A short podcast!

The PraxMax Project by Michael Roby Episode 1

This is a series of ten major faux pas’ made by wholesalers, ideas on how to correct them, and suggestions for advisors on how to deal with wholesalers who make these mistakes.

#1 Poor Defining Statement

Most wholesalers cannot tell you what they do. When asked, wholesalers tend to say one of two things:

“I’m a Regional Vice President for DCH Investors.”

OR…

… they drone off into a sales pitch.

Wrong, wrong, WRONG!

Advisors don’t care about your title, and they didn’t ask for a pitch. To be more precise, when you are asked (or volunteer) what you do, advisors want you to tell they what the advisor gets out of the relationship. The conversation isn’t about you or your title or your company or your product; it’s about them!

A “Defining Statement” is today’s Elevator Speech. Here’s the biggest problem with the traditional Elevator Speech:

It’s too long!

In today’s marketplace, where we send text more than we talk and commercials have gone from two minutes to as little as 10 seconds, you better be brief. The average buyer makes up their mind to listen in SEVEN seconds.

Build a Defining Statement that:

• Identifies Your BEST Client
• Focuses On Benefits To The Client
• Can Be Repeated In 7 – 10 Seconds
• Makes Them Ask A Question

An example:

“Advisors that want to add 10 to 20 percent to their bottom line without working harder use me because I ALWAYS give them three new ways to work smarter.”

9.4 seconds.

SOLUTION: Build a Defining Statement that tells advisors how they will benefit from doing business with you that is short, repeatable, and makes them ask, “How do you do that?”

FOR ADVISORS: Save some time for yourself. When a wholesaler calls on you, ask them to tell why you should hear their story, and ask them to do it in 15 seconds or less. You will find out real fast if the wholesaler is a master or just another product person.

Good selling!

At this time, flood-waters  continue to savage North Dakota. Some of the communities affected include Fargo, Minot, Mandan, Williston, and Bismarck. These communities, and others are being challenged as never before . Bismarck is the home of Investment Centers of America (ICA), and they have offices in all of these cities. Several ICA employees face loss of their homes and possessions in floods that might last weeks, and in fact months.

ICA was founded in 1985 by Tom Gunderson, an investment executive and native North Dakotan. Tom Sr. is a leader, and he built ICA from the gound up, and guided the firm through its formative years. All six of his sons have worked for ICA over the years, and oldest son Greg Gunderson currently serves masterfully as President. From the time ICA was founded, Tom Sr. always spoke of “The ICA Family.”  Several years ago Tom Sr. sold the company, and today it is part of NPH Holdings, an affiliate of Jackson National Insurance Company.

While ICA is part of a much larger corporate conglomerate, it still is a “Family.” Like all companies, ICA is not perfect and faces its share of challenges, but in times of crisis, the ICA Family rallies itself. A significant number of ICA representatives from several states went to Bismarck, (at their own expense) to help with sandbagging, moving furniture, and providing other services to those in need. Other ICA reps and employees continue to help and provide assistance in other ways. Reps from across the United States plan to go to Bismarck after the water recedes to help their “Family” clean-up and get their lives back in order.

So can a large company still be a family? The evidence says the answer is “yes” for a broker-dealer firm in North Dakota.

Good selling!

(Note: Investment Centers of America is a client of mine. This has had no impact on this article, but this note is written in the spirit of full disclosure.)

Customer service is overrated. Clients expect customer service, but they prefer – and need – something that is entirely different than customer service. Providing customer service is a chore and in the end does not result in business growth or profitability. Bad service will cost you business, your clients will tell others and your competitors will love you, but the secret is not to provide customer service, because clients do NOT want customer service.

They want a Client Experience!

• Client Experience is more than a play on words. Client Experience provides a new paradigm for what happens after the sale:
• Customer service is about what you DO; Client Experience is about what they GET.
• Customer service is about how you feel; Client Experience is about how they feel.
• Customer service is about transactions; Client Experience is about relationships.
• Customer service means they are “satisfied”; Client Experience means they are apostles.
• Customers fire you; Clients never will.
• Customer service is about you; Client Experience is about THEM.

The question is simple:

How would you describe the experience of doing business with you?

