Tuesday, November 24, 2009

President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation

As we approach Thanksgiving, it is important that we take time for reflection, time to truly give heartfelt thanks for our blessings. And because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I am a devoted follower of Abraham Lincoln, I wanted to share the following with you.

The following is President Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation. This proclamation set the precedent and regularity for America's national day of Thanksgiving. It proclaims the last Thursday in November be "a day of Thanksgiving and Praise."

This financial tsunami has presented many challenges, especially for those of us in the world of financial services. As President Lincoln points out, even amidst great adversity, it is essential for us to take time to reflect on the past year and be thankful.

Proclamation of Thanksgiving
By Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America
October 3, 1863 in Washington, D.C.


The Year that is drawing to a close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke the aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversion of wealth and strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.

Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascription's justly due to Him for such singular deliverance's and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.


By: Abraham Lincoln

Please take time to be thankful for all of your blessings, enjoy time with your family, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

An Early Start to Holiday Gift Giving

San Diego: “Is it just me or does it seem a little mechanical to send out the same holiday gift to every client?” remarked Bob in a recent coaching call. “It seems everyone in my office is starting to make plans for this year’s fruit cake or wine basket. That’s not a best practice club I want to join.”

I don’t blame him. There are certainly more effective ways to spend your client gifting dollars. For starters, you don’t have to wait until December. Thanksgiving is a perfect time to start sharing goodwill.
 
We’ve had the pleasure of dealing with some real pros when it comes to sending small gifts to affluent clients. We call this concept “Surprise and Delight”. Clients are surprised that you bought them a gift and delighted that it was so thoughtful and personal. We’ve seen this seemingly small part of the overall service model work wonders for both client retention and client acquisition.

Let me share a few examples that might spark a few early gifting ideas for your top affluent clients:

One top producer sent 5 of his best clients an oven roasted turkey from a local organic grocery store with a card that said “To the biggest turkey I know”. He had people with more money than they could spend in three lifetimes calling and saying “Thank you so much. What a great surprise.” Not to mention, it was too much turkey to eat alone, so one client invited the advisor to join the dinner party with three of her friends. Wow – what a great introduction.

Another advisor hand delivered a Surprise and Delight gift for one of her best clients at a nursing home. The client complained about the nursing home food in their last review meeting and the advisor took notice. She knew this client’s favorite home-cooking restaurant and hand delivered a nice meal for her and a few friends. The client actually had tears in her eyes when she realized what was happening.

We’ve even had an advisor who hosted a holiday cooking class for a handful of his top clients and their friends. He organized a top chef from the area to come to his house for a quick lesson on preparing the perfect holiday meal. The clients loved it and so did the guests. This simple (and inexpensive) gesture put two new prospects in his pipeline.

These are three of many examples. You just have to get creative and think about gifts that your clients would really enjoy. And remember, Surprise and Delight is not just for clients; it can make quite the impact on prospects and COIs as well.

Here are a few websites with great Thanksgiving-time gifts:
Godiva.com – Chocolate Comforts Gift Basket - $55
1800Flowers.com – Thanksgiving Centerpiece - $39
GiftsofWine.com – Wines with Personalized Labels - $39
FreshMarket.com – 10lb Fully Cooked Turkey - $35
Chocolate.com – German Chocolate Cake - $40

Affluent client relationships, as any business expert will tell you, are the lifeblood of a successful business. The old adage that it costs less to keep clients than to find new clients is only part of the reason. As importantly, your current clients should be a wellspring of new business opportunities. But this doesn’t happen all by itself. You’ve got to stimulate positive word-of-mouth influence and Thanksgiving, a time when American’s really do reflect and give thanks, is a perfect venue for providing a personal touch.

Few things have the impact of a timely Surprise and Delight. Be on the lookout for our Surprise and Delight Mini-Guide that’s due out in December. It’s full of great client gifting ideas.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Out of Comfort Zone Opportunities

The other day I was speaking with one of our performance coaches, Kevin Nichols, and he relayed a story to me about one of his coaching clients that speaks volumes for today’s opportunities. This advisor has transformed this financial tsunami into a perfect storm for new assets, and all it took was a shift in mindset and getting outside of his comfort zone. Rather than paraphrase this performance coaching case-study, I thought it best if I let Kevin share it with you in its entirety. You might want to take notes.

