When is it time to hire a new employee?
By Diane L. McCurdy, CFP, EPC, and Theodore S. Rusinoff, CFP There are a few crucial times when you should be thinking about adding to your staff. Consider the following scenarios: When...
Tag Archives: business processes
Putting personality and truth in your out-of-office auto-reply
When going on vacation, most people just prepare a generic out-of-office email response, something to the effect of, “Thank you for your message. I will be out of the office...
4 tips to lift your leadership
By Elizabeth McCormick Good leaders are hard to find, and great leaders are even more elusive. Whether there’s a team reporting to you or not, you have the ability to lift...
3 tips to overcoming obstacles
We all know life throws obstacles at us. We either choose to absorb ourselves in them and become unproductive, or we can figure out ways to overcome them. In our...
Taking over your family business isn’t always easy
Bill Heestand More than 30 years ago, I bought an insurance business from my dad, Robert P. Heestand. I became his employee and then gradually, as I grew, he suggested that...
What kind of listener are you?
In theory, everyone wants to be an open communicator, engaging with another person rather than just waiting to talk. And with that headline above, you’re likely thinking about the way you...
The No. 1 thing buyers and sellers are concerned about when buying a business
By David Grau Jr. Financial advisors looking to buy or sell a practice often ask me how to best determine a practice’s value. While there are a lot of technical answers...
Why being a fiduciary lowers your risk
William J. Heestand By William J. Heestand, CLU, AIF When I started out in the financial services profession 30 years ago, I was told by trainers it was a terrible idea to...
The role of humor in leadership
By Karyn Buxman, CSP, CPAE Great leaders understand the important role humor can play in resilience. The time was one of the darkest in America’s history: the Civil War. In a meeting...
3 mistakes to avoid when compensating junior advisors
By Jason L. Smith When it comes to compensation for junior advisors, companies often make the following mistakes: Giving them too much of the revenue off the sale they make. For example,...
4 important questions to ask yourself
A little more than 10 years ago, Devang Patel, CFP, CLU, was at a crossroads. The now-14-year MDRT member from Edison, New Jersey, was working very hard but neither seeing...
Why many advisors increase staff morale through flexible approaches to time
Brian Nicholas Byars, a one-year MDRT member from Covington, Georgia, said when he focuses on what’s important for staff, staff will focus on what’s important for his seven-advisor practice in...
How the little things make a big impact on staff morale
When it comes to creating a positive culture, even something that may seem elementary can go a long way toward motivation and camaraderie. Renee Hanson, CFP, CDFA, who oversees the seven...
This is why clients should understand your process
Seasoned advisors may assume that clients automatically give them the benefit of the doubt in terms of how they conduct themselves. From the client’s perspective, though, it never hurts for...
Boosting efficiency through technology
If you’re looking for high-tech ways to increase efficiency, check out some ideas mentioned in the “Tips and Technology” section of MDRT’s Round the Table magazine as well as some...
