‘Uncategorized’ Archive
Money Concepts 2012 Financial Planning Congress – Book Signing by Bill Bachrach
Bill Bachrach Keynote Speaker and author for Money Concept’s 2012 Financial Planning Congress. Click here to view pictures of the book signing.
Don’t Be A Scab Picker – Inspire Your Clients With Positive Emotions
Check out Bill Bachrach’s video discussing motivating your clients by positive emotions rather than being a scab picker.
Destination Check: Have You Checked Yours? Part 2 of 2
If you would like to get Part 2 of this article immediately, please send a request to info@billbachrach.com.
Personal money. What is your desired personal money destination? This one is easy to start with because money is easy to count. It’s easy to figure out how much you need in order to pay for the present lifestyle you want, to fund your future lifestyle and get your own financial house in order. Getting your own financial house in order means having the right amount of cash reserves, reducing or eliminating your debt, having the right amount of every type of insurance relevant for you and your family, saving and investing enough to be financially independent and fund your other goals, having all the appropriate legal documents (wills, trusts, etc.), and paying your taxes in full and on time. You can dramatically increase your confidence about the future by having a good handle on your personal money destination. Not to mention the confidence it will give you to be a financial advisor with your own financial house in order.
Action Idea: Hire a financial planner to write your financial plan and answer the questions about how much money you need to pay for the present lifestyle you want, get your financial house in order and fund your future goals. Pay someone else to do this for you even though you are in the business. This will help you be clear about your personal money destination.
Business revenue. What is your desired business revenue destination? It needs to be adequate to cover your business expenses and leave enough left over to fund your personal needs and wants. Anything beyond that is probably just overkill for your ego. I recommend that you focus on the business revenue that makes your life work instead of being distracted by numbers set by your company to qualify for a trip or to compete with others in the industry.
Action Idea: Do the math. How many ideal clients paying you what amount of recurring revenue will generate the business revenue to get you to your destination?
Fitness and health. What is your desired fitness and health destination? This is also easy to measure. You might measure lipids, body fat, body mass, calories consumed, number of workouts per week (strength, cardio, flexibility, balance), etc. Barring some unusual genetic health situation, you don’t end up out of shape and unhealthy by accident. It happens from being on the wrong health and fitness path and choosing (maybe refusing) to get off and get on the right path. What’s the point of being financially successful but not healthy and fit enough to enjoy it?
Action Idea: Get a comprehensive executive physical and ask your doctor, “What are the most important things for me to measure; what should my target number be in each area; what is the best way for me to get that number from where it is now to where it should be?” And consider hiring a personal trainer and/or nutritionist to help you create a fitness and health plan and stay on track.
Relationships. What are your relationship destinations? Some people feel that these are not as easy to measure as money and fitness because different people in your life will have different metrics. This is true. And yet, like most destinations that matter, there are plenty of things within your control that you can do to make them work better.
Action Idea: Make a list of the most important relationships in your life, get together with these people and ask questions like, “How do you know when our relationship is working?” and “What can I do to be a better (spouse, father, brother, sister, friend, aunt, uncle, mentor, boss). The very fact that you ask and listen to their responses will improve your relationships.
You can have similar destination checks regarding your spirituality, your philanthropy, and everything else that is important to you. Be aware of what’s important to you, engage in some honest reflection, and make a change where and when change is appropriate. There are no secrets to getting off the wrong path and getting on the right path. There are people who do and there are people who don’t. Which type of person you choose to be is up to you.
If you are not on the right path, how long are you going to stay on the metaphorical plane flying you to the wrong destination? Don’t make it long. Be clear about your destination, make the choices to get where you want to go, and be willing to do the work your desired destination requires.
©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. To learn more, please visit www.billbachrach.com
Destination Check: Have You Checked yours? Part 1 of 2
Flight attendants have a step in their preflight process called the destination check. It sounds something like this: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Flight 123 bound for wherever. If wherever is not in your travel plans, now would be an excellent time to gather your belongings and deplane.”
