Refine Search

Search Results

Results 451–500 of 639 found.

Managing Stress During Market Downturns
by Beverly Flaxington, 2/1/16
With market movements being mostly negative, I’m riddled with anxiety and stress. I dread every phone call with a client. Is there anything I can do to alleviate this? I can’t ignore the markets; I have a job to do.

Getting Centers-of-Influence to Refer
by Beverly Flaxington, 1/26/16
This year in particular, with the markets underperforming, accountants and attorneys must have clients who need a second pair of eyes on their portfolios. We would be willing to do reviews at no charge and make recommendations. Why aren’t we seeing referrals from these firms?

How to Provide Career Development
by Beverly Flaxington, 1/19/16
Less than 30% of our staff believe we do a good job in career development. We would like to take steps to address this issue, but we’re not sure where to start.

Looking Ahead to 2016: What Matters Most
by Beverly Flaxington, 1/12/16
You work with advisors every day. What do you think will be the biggest challenges and opportunities we’ll face in the coming year?

New Year’s Goals to Effectively Increase New Revenue
by Beverly Flaxington, 1/5/16
What is the right way to set achievable goals? I don’t want to set the bar so low that my team doesn’t need to work hard, nor can I afford to do that. At the same time, if I set it too high, all I will hear is grumbling for the first few months of the year.

My Top Ten Tips for 2016 – Part Two
by Beverly Flaxington, 12/29/15
I hope you enjoyed Part I last week. Here is Part II of my “Top Ten” list of advice for 2016. Hopefully these lists will be beneficial and spark some ideas.

My Top Ten Tips for 2016 – Part One
by Beverly Flaxington, 12/22/15
The end of the year offers a chance to reflect on what’s worked well and decide what we’d like to do differently in 2016. For the last two columns of the year, I will provide my “top ten” list of advice I’ve given, common issues I’ve heard and ideas that come up over and over again. Part I -- the first five -- appears here, and Part II -- the second five -- will run next week.

Are Clients Honest When They Say They Refer?
by Beverly Flaxington, 12/15/15
More than 90% of our clients say they would refer us if asked. However, our new business comes from only a handful of clients who actually refer us. Why do you think this is happening?

How to Focus Your Practice on Millenials
by Beverly Flaxington, 12/8/15
I receive a lot of questions about marketing to the next generation and working with millennials. For this week’s column, I sought input from a successful financial advisor who is a millennial and focuses on them in his own business. Read on for some millennial advice from Eric Roberge, founder of Beyond Your Hammock.

The Problem with a “Culture of Niceness”
by Beverly Flaxington, 12/1/15
We all get along in our firm, and that’s the problem. Issues go unresolved because no one wants to rock the boat. People don’t raise their concerns because our firm leader is the consummate “nice guy.” How do I bring issues up without being the bad guy?

Action-Oriented Teambuilding
by Beverly Flaxington, 11/24/15
We want to do a teambuilding activity for our advisory firm. We get along reasonably well, but we are always passing one another in the hallways on our way to our next meeting or phone call. I run the firm, and I’d really like to get everyone engaged in an activity that would be fun but also meaningful. Do you have any ideas?

Improving Team Effectiveness When You’re Not a “Coach”
by Beverly Flaxington, 11/17/15
Why can’t the newer generation of advisors learn the way we did, at the “school of hard knocks”? I think we are creating a generation that needs constant input and teaching.

Matching Your Sales Approach to Your Target Market
by Beverly Flaxington, 11/9/15
Sometimes, prospects are referred to us and they just want to get going. Our paced process irritates them. Should we change our process to match the audience, or match our process to the right people?

Matching Employee Style to Firm Culture
by Beverly Flaxington, 11/3/15
We keep churning through administrative staff who tells us our environment is too fast paced and too intense. We keep adding new clients, and our clients are demanding. Our partners thrive on the fast changing nature of what we do, so I don’t see it changing. How do we find the right people to keep up with us, or how do we slow the partners down so they stop burning out staff?

Five Tips for Making Better Hires
by Beverly Flaxington, 10/26/15
Our last three hires have been disastrous. I don’t know if it is my own bad choices or the hires themselves, but the time I spend trying to fix and negotiate is wasted time from other things I could be doing for clients. Is there a secret to making better choices in the hiring process?

Is it Worth the Effort to Improve Your Referral Skills?
by Beverly Flaxington, 10/19/15
We have yet another coach working with our advisory firm to help us with referrals. As it is, I get more referrals than anyone on our seven-person team, but I am forced to participate in these activities. Is there a way for me to gracefully back out of this coaching or explain to him why I don’t think I need to participate?

