‘Referrals’ Archive
Watch the Replay of ’5 Ways Financial Advisors Leave Money on the Table, Under-Serve Their Clients, and What to do About It’
If you missed the webinar, ‘5 Ways Financial Advisors Leave Money on the Table, Under-Serve Their Clients, and What to do About It,’ watch the replay by CLICKING HERE.
What the Top 1% of Advisors Do That Others Don’t – Part 2 of 2
If you would like to get Part 1 of this article immediately, please send a request to info@billbachrach.com.
Forget it! Who would invest in anyone with this attitude? You would buy stock in the advisor who’s willing to go out of his or her way, make an effort to secure success and, as a result of doing what few others will, acquires a competitive advantage.
There’s a great scene in the movie A League of Their Own in which one of the baseball players cries, saying, “This is hard!” Her coach, played by Tom Hanks, tells her to pull herself together: “It’s supposed to be hard. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”
To reach the heights of success, you must do something different from everyone else. Olympic gymnastics medalist Peter Vidmar has made this observation that applies to our business: In the upper echelons of his sport, you get an edge on the competition not by working harder, but by doing something different. At that level, everyone is in the gym about the same amount of time every day-there are only so many hours of physical exertion a body can take. But the winners had a different regimen, which gave them their competitive edge.
Likewise, if you are working 55 hours a week, those top producers making three times the money you are can’t be working three times as hard-there aren’t 165 hours in a week. They are achieving far greater results than you are but applying the same amount of time and energy as you (or less). They just have a better system-one you can be sure they acquired by doing something uncomfortable, inconvenient and expensive.
What’s more, top advisors don’t just attend a variety of workshops, seminars and programs: They implement what they learn, which is where the results truly come from. (Attending a seminar is easy, inexpensive and comfortable compared with actually implementing what you learn!) Not surprisingly, people with athletic or military backgrounds tend to be better at making the necessary adjustments and remaining extremely disciplined-they don’t mind the uncomfortable and inconvenient part. They have already seen the results you get from simply doing whatever your commanding officer or coach tells you, even though the last thing your coach or c.o. is concerned with is your comfort or convenience. It’s not about you. It’s about the results you get, not how you feel along the way.
You know now what it takes to become someone who can attract what seems like a disproportionate share. There are people out there attracting that share right now. They almost seem to become happy with discomfort and doing what’s difficult. What’s their secret? They know that the distinction between those who produce significant results and those who don’t is simple: It’s supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to be inconvenient, uncomfortable and expensive, or else everyone would be doing it. Are you willing to do something different, something others aren’t willing to do, to get where you really want to be and deserve to be?
If you would like to get Part 1 of this article immediately, please send a request to info@billbachrach.com.
©2013 by Bill Bachrach, Bachrach & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
Bill Bachrach is the author of several books, including the best-selling Values-Based Financial Planning™. He has delivered approximately 2,000 keynote speeches and presentations teaching financial professionals to build high-trust client relationships. For 22 years he and his team have trained successful advisors and planners to dramatically improve their client loyalty, build their business by referral only, and live a very high quality of life. www.billbachrach.com
5 Ways Financial Advisors Leave Money on the Table, Under-Serve Their Clients, and What to do About It
Register for the webinar, ‘5 Ways Financial Advisors Leave Money on the Table, Under-Serve Their Clients, and What to do About It,’ presented by Bill Bachrach on Thursday, Feb. 7th at 11:00am PST.
To register, please CLICK HERE.
What the Top 1% of Advisors Do That Others Don’t – Part 1 of 2
They take steps that are inconvenient, uncomfortable and expensive.
Not long ago, a friend asked my advice about a program she was thinking of attending. She wanted to go, but it would be costly. She felt somewhat unprepared, and she wasn’t sure she could afford to take the time away from work. When she told me her reservations, I said emphatically, “This sounds like a really good idea.” She was surprised at my reaction and asked me, “How do you know?” I told her, “I have a really simple way of determining whether something is good for me or not: It’ll be good if it’s inconvenient, uncomfortable and expensive.”
My friend laughed because she knows it’s true. The seminar would be good for her, not in spite of these obstacles but because of them. Although there are exceptions, most anything that is going to make you more successful will by definition cause you to stretch and grow and therefore have these three characteristics-otherwise it wouldn’t have much impact.
Think of the inconvenience, discomfort and expense you encounter every time you take an important step toward your own growth, whether personal or professional. (Remember your first love? Your first home away from the parents? Your first steps into the financial profession?) The things that are going to take you to the next level or make you great will be difficult, and they won’t arrive on your schedule; they’ll appear when they appear, however seemingly inopportune. But there’s the trick: to see them, however ill timed, awkward and high-priced, as the golden opportunities for tremendous growth that they really are.
Who are the most successful individuals in the financial services industry? They are the men and women who seize these veiled opportunities, learn from them and implement them. I learned this from my clients: Advisors who enroll in my company’s programs to grow their practices are willing to do what others aren’t-pay a lot of money for our coaching, spend time with our training and put themselves through the pain of watching themselves on videotape-and the results are proportional to these sacrifices.
If you were buying stock in financial advisors, in whom would you invest? You wouldn’t choose the one who says, “I want to be successful, but a lot of this stuff I’m supposed to do is a pain in the neck. I know this seminar will make me more effective at my job, but I’m going to wait until it’s held in my town, at the hotel next to my office, offered for free. Then I’ll go. Meanwhile, I’ll just keep on doing what I’ve always done. Isn’t that good enough?”