Most of the passengers ignore the announcement and a few shake their heads in disbelief that anyone could actually get on the wrong plane.
A few years ago, I was on a flight headed to Chicago. It was the flight at the end of the day that tends to be packed with business people going home or to the next city. I had gotten lucky and been upgraded to first class. There I was, sitting in row five on the right-aisle seat, and I noticed the man sitting one row ahead of me on the opposite aisle. He had obviously been on the plane for a while by the time I boarded because he had already gotten very comfortable. His shoes were off, his tie was loose, his carry-on bags were stowed in the overhead compartment, his suit jacket was hanging in the flight attendant’s closet, he had a cocktail in his hand and was reading his book. He was fully settled in.
I was about to witness something I had never seen before and, until I saw it with my own eyes, might not have believed was possible.
The boarding door was to close in just another few minutes, but before it did the flight attendant took the microphone to make the destination check announcement, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Flight 718 bound for Chicago. If Chicago is not in your travel plans this evening, now would be an excellent time to gather your belongings and deplane.”
Mr. Totally Comfortable And Relaxed jumped like he’d been poked with a cattle prod! He was reading his book and only half listening to the announcement, when his head swiveled around. He looked at the passengers in his vicinity in a minor state of shock and asked, “Did she say CHICAGO?” I heard another passenger say, “Yes, she said Chicago.” He jumped out of his seat and yelled at the flight attendant, “Don’t shut the door, don’t shut the door, I’m not going to Chicago!” None of us had ever seen anything like it.
In a nanosecond, he went from relaxed and comfortable to mobilized into action. The drink goes down, the book goes back in the briefcase, the shoes go back on, the carry-on bags fly out of the overhead bin, and he digs his jacket out of the closet all in one, big sweeping motion. The rest of us just looked at each other, bewildered as he exited the plane. Did that just happen?
Here’s my first question: Why did he get off the plane? Because that’s what you do when you discover you are going somewhere you don’t want to be, of course!
Second question: How long did he wait to get off the plane? He got off the plane as fast as he possibly could. Why? Because the moment you are certain that the path you are on is not taking you where you want to be, the only reasonable course of action is to get off that path and get on the right path immediately, right?
My story about this passenger on the wrong plane is an analogy for life’s journey. Sometimes you are on the right path and sometimes you are not. The key is to be aware of the path you are on and make the appropriate change when you determine you are on the wrong path, based on your desired destination.
There are as many destinations as there are important things in life. Which destinations should you check? The ones where you want to go and arrive at by a certain time. Here are a few destination-check suggestions for the successful and the serious-about-being-successful financial advisor.
If you would like to get Part 2 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. To learn more, please visit www.billbachrach.com
Will having a Success Road Map® really make a difference in your business?
Will having a Success Road Map® really make a difference in your business? Find out for yourself by watching this video: Click here to watch video
Then visit www.billbachrach.com to schedule your one-hour Success Road Map® Consultation today!
Run Your Own Race and Achieve Iron Man Results
Run Your Own Race and Achieve Iron Man Results – Bill Bachrach shares the importance of staying focused on your own goals.
To view video, please click here:
Olympic Like Thinking, Olympic Size Producing – Part 3/3
If you would like to get the complete article immediately, please send a request to info@billbachrach.com.
Olympic Thinkers Seek Feedback
Do you look for ways to be better? Do you seek constructive input? Are you coach-able? People with high standards seek feedback.
As a financial professional you can seek feedback from your clients, your leaders, and other top advisors about the quality of your interviews, client meetings, and how you run your business. Some of your best feedback will come from practicing on video and video or audio recording live client interactions. These recordings can be uncomfortable to watch and listen to at first, but they provide a window to the truth of how you interact with the people and knowing the truth is good. Every person with high standards can find a way to get feedback. If you can’t find a source of feedback for free, hire it. It will quickly pay for itself.
