As financial advisors, we’re comfortable with using and explaining the time value of money in our conversations with clients and prospects. It’s a pretty simple and long-standing financial concept that...
I tell my clients that while what they own and their achievements are valuable, they’re not priceless. What has no price is their health, family and legacy. What they own,...
Planning for a client’s financial future involves discussions about their hopes, dreams and fears as well as addressing some uncomfortable realities. Those aren’t always easy conversations. And without trust between...
Stocks are exciting. Insurance is boring. At least that’s the way many clients feel. Day trading stocks on your phone is not that different from gambling. Fortunately, many people understand...
What information is really needed to assess someone’s financial situation? Our industry has seen many fact-finders and financial-needs analysis forms, some ranging in length from four to 15 pages long....
Clients want to make money and some seem to want the easy route for that. It’s like the weight loss program with no dieting or exercise. If a client comes...
Sometimes clients don’t understand the power of financial planning. Help them understand what financial planning can do for them and their family with these ideas: Find the gap I show clients the...
No one would say going through a pandemic is easy or recommend it as a best business practice. Yet, it happened. To everyone. Our world changed, and it didn’t always...
When the world feels out of control, you help your client — and show your value as a financial advisor — by redirecting their focus from what can’t be controlled...
This is not the first time economic markets have gone down and we cringed at the daily headlines. About a decade ago, retirement expert Tom Hegna, CLU, ChFC, presented at an...
Updated April 2020: Spending more time at home lately and needing some movie recommendations? See below! There are so, so, so many movies about cops and lawyers. If you’re in one...
Fear promotes more fear. In the economic world, it can lead to market disruption. Recently, threats of a global coronavirus pandemic have led to pronounced market volatility, adding to swings...
Questions are powerful. They allow financial advisors to understand their clients and their loved ones better and, therefore, create better-protected financial futures for them. Questions also can evoke a moment...
When I was straight out of college and starting as a financial advisor, I thought being young was an obstacle to my success. I imagined the client thinking “I am...
UPDATE: This post won a 2019 EXCEL award for individual blog post. See all the winners (including another MDRT Blog item!) here. It’s not often that something...
