Welcome to the February 2008 Edition of the Removing Your Roadblocks E-Newsletter.

To continue to help you with creating a strong start for 2008 I have attached an article entitled;

Is Your Voyage Still On Course For 2008?

It’s Thursday morning, February 7th and I am writing this edition of the Removing Your Roadblocks now as I will be coaching, speaking and travelling for the rest of the month. My plan is to get 95% of the content written now and then I can add the finishing touches so that Kim Black can publish the e-newsletter next week.

Yesterday, Feb 6th was a Focus Day with back to back coaching calls from 7am - 6pm with a lunch break in the middle.

Thursday and Friday, Feb 7th and 8th are Buffer Days and are a filled with the Pre-Travel Priorities to enable Laura and I to go to Vancouver on Saturday to catch a Vancouver Canucks hockey game and then I will fly from Vancouver to Toronto on Sunday to coach and speak On Behalf Of Canada Life from Toronto for the week and then fly home on Friday, February 15th.

You might think that this is a stretch … yes it is so we can fly to Maui on Sunday, February 17th for our holiday.

Enjoy the read.

Simon Reilly
The Financial Advisor Coach
sreilly@leadingadvisor.com
1 877 248 6019

This edition of the E-Newsletter Includes:

• Is Your Voyage Still On Course For 2008?
• A Quote That Caught My Eye
• Speaking in a City Near You
• Pre-Travel Priorities
• On Behalf of Canada Life
• Eliminating RRSP Calls
• Puppies
• A True Buffer Day & Giving Thanks For 2008
• Eliminating Time Wasters, People Dumping Their Stuff And BMWs ( Bitchers, Moaners and Whiners )
• Blog # 1000
• The Story of Two Wolves

Is Your Voyage Still On Course For 2008?

Do you still have the inspiration that you set out with on your voyage of 2008?
 
Do you have clarity of vision?
 
Is your business plan written?
 
Is your time management system in place?
 
Is your expense and income budget complete?
 
Do you have well defined 90 day goals?
 
Are you and your team all taking consistent action towards reaching your goals for 2008?
 
Or are you lost in a sea of overwhelm?
 
A captain must have clarity of vision to enable him to convey that vision to the members of his crew. 
 
Crew members need a clear vision.  They need to be on deck, and must be rowing in the direction of that vision.  If the ship has no captain, half the crew may be rowing forwards and half may be rowing backwards, and the ship, or business, will only be going in circles instead of progressing forward.
 
Captains of Viking ships were on deck at the bow of their ship, pointing towards the vision.  All hands were on deck, with a clear view of the vision.  They knew where they were going, all rowing in the same direction, with the reward clearly in sight … ‘pillage and plunder’ thought the crew!  
 
Captains of Roman galleys were up on deck while their crew was below, in the dark and rowing to the lash of the whip and the beat of the drum.  There were few rewards, only the constant whip lash and drum beat which resonated in the collective mind of the crew, the thought that they were not good enough.  The crew deserted at the first sign of trouble.  To them, there was no sense in rowing through challenges because they had no sight of the vision.
 
Does your crew have vision or are they rowing to the lash of the whip and the beat of the drum?
 
Captains with vision have a ships log or journal and record their ports of call and journey.  They acknowledge and affirm their progress by writing down their positive actions and accomplishments.  These actions confirm that their vision and voyage towards that vision are on track and affirms the direction in which they want to go.
 
The captain with vision communicates and reminds the crew about the positive actions and the accomplishments of the voyage.  This keeps the captain and the crew inspired and keeps them focused on the actions that they need to take to reach the next port of call.  It keeps them from getting side tracked by serpents and pirates in the form of negative self talk and patterns.
 
In a business application, acknowledging ports of call can include the following areas of measure:

• Finance
• Marketing
• Sales
• Service
• Systems
• Team

 
Captains with vision take the time to complete the following steps of a Quarterly Review Process with each member of their crew to ensure smooth sailing ahead.
 
1)  Advise your team members that you are planning to conduct individual Quarterly Review Meetings with them, and invite them to participate in the process by preparing in advance by completing the following: A)    Write or review their existing job description with recommendations including additions and changes.
 
B)    Answer these questions:

• What do they like best about their job?
• What do they like least about their job?
• What changes do they recommend?
• What help do they need from the leader?
• In what areas would they appreciate more training?

2)  Schedule a Quarterly Review Meeting with each member of your team.
 
3)  Conduct a Quarterly Review Meeting with each member of your team by first inviting their input from points A & B in Step 1. 
 
4)  After your team member has provided their input, ask permission to offer your feedback by providing your input to points A & B in Step 1.
 