More importantly, how would your clients describe the experience of doing business with you? How would you know? Why don’t you just ask them? Send your best clients a letter or email, and ask this question:

“Why do you choose to do business with me?”

Your best customers will tell you exactly what makes you special, and why the relationship works. (If they don’t, you know you need to do some work.) Furthermore, you will see the same phrases pop up repeatedly. If you do not work these phrases into your sales lexicon and collateral sales materials, you will never maximize the value of the brand called you.

For the next thirty days focus on the client experience you create. Involve your best clients and your team. Package and market that experience, and watch your referrals and business grow exponentially.

Good selling!

Technology helps financial advisors and other financial professionals grow their businesses and provide better client service by working more efficiently and effectively.  The iPad(TM) from Apple helps advisors easily achieve these objectives. The iPad is portable but large enough to read easily (unlike many PDA’s.) Once again Apple hit the bulls-eye in creating a tool that is easy to use and functional. Let’s take a look at eight ways this technology helps professional service providers.

1. Contacts: Having all of your clients and personal contacts available in one place provides you with personal and professional information at the touch of a finger.
2. Email: Receiving, composing, and sending email can be cumbersome on a PDA as well. Having access to electronic correspondence is critical in today’s business environment.
3. Calendar: Access to appointments is critical and with the ability to sync contacts, email, and calendar items you and  your office stay up-to-date.
4. Point-Of-Sale Presentations: With almost all sales literature available as PDF’s you can load presentations, sales materials, PowerPoint(TM) or Keynote(TM) presentations, and spreadsheets on your iPad and make it easy for you and your client.
5. Client Reviews: Likewise, loading statements and other review materials on an iPad allow for the easy review of client positions, products, and services. With wi-fi capability, you enjoy the luxury of being able to log on to company websites for additional information.
6. News: Free “Apps” (short for “application program”, as opposed to a systems program, which connect you to a program or server) as well as paid or subscription apps allow you to read and review a vast amount of current and historical information. Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Fox Business, and USAToday are but some of the sources available. In a matter of minutes, readers get an overview of the news from multiple sources.
7. Research: Endless research tools are available, providing unlimited access to information without carrying a laptop or having to go to a library!
8. Sketching: Apps like “Penultimate,” “PhatPad”, and “Whiteboard” provide a portable flip-chart. Several apps even convert handwriting from the iPad to text!

The iPad offers limitless possibilities to advisors as they seek to grow sales, enhance service, and work smarter.

Good selling!

When we hear politicians talk about billions and trillions of dollars, do they REALLY understand the size of the numbers? Is it important for US to understand the concept of a billion or trillion dollars? Dan Patti, and RIA from Connecticut sent me a link to a website that is very interesting. CLICK HERE to get some perspective, and pass this along to your friends, family, and clients. Thanks Dan, and as always…

Good selling!

This morning I was listening to Twin Cities radio station KTIS and I heard a poem. titled “A Soldier’s Early Christmas Poem,” by Michael Marks. The poem speaks of the service and the sacrifice of American men and women. For me the poem applies to first responders as well; those who work in law enforcement, fire departments, EMT’s, and rescue squads.

During this Holiday Season all Americans – ALL Americans – would be remiss if we did not remember those who give so much for us. America is about opportunity and giving. America does not happen without sacrifice. I am humbled and in awe of those brave men and women who do so much for so little. In their honor I reprint this poem.

A Soldier’s Early Christmas Poem
by Michael Marks

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,

“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light

Then he sighed and he said “Its really alright,

I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.

It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ‘Pearl on a day in December,”

Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘Nam.

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.”

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue… an American flag.

“I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sister and brother.

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.

So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”

“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,

Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,

For being away from your wife and your son.”

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

©Copyright December 7, 2000 by Michael Marks

Note by Author: A Soldier’s Christmas was the first in this series of patriotic writings, drafted on Pearl Harbor Day 2000 when in the wake of the 2000 Presidential Election our nation saw the right of US Armed Forces personnel openly questioned and debated. I felt it unconscionable that at the onset of the Christmas season, those serving to defend our nation would hear anything but our love and support. It is our challenge to stand for their rights at home while they stand for our lives and safety overseas. This poem went out and quickly spread around the world in emails, letters, magazines. I received letters from Marines in Bosnia, soldiers in Okinawa, from a submariner who xeroxed a copy for everyone on his sub. Moms wrote, dads, brothers and sisters. I have saved and cherish every letter and set out to continue writing throughout the year.