If you would like to get Part 2 of this article immediately, please send a request to info@billbachrach.com.
©2013 by Bill Bachrach, Bachrach & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
Bill Bachrach is the author of several books, including the best-selling Values-Based Financial Planning™. He has delivered approximately 2,000 keynote speeches and presentations teaching financial professionals to build high-trust client relationships. For 22 years he and his team have trained successful advisors and planners to dramatically improve their client loyalty, build their business by referral only, and live a very high quality of life. www.billbachrach.com
My Advice: Do Less Therapy and Less Selling. Be a Trusted Advisor
My Advice: Do less therapy and less selling. Be your clients Trusted Advisor.
Over the years, I have written a number of industry-specific articles, conducted thousands of presentations that have been audio and video recorded, and participated in numerous content-rich webinars. To learn how to get access to all of these resources and be on your way to becoming a Trusted Advisor, please click here: www.billbachrach.com/members-area/
What Kind of Business Are You Running?
One of my favorite clients here at Bachrach & Associates, Inc. at one time was serving 1,243 customers. His business generated $388,382 in gross production, which sounds pretty good. It took him about two and a half years and he now has 91 Ideal Clients that generate $1.6 million in recurring gross revenue. Let me repeat that. His $1.6 million is not commission oriented; it recurs every year. He works three days a week and has a smaller staff than before (He went from 11 to 4 staffers). His life is simpler, his income is higher, his clients are better served and they’re happier.
So with that in mind, what kind of business are you running? What kind of business would you like to be running?
Three ways to tell if you’re running a smart business:
1. How full is your appointment calendar?
2. Are you comfortable asking for referrals?
3. Do your clients give you all of their financial business? In other words, do you have all the money?
If you would like to learn more, please visit www.billbachrach.com or call (858)558-3200.
Pour the Foundation For Your Business!
Financial Advisors: Do you have 60 minutes to build your Ideal Business? Click here to start pouring the foundation.
Do Your Clients Provide Referrals You Can Bank On?
Do your clients provide referrals you can bank on? If not, click here to learn more about our Turn-key Business Model that will develop that trust needed for your clients to start providing you not only with several referrals, but with quality referrals.
Schedule Your Free Qualifying Appointment Today with Bachrach & Associates, Inc.
Do you have 60 minutes to establish your personal and business goals? Click Here to schedule your qualifying appointment today and learn how Bachrach & Associates, Inc. can you you grow your business.
What If There’s No App For That? – Part 2 of 2
If you would like to get Part 1 of this article immediately, please send a request to info@billbachrach.com.
There’s no app for conducting brilliant client interviews, effective implementation and progress meetings, asking for referrals, making follow-up calls, building the administrative and technical expert team to help you serve your clients. It’s all do-able, but there is no shortcut or silver bullet to produce results at the most important things in business and in life.
There’s no app, but there is a formula: a good instructor, lots of practice time, commitment, implementation in the real world, and dedication over several years.
The flip-side is that most Financial Advisors waste years, even decades, seeking and trying to circumvent a truth that cannot be escaped: there’s no app for lasting success. No shortcut. No silver bullet.
How is this good news? If you are one of the few who are actually willing to do the work, over time, to build these skills you have a distinct and substantial advantage over what will no longer even be called the “competition.” Embark on the Master’s journey and you will acquire all the Ideal Clients you need to generate all the business revenue to cover your expenses, pay your taxes, and have all the net income you want for a great present lifestyle, and all the money you need to fund your future goals and financial independence.
What does a Financial Advisor need to master in order to build a successful business? Just 6 things.
Client Service Mastery. Help your clients get their entire financial house in perfect order and keep it that way forever. This starts with the implementation meeting, which is the first meeting after you’ve been hired, and cycles through 3 meetings per year to help your clients keep their financial house in perfect order.
Client Acquisition Mastery. Master 4 elements: 1. Asking for referrals. 2. Making follow-up calls in a way that is engaging and leads to a reasonable percentage of referrals agreeing to a more in-depth phone appointment about how you can help them. 3. Facilitating this phone appointment in an effective way so a reasonable percentage agree to a face-to-face initial client interview at your office. 4. Conducting brilliant client interviews so a reasonable percentage hire you.
Leadership Mastery. Building and leading a team of best-in-class subject-matter experts; technical and administrative, who help you help your clients get their entire financial house in perfect order and keep it that way forever.
Communication & People Skills Mastery. Asking the right questions, being an empathic listener, and when it is your turn to talk giving your advice with conviction in a way that’s all about them so your clients take action and implement.
Mindset Mastery. Thinking like a business owner instead of like a practitioner. Focusing on what you can control and not being distracted by events out of your control like the market, or the economy, or world problems and conflicts.
Time, Priority, and Calendar Mastery. You running your business instead of it running you. Know your priorities, put them on your calendar as appointments with yourself and others, and develop the habit of honoring your calendar.
These are the important things that are required to tap your true potential as a Financial Advisor. There will never be an app. The sooner you embark on the Master’s journey, the sooner you will enjoy the benefits of Mastery.
If you would like to get Part 1 of this article immediately, please send a request to info@billbachrach.com.
©2012 by Bill Bachrach, Bachrach & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
Bill Bachrach is the author of several books, including the best-selling Values-Based Financial Planning™. He has delivered approximately 2,000 keynote speeches and presentations teaching financial professionals to build high-trust client relationships. For 22 years he and his team have trained successful advisors and planners to dramatically improve their client loyalty, build their business by referral only, and live a very high quality of life. www.billbachrach.com
