Archives

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December 2002

• Managing Your Practice: Success á la Carte
  From NFL tailgate parties to hardcore financial controls, veteran advisors reveal their secrets for succss in managing their practice.
  
  
• Client Management Systems and Asset Management
  Getting clients is hard work. Using a CMS can help you keep them.
  
  
• Credibility Marketing
  Writing an article showcases your expertise and may boost sales.
  
  
• Deep Background
  Effective use of references will reveal valuable insights into job candidates.
  
  
• It's Time for Your Practice Review
  Doing a simple decision-model exercise could put you on the path to success.
  
  

November 2002

• Reducing Estate Plan Conflicts
  Conflict is not always avoidable, but with proper planning, it can be minimized.
  
  
• Meeting With Purpose
  Properly structuring your staff meetings will help make them more efficient.
  
  
• A Ready-Made Market
  Reputation?not low-cost products?will win the business of women business owners.
  
  
• The Road to Success Selling LTCI
  These are the best of times for selling long-term care insurance, thanks to a shaky stock market, the graying of America and a little help from Uncle Sam.
  
  
• The 10 Keys to Success
  This tip sheet has winning strategies to help you succeed in this significant market.
  
  
• The Affluent Client
  Affluent clients may not "need" more insurance, but they should certainly "want" it.
  
  
• VUL: Persistency and Practice
  VUL sales are on the rise, and persistency is the key to keeping them floating.
  
  

October 2002

• Are You Chasing Sales or Creating Opportunities?
  Chasing sales instead of building your business could lead you down a slippery slope of mediocrity.
  
  
• Clear Thinking for Scary Times
  This motivational guru has 10 tips for surviving and thriving in difficult economic times.
  
  
• Helping Clients Manage Risk
  Use your financial knowledge to help your clients make the right financial decisions.
  
  
• Overcoming LTCI Objections
  Appealing to the emotional side of the brain works best.
  
  
• Running for Cover
  In these shaky financial times, many consumers are retreating to the safety of universal life. But who's buying all those policies?and how long will the comeback last?
  
  
• A Study in Contrasts
  Ethical duty to your clients extends beyond meeting the minimum CE requirements.
  
  

September 2002

• It's All About Sales and Prospecting
  Are you struggling to make it to the top? It may be time to rethink your approach.
  
  
• My Best Sales Ideas
  Using two acronyms—FFREEDM and BUSINES—can help your clients see the bigger picture.
  
  
• Mistakes to Avoid in Estate Planning
  These include not having a financial plan and failing to maximize contributions.
  
  
• Facts Make Money
  Learn how to prepare and present a complete list of your client's assets and liabilities.
  
  
• The Sweet Science of Wit
  Whether it's over a round of golf or at a sales seminar, telling a good joke can help keep your clients smiling and listening.
  
  
• 20 Things You Can Do to Stay Upbeat in Down Times
  In these tough economic times, here are some tips to keep your employees happy and focused.
  
  
• A New Approach to Selling Voluntary Benefits
  Boost production by integrating web components into traditional sales practices.
  
  
• Still Worried About the Market?
  Consider these 12 investments to beat money market and passbook savings rates.
  
  

August 2002

• Broadcast Your Sales Message
  Make more sales by presenting yourself as if you were on the radio.
  
  
• A Courageous Man
  Nobody likes asking a relative to buy insurance, but it's the right thing to do.
  
  
• Expect Obstacles
  You know obstacles are going to be in your way. The key to success is believing that you can overcome them.
  
  
• Going for Gold
  An agency contact rep ensures consistent client contact and helps put you back in the driver's seat.
  
  
• Laws of Lifetime Growth
  Sullivan presents seven absolutes for continued growth and success in your career and life.
  
  
• Success Tips from the 75th Annual MDRT Meeting
  These hints can help you succeed in seminar selling and get you into the good habits of Top of the Table producers.
  
  
• The More You Know, the Better
  Detailed knowledge of your client's goals and risk tolerance will help you serve him better.
  
  
• Sales Polish for VAs
  Learn six tips for getting back on track selling variable annuities.
  
  
• Traffic Control: Turning Browsers Into Prospects
  Get prospects to use the website you?ve worked so hard to create.
  
  
• Use Your Sense to Increase Business
  Boost supplemental sales by exercising good judgment and building relationships.
  
  

July 2002

• Cloning Your Best Clients
  By developing an ideal client profile, you can focus in on the types of prospects that best support your business.
  
  
• Expanding Your Practice
  When your career is involved, it is wise to have a road map to find the most efficient route.
  