Dealing with Bad Decisions in a Big Company
by Beverly Flaxington, 10/12/15
I see the problems that arise when we take bad business. Most of the time, it is obvious from the outset that it will cause us trouble, but everyone is trying to meet the numbers. Why don’t the leaders of our company see the problems that these divisions cause?

The Keys to Finding New Prospects
by Beverly Flaxington, 10/5/15
Can I find prospects without cold calling or running an advertisement, both of which are time consuming and expensive?

Helping Wholesalers Sell Effectively
by Beverly Flaxington, 9/28/15
Wholesalers are supposed to be product pushers. Lately our firm is making us learn skills to build better relationships. How can I push back professionally on this idea? Spending time learning something that isn’t going to help me is a waste.

Applying the Sales Effectiveness Model to Your Firm
by Beverly Flaxington, 9/21/15
Over the years I have had the chance to work with countless financial advisory firms to help them increase their growth. While most do not want to “sell,” they would like additional assets coming in the door! This week’s column gives a peek into the assessment process I use.

How Do I Leave My Legacy as an Advisor?
by Beverly Flaxington, 9/14/15
What’s the best way to go about securing my legacy but not letting clients think I am jumping ship soon?

How to Get More Out of High-Performing Advisors
by Beverly Flaxington, 9/7/15
I have two high-performing advisors in my firm. They find “new” money from existing clients all the time, and they get referrals without having to ask for them. But I need them to take these skills and sell more aggressively.

Dealing with Quirky Markets and Nervous Clients
by Beverly Flaxington, 8/31/15
Unsettled markets are creating unsettled clients. We are being proactive, but I wonder whether being proactive tells clients that there is a problem. We can’t say, “There is nothing to worry about” without creating a concern that there IS in fact something to worry about.

Getting Advisors to Recognize Bad Behavior
by Beverly Flaxington, 8/24/15
I have an advisor who is boisterous and pushy. My administrative team does everything to avoid him. I know he doesn’t mean to be so aggressive, but no matter what I say to him, he laughs it off and makes it out like I am the problem.

What New Advisors Need to Succeed
by Beverly Flaxington, 8/18/15
Our newer advisors – while credentialed – are not experienced. We can’t put them in front of our large clients. But because they have credentials behind them, they think that doing analysis or behind-the-scenes client work is beneath them. How do we explain that doing the time in analysis is important and does require a high level of expertise on its own?

New Ideas for Client Segmentation
by Beverly Flaxington, 8/11/15
We’re struggling to decide which factor should determine our categories for client segmentation. Do we base it purely on asset size? Or do we do a profitability analysis? One of my advisors wants to categorize by “irritation factor;” those clients who call too much and ask for the world without paying for it would drop to the bottom of the list first.

When Employees Become Owners
by Beverly Flaxington, 8/4/15
I hired a team member a couple of years ago who was very seasoned with an excellent background and a track record of success. He arrived, and all of a sudden he wasn’t motivated, didn’t return client calls in a timely fashion and had no fire in the belly. He wants ownership, but I need to see motivation to give it.

Why High Performing Individuals Fall Apart in a Team
by Beverly Flaxington, 7/28/15
I have hired the best individual contributors anyone could find. Individually, they are strong performers, but they trip over one another whenever they have to agree on ways to meet client needs. Are there incentives or punishments I can dole out to change this dynamic?

Four Principles for Proven Success on Social Media
by Beverly Flaxington, 7/21/15
In last week’s article, I discussed the need for advisors to use social media effectively. This brought a number of follow-up questions. This week’s column provides guidelines for navigating the often-murky waters of social-media marketing.

Can Social Media Lead to New Prospects?
by Beverly Flaxington, 7/14/15
We should be getting more from social media. We all have LinkedIn accounts. We have a Twitter account for the firm, and we regularly post articles and ideas. None of this leads to new business. What can we do to generate prospects from our social media activities?

Making Investment Strategies Interesting
by Beverly Flaxington, 7/7/15
We are reworking fact sheets for a number of our specialty investment products. As we read them, we see that we use the same terminology and ideas over and over again. How can we make this aspect of our offering more compelling?

Dealing with a Difficult Partner
by Beverly Flaxington, 6/30/15
Our advisory business is going very well. The better it goes, the less involved my business partner becomes. She will come in late, leave early and generally be disruptive when she is here. God forbid I say anything and she bursts into tears. What can I do?

