How mini-vacations increase productivity
Are you more focused in short meetings or long meetings? Do you get more done right before vacation or right after vacation? Heidi Hanna, Ph.D., is an expert on using psychology...
Tag Archives: practice management
Surprising wins from slow growth
About a year and a half ago, I bought two pineapples from the market. On a whim, I cut off the crowns and decided to try growing them at home....
Earn trust through accountability after a mistake
No matter how much any of us try to forget it, we are all human, and we all make mistakes. For advisors, how these mistakes are handled can be the...
3 effective sales ideas
Even the most successful advisors appreciate the value of a good sales idea. These are a few favorites from MDRT members: Kick into high-gear I like to compare financial plans to soccer...
Would a doctor diagnose from behind a curtain?
Many clients understand the importance of sharing information with advisors. Occasionally, though, some don’t. What should you say to these people? When one client refused to show financial statements to Ozer...
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...
The value of providing a day off
As an added, non-cash benefit to our employees, we offer a “free Friday” each month. This is paid time off to do whatever they want. It fosters teamwork and collaboration...
6 items for your not-to-do list
You may regularly make a to-do list, but how often do you make a not-to-do list? Try these tactics as an unconventional means of pushing yourself toward exceeding expectations, from past...
Achieve more by embracing the chaos in life
When you do a lot at once, you’re not actually multi-tasking. You’re just doing one thing at a time very, very quickly. At least, that’s according to Dan Thurmon, an author...
Is your office more driven by logic or emotion?
Think of yourself at your best and worst around the office: Are you behaving like a responsible adult or a needy 4-year-old child? In her 2013 Annual Meeting presentation “I can...
Financial planning is about more than numbers
Visitors to our office walk in and see a chalkboard with client photos representing their bucket list accomplishments. This is our bucket list board, and we have a different theme...
Create a multi-line practice to maximize business and bonds
If you’re not offering clients a full suite of service, you’re probably leaving business on the table, said Saad Anthony Baksh, BSc, a 16-year member from Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago,...
Maximize your time and service by focusing on your area of expertise
This is pretty simple for me: My No. 1 prospect is somebody five years from retirement. My No. 1 client is somebody who’s retired. There are a lot of people...
Handling a difference of opinion between a client and their child
A good client of mine wanted me to start working with his son, who was getting ready to graduate from medical school and had basically graduated debt-free because of his...
Connect clients to the value of their policy by snapping a photo
When your client is signing their application form, quickly take a photo of them. Have it printed and attach it to their policy. Include this note: “Today, [today’s date], I...