  
• Get In Touch With Your Inner Adventurer
  In 1914, Ernest Shackleton turned a sure disaster into one of history’s great survival stories, defining the word leadership along the way.
  
  
• Getting It Together
  A few simple organizing tactics can improve communication and enhance the bottom line.
  
  
• Taking the Middle Road
  In the middle market, advisors find willing clients, abundant sales opportunities and a wellspring of referrals.
  
  
• Prospect Profiling
  The secret to making it work in sales is learning how to do it accurately.
  
  
• Taking Charge in Changing Markets
  For health insurance advisors, success means acquiring technical expertise, seeking affordable solutions, building strategic alliances and staying politically active.
  
  

June 2002

• From Agent to Advisor
  Changing your perceptions and maintaining client relationships are some of the keys to building a successful advisory practice.
  
  
• Closing on Your First Call
  With LTCI, the key is to let your clients feel good about their decisions and about you.
  
  
• Insuring the Middle Man
  Simplified underwriting may be the key.
  
  
• Don't Be Fooled by Communication Mirages
  To be an effective communicator, be yourself rather than using entertainment-style techniques.
  
  
• On the Road to Multiline Success
  For health insurance advisors, success means acquiring technical expertise, seeking affordable solutions, building strategic alliances and staying politically active.
  
  
• In the Public Eye
  Publicity is a proven technique for building your business.
  
  

May 2002

• A Matter of Trust
  CRTs provide an ideal mechanism for transferring highly appreciated assets in an estate.
  
  
• Funding Your Client’s Estate Plan
  IRAs, deferred annuities, municipal bonds and highly appreciated assets may help address some of your client’s cash flow issues.
  
  
• Hardiness Training
  Workplace stress can destroy your productivity and ruin your health. Here’s one way to deal with it.
  
  
• Is Anybody Listening?
  Keeping your ears—and eyes—open when a client is speaking pays big dividends.
  
  
• The LTC Wake-Up Call
  It’s time to protect clients’ savings with long-term care insurance.
  
  
• Seven Steps to Better Cyber-Marketing
  A simple design and a focus on service may be your best website allies.
  
  
• Speak No DI, Hear No DI, See No DI
  Most advisors don’t sell disability income insurance—and leave a lucrative market untapped.
  
  
• Winnie the Pooh and the Fee-Based Advisor
  You must first change your attitude before you start charging fees for your services.
  
  
• Estate Planning for the 21st Century
  The changing needs of today’s elderly are a challenge you can rise to.
  
  

April 2002

• Changing Your Business Model
  Clear objectives and careful preparation will ensure success.
  
  
• Becoming a Go-To Advisor
  By building a brand within the legal and accounting community, one advisor opened up a new avenue of income.
  
  
• Risk Tolerance Revisited
  Learning what makes your client tick will help prevent losses in his portfolio.
  
  
• Vary-able Life
  True to their name, variable life sub accounts, well ... vary in value. Here’s how to deal with consumer concerns over equity-linked products.
  
  

March 2002

• Accumulation, Distribution and Legacy
  An MDRT producer shares some of the secrets of his success.
  
  
• Help Wanted
  How do you know when it is time to call in reinforcements?
  
  
• Understanding the Risk Tolerance Questionnaire
  A careful analysis of your clients’ responses to this important tool will help you serve them better.
  
  

February 2002

• Coming to Term
  Sept. 11 has refocused clients’ priorities. Term insurance is helping them address their concerns.
  
  
• Building a Dream Team
  Joining forces with other professional advisors can create a win-win situation.
  
  
• Risky Business
  Use a time-tested risk-tolerance questionnaire to educate and advise clients.
  
  
• Rookie’s Regret
  People learn from their mistakes, but sometimes the lesson comes at too high a price.
  
  
• 1-800-SAPP
  Lowest rates ever? Not so fast! Those 1-800 quote services are lacking in, well, service.
  
  
• How to Set Goals that Really Work
  Are you setting goals that lead to success or frustration?
  
  
• Speak Up!
  Avoid the 10 deadly sins that will ruin your presentations.
  
  
• The Value of Advisors
  Clients need to know the stakes are too high to risk going it alone.
  
  

January 2002

• How Much Life Insurance Is Enough?
  There are two common methods for calculating the answer.
  
  
• The Smart Way to Sell Annuities
  Direct mail is one of the best methods to create a steady flow of annuity prospects.
  
  
• Taking One Day at a Time
  Relationships are the most important element in business today.
  
  
• What’s Your Clients’ Risk Tolerance?
  Don’t be afraid to prescribe the right medicine.
  
  
• What Women Want
  When selling financial products and services to women, gender is a factor.