Business is all about relationships. My business coaching clients often struggle with relationship development. We get so busy with production we sometimes neglect deepening relationships with those involved in our businesses. Relationship development is simple, but not easy, but there is no need for financial advisors to over-complicate relationship development. A little focus goes a long way, so for 2011 consider this simple formula:

20/10/3

First, identify your top 20 client relationships. These are platinum relationships that fir your business model, they like you, and you like them. Develop a strategic contact plan for these clients. When will you call and meet with them? Commit to finding out more about them, and not just facts, but also the foundational life experiences and feelings that motivate their behaviors. Also build a list of potential client that they know, and plan to ask for introductions.

Second, build a list of your top 10 internal client relationships. These are people in your firm that can help you grow your business. Included would be assistants, those in other departments, home office support staff, management, branch employees, etc. This can also include vendors. Develop a plan to get to know these people better, and ask yourself how you can bring value to these relationships. Ask yourself how you can help them, and commit to meeting with them on a regular basis.

Third, list three people that are colleagues. This step includes advisors in your firm or possibly “competitors” – advisors with other firms with whom you enjoy a collegial relationship. Meet periodically to share sales, service, and practice management ideas.

Building better relationships always results in more and better business. Follow this simple formula to make 2011 your “Year Of The Relationship.”

Good selling!

When we speak of mass marketing, advisors often turn up their noses. “We don’t use telemarketing or direct mail,” they say. Mass Marketing is defined as, “Broad-brush, unfocused attempt to appeal to an entire market with one basic marketing strategy utilizing mass distribution and mass media. Also called undifferentiated marketing.” (www.businessdictionary.com)

The problem with mass marketing is the lack of focus. However, speaking and seminars provide a great way to mass market in a focused manner.  There are a wide variety of civic organizations, retired employee organizations, and others that would love to have you present a program that tells ablout you and your services. Also consider networking organizations as a way to mass market in a more focused manner.

I practice what I preach. On September 9 I will be speaking at the Midwest Speakers Bureau’s Got Talent Speaker Showcase. Meeting planners from across Iowa will have to opportunity to hear eleven quality speakers in one location.

Consider how and where you can speak in a focused manner to a target audience that wants and needs your services.

Good selling!

LinkedIn® provides professional services marketing and sales people with a wonderful tool for building and expanding relationships and growing business. Consider the following tips for maximizing the use – and profitability – of one the top business building tools on the Internet.

This daily game plan has 8 steps and takes 15 – 20 minutes.

1. Comment on Comments – Show your connections you are paying attention.
2. Make recommendations – If you have not made a recommendation for a connection, DO SO if at all possible. Please make sincere recommendations; remember, your name is on the line. If you cannot recommend someone in good faith, don’t do it.
3. Make your profile publicly available – While you can set the information which is publicly available to non-members/contacts, be careful with blocking too much information as this will also be unavailable to the search engines. As a minimum, consider providing enough information for the search engines to index your profile and cache the external links you have listed! In terms of optimizing your profile, the main goals are normally to rank for your own name, company name and possibly industry keywords related to this.
4. Comment on Profile Updates – Congratulate others on promotions and awards, inquire about other changes, and always offer assistance.
5. Check your Inbox – Respond to requests and messages in a timely manner.
6. Look in the “People You May Know Section” – Find new connections and leads.
7. Check Your Groups – Look for new discussions, answer questions, and look for other items of interest. Ask questions to gather information and open new relationships.
8. Use LinkedIn® Answers – This can help to build up your reputation within a field. For SEO it also builds the number of internal links pointing to your profile from within LinkedIn, therefore helping to strengthen your profile in the search engines!

A word of warning: LinkedIn® is a tool, not a religion. Relationships are still made person-to-person, not digitally. You can receive an introduction or introduce yourself on the web, but true relationship building comes from personal interaction. LinkedIn® and other social media sites help maintain and grow relationships. In a busy world, that is truly priceless!