By Kevin Nichols

As we ended our coaching session, David made a rare boast, “I’m really starting to get outside of my comfort zone; it’s an invigorating feeling. I’m going after more business than ever and people are actually taking me up on it. I figure, the chances of them asking me to manage their portfolio are pretty slim. So I’m taking the guess work out of it, I’m asking.”
 
For David, this was a revelation on two fronts. First, David realized that in order to become a Rainmaker he must commit himself to specific high-impact marketing activities. Secondly, in order to fully execute those activities it was going to require venturing outside of his comfort zone.

Before this transformation, David was like many advisors not fully capitalizing on the current confusing financial waters. He was doing his best to keep his own head above water, concerned about getting his personal portfolio in line and trying to appease any disgruntled clients. But now, after a small renaissance, he is singing a different tune. He is not only welcoming financial conversations and needling questions from affluent prospects, the types of conversations that make most advisors cringe; he is out in traffic actively soliciting them.

But this didn’t happen overnight, it took some coercion, commitment to action, and convincing David of two important statistics from our 2009 research. These statistics heighten the importance of getting out of your comfort zone and prospecting like there is no tomorrow. The first is the fact that a dismal 15% of advisors are spending more than half of their time on offense. The majority of advisors are not actively prospecting; this leaves more opportunity for the rest of us. Secondly, our research indicates that most advisors have not put together a recovery strategy for their clients and even less are communicating it. Combining these two telling statistics, we have a competitive landscape that is ideal for prospecting and an underserved target market.

Here are the tough times statistics:

Percentage of Time Spent on Offense (Prospecting)
No time spent on offense 6.7%
25% or less 49.0%
25-50% 30.0%
50-75% 12.3%
75-100% 1.9%

Client Portfolio Recovery Strategy
No recovery strategy 17.5%
Not comfortable w/ recovery strategy 30.0%
Clear recovery strategy, but don't talk about it 14.3%
Clear recovery strategy and communicate w/ confidence 38.2%

David took heed once he heard these statistics and it was the boost he needed to convince himself that an unprecedented opportunity abounds, especially for the advisor who lives and breathes outside of his comfort zone.

David went on an “out of comfort zone” warpath. He started asking for introductions, planting himself in the right affluent circles, approaching social contacts with whom he had never before spoken business, and holding regular recovery plan events. He committed himself to action and removed any insecure hurdles in his mind because the need was evident; the affluent aren’t being serviced properly and advisors are at a standstill.

The biggest problem that advisors face when marketing is threefold: (1) they aren’t doing enough activity (2) when they are active, they aren’t doing the right activities and (3) even when they execute the right activities, they don’t execute with the necessary affluent sales skills.

Take an advisor who is targeting the affluent, like David, who is willing to jump outside of his comfort zone, get him doing the right activities, add a dash of seamless affluent sales skills, and you have a recipe for new assets.

Are you taking full advantage of this opportunity?

If you are ready to get on the affluent playing field and start doing the high impact activities required to bring in affluent prospects, here is a glimpse at the action plan that helped get David started...

1. Identify the Opportunity: Take a chance to talk business with that social prospect, ask for an introduction through one of your best clients, or take that CPA to lunch. Revitalize those opportunities you let slip away.

2. Commit Yourself to Action: Determine your plan of attack and get the wheels in motion. Be prepared to step out of your comfort zone and sharpen those sales skills. Revel in the comfort of being uncomfortable.

3. Be Consistent: Set a weekly goal for getting out of your comfort zone and hold yourself to it. Eventually, your comfort zone will expand. The initial activities that really make your hair stand up will become second nature.

As David and I concluded our session I asked him if activities like offering affluent prospects a “second opinion” took him outside of his comfort zone. He boldly responded, “Of course, but I’m ok with that.” He rhetorically continued, “Am I doing activities that take me outside of my comfort zone? Absolutely. Am I bringing in more business than ever before? Absolutely.”

The transformation Kevin just shared with you is available for virtually every financial advisor willing to grow. Today’s environment is ideal for affluent client acquisition. However, the psychology of achievement requires each of us to venture outside of our respective comfort zones if we expect to grow. So, let’s capitalize on the environment; get outside your comfort zones and bring in those new affluent clients.

Today’s opportunities will not last forever. Go for it!