful for is….your bad attitude” “What?!”, Kevin sat up in his chair, “That sounds crazy!” I sat forward,too, and said “ That’s right ! Without a bad attitude, you wouldn’t be able to appreciate a good one. Think about it.” Kevin considered this and agreed, he hadn’t thought of it this way. ”But, all the self-help books say to “Think Positive!’, which I think is ridiculous anyway.” he said emphatically. 

I replied, “Yes, you’re right. When we try to force ourselves to ‘think positive’, it doesn’t work very well. What if it were easy to change your attitude?”

Kevin thought that sounded good and here are the steps you can try for yourself, the next time you want an attitude of gratitude:

1. Shift your attention away from the problem. Brain research shows you can improve your performance by changing your train of thought. One quick way to do this:  take a couple of full breaths and consciously relax your jaw, neck and body. Focus your attention on something that takes you away from the problem.

2. From open-minded viewpoint, ask:

• What opinions of mine are contributing to a  ”bad attitude” ?
• What result do I want?
• What attitude would be more useful for the result I want?

3. Allow yourself to imagine what it would sound, look and feel like if you had the attitude you would choose. Note what new ideas are now available that weren’t from the other mood.

Like Kevin, you’ll probably be thankful for the fresh ideas that come to you. And, later, when you notice negative thoughts creeping back in (they have a way of doing that), repeat this exercise. It works better with practice. 

Enjoy being authentically grateful!

The fact is, how your clients hear your facts depends on their level of trust in you….which is impacted by your verbal, emotional and physical consistency….

As a successful financial advisor, you know how important it is for you to connect your products and services with the emotional needs of your clients: How not to outlive their money….how to make sure their family can still pay the bills if they die….paying for the children’s college. ..taking care of elderly parents….

What you many not know is this: even when you are stating facts, emotions come through in a way that subtly affects how well your clients “get” your intended message….

According to neurological research, there is no such thing as a completely neutral, objective comment. As human beings, it is impossible to not have an emotional and physical aspect to our conversation….try this, say out loud, 2+ 2 = 4,  What did you say to yourself when you recited this fact? Even if you are “neutral”, neutrality is actually an emotion, and carries with it a certain body language and demeanor (think of the character “Spock” or “Data” from Star Trek).

Notice that your belief and confidence in the facts comes through your words, your body language and your mood. Do you use the facts in a way that answers the “so what?” test?

Do your facts tell a story that evokes emotion in you? Do you believe in what you are presenting? What do you think (really) of your audience? What are you telling yourself about them as you present your data? If they knew, would they be pleased?

Whatever you are saying to yourself, if it is not consistent with your words, your body language and emotions will betray you, even on a subtle level, and your clients are likely to react negatively to that discord

You can probably remember how this felt when you first started your practice, as you struggled to become fluent in the jargon, technical concepts and compliance requirements of your complex profession.

To help you with your next prospect proposal, try this to prepare:

1. Prepare yourself by sitting in a quiet, comfortable and focused locations without distraction. Take a few deep breathes to relax.

2. From an objective, curious mindset, answer these questions about your prospect(s):

• • what problems do they have that I can solve?
  • what are they most concerned about?
  • what challenges get in the way of them making decisions that I can address?
  • why should they trust me?

3. What facts are most important for my client to understand? Why?

4. What doubts, if any,  do I have about my recommendations?

5. What do I need to do to ensure I speak with competence, reliability and sincerity?

Once you have your presentation prepared, try practicing it until  your words, body posture and emotions match to create an irresistible offer your prospects will not be able to refuse?

Getting an objective party to observe your presentation from the standpoint of your words, emotions and body posture is recommended, as you may have difficulty seeing these elements yourself  (see ” Blind Spots – Who Me? )”

Doing this exercise before you meet with your prospect will help you discover any gaps to address so that you come across with all 3 parts of yourself behaving consistently.

Want to learn more? Check out “Blind Spot Removal for Financial Advisors”