3 empowering questions to change mindsets
We don’t want to just survive. Instead, we’re designed to want to figure out the world, extract meaning from it and find our place in it. We want to feel...
Tag Archives: advising clients
Big money, hidden challenges: Lurking issues for the great wealth transfer
Potentially over $100 trillion. There’s no denying the first two words of the now-unavoidable term “great wealth transfer.” Yet the “transfer” part may not be as guaranteed, with a 2025 MDRT survey of 2,000 U.S....
Beyond the numbers: Guiding clients toward a better life
As a financial advisor, my role goes beyond recommending products. My focus is on the overall well-being of my clients — not just financially, but in all aspects of life....
Opportunity in creating road maps for digital nomads
Digital nomads are an incredible phenomenon. There are approximately 40 million worldwide, and they can live and work almost anywhere with high-speed internet, from countries in Central and North America...
What you should have in your waiting area instead of magazines
Picture having to numb your mouth and stomach with chemicals, take a pain medication more addictive than heroin and put a syringe into a tube stretching to the back of...
Financial planning for insurance-averse business owners
Business owners and entrepreneurs often face various challenges in managing financial and asset protection risks, such as income uncertainty, lack of budget for insurance protection and inadequate understanding of long-term...
Basic essentials to address in clients’ retirement
How can you boil down the big concept of retirement into smaller pieces? In his 2016 Annual Meeting presentation, “4th generation retirement planning,” MDRT Past President Guy E. Baker, MSFS, CLU,...
4 reasons your friends don’t want to be your clients
In theory, you already talked to all of the people closest to you when you were building your business. If you have, in fact, had these conversations and wondered why some...
A small difference worth millions
A few years ago, MDRT Past President Tony Gordon was stopped by another MDRT member who had doubled his production and reached Top of the Table for...
What clients really want from financial advisors
Connecting with prospects, converting them to clients and then keeping them as long-term, happy clients depends on several different components, with communication topping the list. Clients want to feel heard and...
Talk to older clients about the tax benefits of qualified charitable distributions
Let’s say you want to donate $100,000 to charity. Would you rather give that amount directly to the organization or withdraw $100,000, pay $40,000 in taxes and have only $60,000...
Seeing critical illness coverage at work
One of my clients, age 52, was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo surgery. This was shocking news for her and all of her friends, and she found...
Look to the future
If a client offers an objection, sometimes it helps to paint a picture of the future, said William T. Spencer III, CFP, AIF, a 17-year MDRT member from Sudbury, Massachusetts.
How to talk to 100 people at once
Let’s say 100 people call you at the same time. How many of them can you speak to at once? Obviously, only one. That’s why Donald P. Speakman, MSFS, a past...
When clients are concerned about having enough money in retirement
If your clients have enough money for retirement but worry about how to generate their income, Adrian George, CFP, TEP, breaks down their savings into five areas: Minimum guaranteed income ...