Feedback serves as the measurement system for improvement. Feedback sets the benchmarks for achieving the high standards you have set for yourself. Feedback, not Wheaties, is the true breakfast of champions.
Norman Vincent Peale once said, “Unfortunately most people would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.” This doesn’t mean you have to subject yourself to abuse. It does mean you should seek feedback from people who will tell you the truth, not just make you feel good. Olympic thinkers seek feedback and welcome input to improve.
Why Become An Olympic Thinker?
Having the high standards of the Olympic Thinker will help you become an even more successful financial professional. But, more importantly, Olympic thinking will impact your total quality of life and how you feel about yourself. Be an Olympic Thinker. Raise your standards and your performance will improve directly
Bill Bachrach, CSP, CPAE is considered the financial services industry’s leading authority on building high-trust client relationships. He is a popular keynote speaker and successful financial professionals from around the world subscribe to the Values-Based Financial Planning turnkey business model to establish themselves as top 1% advisors in terms of value for their clients, financial success, and quality of life. www.billbachrach.com
Olympic Like Thinking, Olympic Size Producing – Part 2/3
If you would like to get the complete article immediately, please send a request to info@billbachrach.com.
Olympic Thinkers Don’t Make Excuses
Having a good excuse for a poor performance does not compare with the feelings of accomplishment that come with producing results. Olympic thinkers focus on results.
Having a good excuse for missing your children’s special events is not as good as being there. Having a good reason for not meeting your goals is not the same as achieving them. Having a good excuse for not taking care of your physical health is not the same as being physically fit. Failing with an excuse is simply not as good as succeeding.
“Only the best practice when they don’t feel like it or when it is inconvenient,” says Olympic gold medalist Peter Vidmar. “To make the Olympic team I had to be an even higher achiever. I made a clear list of objectives that I had to accomplish every day in the gym. If my workout lasted three hours, great! If the workout lasted six hours, tough luck! I wouldn’t leave without accomplishing my objectives. My daily goal was to leave knowing that I had done everything I could.” Olympic thinkers focus on results and figure out a way to stay on track with their work program, training program, or their health program.
Olympic Thinkers Tend to be Perfectionists
It’s an interesting paradox that the same people who criticize their friends or colleagues for being perfectionists can be moved to tears watching an Olympian score a perfect 10 or set a new world record. It’s difficult not to appreciate perfection. Olympic thinkers tend to seek perfection. When you compete with the best, what else can you do?
If perfection is not your goal, it is difficult to achieve high levels of success. Would you rather have a goal of a perfect 10 and fall short with a 9.9 or set your goal at 8 and achieve it? The Olympic thinker prefers the better result. I have a friend whose motto is, “strive for perfection, settle for excellence.” Beware of using perfectionism as an excuse to fail or not produce results: Remember, Olympic thinkers produce results, not excuses. Seeking perfection doesn’t mean you never get things done. It means you get things done well.
Nadia Comaneci was the first Olympic gymnast to score a perfect 10. During an interview, Comaneci explained, “I always underestimated what I did by saying, ‘I can do better.’” To be an Olympic champion you have to be a little abnormal and work harder than everyone else. Olympic thinkers seek perfection as their ultimate goal.
Olympic Thinkers have High Standards
Olympic thinkers recognize that the problem with high standards is that most people choose not to have them. So when you choose high standards you choose to be in the minority. Olympic thinkers would rather be in the high-standards minority than the mediocre majority.
Those who choose mediocre standards have a large support group. Those who choose high standards discover a real support group. Mediocre people “support” each other by buying each others excuses and letting one another off the hook. The people with high standards truly support one another with encouragement to take their endeavors to the highest levels possible. For example, the mediocre leader, coach, or manager will tell you to set “attainable” goals, which usually means setting goals too low. Leaders with high standards urge you to set high goals that might seem unattainable and then help you stretch to attain them. Which do you think is more satisfying?
