The following are audio articles, or podcasts, that you can listen to at your convenience—on your computer, your MP3 player or burn it to a CD. If you’ve never subscribed to a podcast, or downloaded an audio file, see the tinted box at the bottom for instructions on how to start.
Be sure to subscribe to this podcast series, Building a More Successful Practice, so you always have the latest podcast waiting for you. Also, tell us what you think about the podcasts, or send suggestions of topics or people you would like to see covered. Send an email to Maggie Leyes at mleyes@naifa.org.
“How to Delegate Effectively—and Better Leverage Your Staff” As an advisor, you should only be prospecting, selling and delegating, says practice-management guru Gina Pelligrini. Your assistant or staff should be handling all the rest. If you have no idea how to start—or undo bad habits, Pelligrini has some great pointers.
Transitioning to a Fee-Based Practice If you’ve ever considered moving to a fee-based practice, then industry veteran and MDRT Court of the Table member Lloyd Lowe Sr. has tips for you. He describes how he made the smooth—albeit labor-intensive—transition from commissions to fees in his business. For the names and companies he mentions in the podcast, click here.
Tapping Into the Retirement Market Michael Shumway has built an MDRT Top of the Table (TOT) practice by mining huge, untapped areas of the retirement marketplace. Assisting federal government employees, as well as navigating 403(b) and 457(b) plans, are just two of the topics that he discusses.
Being No. 1—And What You Need to Get There
Carlos Lowenberg Jr. talks about the shift he made that allowed him to go from struggling to make a sale to being the No. 1 agent at New York Life. Plus, this MDRT TOT member describes how he grew his business by an average of 25 percent a year by adding “one more bit of expertise” every 90 days.
The Secrets of Top Producers
Advisor Today attended MDRT’s Court of the Table Best Practices Forum and got great sales tips and information from attendees. Also, MDRT President Philip Harriman talks about how “soft fact” questions transformed his business.
Set Up a Prospecting System That Works
It’s time to stop being a Prospecting Procrastinator. MDRT TOT producer Kamal Daya shows you how prospecting should be done and shares his technique of using worksheets to plan and document his daily activities. You can download his “Ideal Day Worksheet” here.
The Best Sales Ideas—From the Under-40 Crowd Advisor Today gathered great sales ideas from members of NAIFA’s Young Advisors Team:
YAT sales ideas I: find out about leveraging a policy review, partnering with semi-retired agents, identifying referrals partners, retention tips, prequalifying prospects for financial services and responding to common objections.
YAT sales ideas II: learn additional ideas on networking, prospecting, mentoring, marketing and more.
Find the Time Industry veteran and coach Bob Arzt gives listeners tips on creating the ideal workweek (one that you can follow!) and explains how establishing two sets of goals for the coming year will give you the real results you expect.
Sales, Sales and More Sales Ideas We know that you can never have too many sales ideas, so we gave it our all when collecting them from attendees at the 2006 NAIFA Convention and Career Conference. Tune in to these two podcasts for sure-fire ways to boost your production.
Convention sales ideas I
(Click here for Mike Smith’s “What I Do” list.)
Convention sales ideas II
Achieving Balance While Boosting Sales It’s tough to run a top-notch practice and spend quality time with your family. But John A. Davidson, NAIFA president 2006-2007, shows you how. Also, learn how to make $50,000 more a year by just picking up the phone, and find out how to convert a Boomer’s term life insurance into a whole life policy.
Quick Tech Tips to Streamline Your Office Kip Gregory, author of Winning Clients in a Wired World, knows all too well that technology can sometimes slow us down instead of save us time. He offers easy tips to make technology work for you: Learn how to sync your client database with your cell phone, improve your Google searches and much more!
Taking Your Business to the Next Level MDRT member Van Mueller speaks about what it takes to transform an “OK” practice into a TOT business. He also covers the three roadblocks to success, including lack of practice. Don’t miss his easy-to-implement sales ideas, and be sure to read his companion article, “What I Learned From The Greats.”
Establishing and Developing a Marketplace Marc Silverman, past chair of MDRT’s TOT, explains how to differentiate between a niche and a marketplace. He also offers some no- and low-cost customer-service ideas that have helped him do away with asking for referrals, and gives some dos and don’ts of seminar marketing.
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