The Quest for Clear Communication
by Beverly Flaxington, 6/23/15
I have a great support staff. I cringe, however, when I read some of their email responses to client inquiries. How do I coach them for clearer communication?

The Role of the Human-Touch in a Numbers Business
by Beverly Flaxington, 6/16/15
One of our clients is getting great returns but complaining more than ever. How do we get him to see the benefit of what we are doing?

Managing Multi-Tasking and Meeting Mania
by Beverly Flaxington, 6/9/15
I can't say if I have clinical attention-deficit disorder, but I feel like I do most days. I find myself listening with half an ear on conference calls, and I don't always give my full attention to conversations with clients. I realize I'm doing this, but I can't stop. There are so many demands on my time that I sometimes think if I don't multi-task, I can't keep up with all of it.

How to Make Effective Sales Calls
by Beverly Flaxington, 6/2/15
I don't like making sales calls. Why would someone want to talk to me? What can I do to arrange the time and focus?

The Best Way to Train New Employees
by Beverly Flaxington, 5/26/15
Some of my coworkers believe we should put on a sales hat and try and "sell" our new hires on how great we are. Others think we should stick purely to the facts and just say this is what we do and how we do it. Any perspective on what's better?

Selling for the Non-Sales Professional
by Beverly Flaxington, 5/19/15
Here are three key areas to focus on if you want to increase your selling acumen but stay comfortable doing it your own way.

Making Meetings More Productive
by Beverly Flaxington, 5/12/15
I can't get any work done. My firm is obsessed with meetings, organizing them for every little thing. How do I stop the madness without looking like I'm not a team player?

Improving Client Communication Skills
by Beverly Flaxington, 5/5/15
Clients describe a void to me; they will call to ask questions about an issue and might wait days to hear back. I know that my staff is working on finding an answer, and that's why they don't respond. But the clients don't know this, and it makes for a poor client experience. Any tips on improving the response time and communication?

Getting Centers of Influence to Refer
by Beverly Flaxington, 4/28/15
We have a number of strategic alliances with estate attorneys and CPAs to whom we often refer business. We provide a steady flow to these connections, but they do not refer in kind. Is there a formula that works best to stimulate referrals?

When Lead Advisors Are Not Mentors
by Beverly Flaxington, 4/21/15
I am working to establish a training program that would match a newer advisor with one of our more seasoned ones. So far, this has been a disaster. The lead advisors treat the newer people like administrative staff. How do I teach my lead advisors to be better mentors?

The Words to Avoid in Marketing Your Firm
by Beverly Flaxington, 4/14/15
Are there key phrases and terms we should stay away from in our firm's marketing message?

How to Defend Your Fees
by Beverly Flaxington, 4/7/15
There must be a way to more effectively illustrate the value we provide for the fees our clients pay. How have other advisors done this?

Helping Younger Advisors Excel
by Beverly Flaxington, 3/31/15
What's the best way to integrate a new, young advisor into our practice? We are too small to have a formal training program and I don't have time to sit with someone and provide step-by-step instruction.

Words Every Client Likes to Hear
by Beverly Flaxington, 3/24/15
I've read a lot about different ways to show appreciation for clients: events to plan, gifts to send, newsletters to write, etc. Is there one thing that stands out more than anything else when it comes to letting clients know how important they are?

How to Get Your Team to Use Your CRM
by Beverly Flaxington, 3/17/15
After a lengthy search, my staff and I agreed on a CRM system and paid for consulting and installation. Now we have installed it, but no one is using it. They offer excuses: it is unwieldy or they don't have the time. How do I get them to use the system that they asked for in the first place?

How to Make a Graceful Departure
by Beverly Flaxington, 3/10/15
I can't seem to find the magic conditions to make it worth my while to create a succession plan and retire. What advice do you have that might push me to finally figure out how to make a graceful departure?

Can Aggressive Sales and Quality Service Co-Exist?
by Beverly Flaxington, 3/3/15
Providing the highest quality client service and finding time to network and uncover new sales is challenging at best and impossible at worst. Can these two goals coexist and be achieved?

How to Tell Your "Story" Effectively
by Beverly Flaxington, 2/24/15
We have been very successful when we sit down with a prospect to tell our story. However, our newest advisors find this more challenging. Our story is clear to them, but it isn't distinct from what they have heard at other firms. How can we reinforce our story or build a new one incorporating ideas from our staff?
Results 451–500 of 639 found.