Perhaps people set their standards low to avoid failure. Yet, you are much more likely to fail because your standards are too low, not because they are too high. In fact, can you think of people or companies who failed because their standards were too high? Neither can I. But it’s easy to think of people and companies who failed because their standards were too low.
People with high standards always set the new standard. Having just won two gold medals inLillehammer,Norway, at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Bonnie Blair did not go home to gather endorsement contracts or be the guest of honor in the parades. Instead, she made a classic high-standards, Olympic-thinker trip toCalgary. Her collection of five Olympic gold medals (the most won by anyU.S.female Olympian) would have been enough for most. But Bonnie Blair was in the best speed-skating condition of her life and she had one more challenge to meet. No female speed skater had ever gone faster then 39 seconds in the 500 meters, so Blair went to the Olympic Oval Finale Invitational event inCalgaryto see if she could break this barrier. When she crossed the finish like in 38.99 seconds, she became the first woman to skate this fast. Blair’s world record was to women’s speed skating what Roger Bannister’s first sub-4-minute mile in 1954 was to running. One year later at the World Cup inCalgary, Blair beat her own world record for the 500 meters in 38.69 seconds.
Why is Bonnie Blair one of the greatest Olympians in history? She epitomizes the high-standards Olympian. She is an example for all of us who aspire to be Olympic thinkers. You can’t choose mediocrity if you choose to be an Olympic thinker.
Bill Bachrach, CSP, CPAE is considered the financial services industry’s leading authority on building high-trust client relationships. He is a popular keynote speaker and successful financial professionals from around the world subscribe to the Values-Based Financial Planning turnkey business model to establish themselves as top 1% advisors in terms of value for their clients, financial success, and quality of life. www.billbachrach.com
Olympic Like Thinking, Olympic Size Producing – Part 1/3
With the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics getting ready to start in London, I started to think, what would happen if we applied the same determination, discipline and mindset that Olympic athletes do and have done time and time again? How does this apply to financial advisors? Is there a pattern for their success that can be applied?
Here are some questions to consider as you reflect on past Olympics and get ready for this summer’s Olympics.
If being a financial advisor were an Olympic event, would you make the team? If you made the team, would you win a medal? Can you imagine what it would be like to feel the weight of the gold medal on the center of your chest while your flag is being raised to the sound of your national anthem? You can have similar feelings in your personal and professional life if you adopt what I call “Olympic Thinking.”
One reason we admire Olympians is because of their high standards. These high standards are the reason Olympians perform as they do. Raise your own standards, apply some “Olympic Thinking” and improve your performance as a result.
Olympic Thinkers Take Risks
At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, millions of television viewers around the world watched as American gold-medalist Greg Louganis hit his head on the board during the ninth dive of the spring-board preliminaries. Only 12 divers would qualify for the finals. Greg’s accident dropped him from first to fifth place. With four stitches in his head and a water-proof patch, Greg returned for his next dive and executed possibly the best dive of the competition. Everyone watching witnessed this moment of extraordinary courage. In his book, Breaking the Silence, Greg said, “You don’t win gold medals by playing it safe.”
In our business and personal lives we can’t play it safe and expect to achieve our highest levels of success. Fortunately, the risks are seldom as bad as we imagine and the rewards are often greater than we expect. If the primary motivation behind your decisions is to avoid unlikely worst-case scenarios, your options will be severely restricted. Olympic thinkers take risks and don’t permit the remote possibility of a negative outcome to overshadow the probable positive results.
If you would like to get Part 2 and 3 of this article immediately, please send a request to info@billbachrach.com.
Bachrach & Associates, Inc. New Membership Area
Bill Bachrach shares his library of articles, webinars, thoughts and insights to help Financial Advisors achieve their goals. Yearly Membership is $100. Click here for more information: www.billbachrach.com/members