5)  Establish 90 Day Goals and agree upon specific action steps to be taken.
 
6)  Let each team member know that their future compensation is performance related and that members who demonstrate vision will be paid 5 to 10% above the industry standard. 
 
7)  Review in 90 Days.
 
8)  Meet with team members on a weekly basis and ask, “What are your priorities for the day/week”?  A captain asks rather than tells. 
 
After asking “What are your priorities for the day/week?”, a captain with vision says “Thank you for your feedback”.  When priorities change, a captain with vision communicates that “I need your help to re-prioritize” explaining that “Recent developments in the voyage ( business ) cause us to change priorities of A, B & C to B, C and A … thank you for your help with this”.  If additional feedback or changes are required ask, “Would you like some feedback”?  Then offer that feedback. 
 
Permission based feedback goes a long way.  Telling the crew what to do enables the crew to become complacent and makes them feel as if they are rowing to the lash of the whip and the beat of the drum. 
 
This style of communication helps the crew feel as if they are part of the vision rather than feeling like slaves.
 
With today’s shortage in the job market, you will eliminate the danger of your high quality team being hired away by the competition through the implementation of enhanced coaching, communication and management, combined with continued recognition of work well done, accompanied by above average compensation.
 
This article was inspired by a presentation by Chris Barrow of Breathe Business.  http://www.nowbreathe.co.uk/about.html

A Quote That Caught My Eye

I’ve always offered this quote from John Kehoe that relates to attraction, “Thoughts are real forces” - John Kehoe

I spotted another that pre-dates John just a little.

“Words kill, words give life,” wrote King Solomon. “They’re either poison or fruit; you choose.” (Proverbs 18:21, The Message).

Speaking in a City Near You

Canada Life	February 14th, 2008	Toronto, ON
Pro Seminars	March 3-4th, 2008	Kitchener, ON
Pro Seminars	March 5-6th, 2008	Toronto, ON
Pro Seminars	March 12-13th, 2008	Vancouver, BC
Pro Seminars	March 17-18th, 2008	Edmonton, AB
Advocis Calgary	March 19th, 2008	Calgary, AB
Pro Seminars	March 19-20th, 2008	Saskatoon, SK
Pro Seminars	April 17th, 2008	Vancouver, BC
Pro Seminars	April 21-22nd, 2008	Toronto, ON
Pro Seminars	April 23-24th, 2008	London, ON
IFB Spring Summit	April 24th, 2008	Calgary, AB
IFB Spring Summit	April 28th, 2008	Vancouver, BC
IFB Spring Summit	May 27-28th, 2008	Toronto, ON
Desjardins Financial Services	May 2008 TBA	Calgary, AB
Pro Seminars	June 2-3rd, 2008	Ottawa, ON
Pro Seminars	June 4-5th, 2008	Toronto, ON
Pro Seminars	June 16-17th, 2008	Calgary, AB
Pro Seminars	June 18-19th, 2008	Vancouver, BC

Pre-Travel Priorities

Here’s a look at the Projects that I am taking care of to enable me to get out and see the people:

• Blog
• February E-Newsletter
• Discuss the “Circuit” Group Coaching Product with Kim Black
• Update Power Point for Feb 14th Canada Life Presentation
• Update my Speaking Prospecting File
• Pack
• Microsoft Tasks Update
• Familiarize myself with next steps to Book … because I might be putting it away again for a while
• Create a list of Projects for On The Road
  • Alumni Pricing o Camera Purchase for Vlog
  • CE Credits follow up
  • Coaching Files Review
  • Pro-Seminars Las Vegas Presentation Title
  • Read Transcriptions of Power Point Presentations for New Booklets so I can forward to editor
  • Reading
  • Removing Your Roadblocks Audio / Power Point Upgrade
  • SRI ( Socially Responsible Investing ) Research
  • View latest Filming of my Speaking Presentation
  • Web Site Main Page Update - 90% WHY, 10% WHAT

On Behalf of Canada Life

I’m honored to have been invited by Neil Kellock of Canada Life to speak at the following event,

Eliminating RRSP Calls

I find that my new clients get consumed in the month of February making follow up calls to their clients that are not on a monthly RRSP contribution plan so that their clients don't miss the RRSP deadline.

What is sad is, my client's entire business and lives are thrown into disarray working on tight time deadlines trying to get the last of their RRSP client stragglers in before the end of the month deadline.

To eliminate this, here is what I suggested to my new client:

• Make a list of all of the clients that need to be contacted about RRSP contributions
• ID the clients that have e-mail addresses
• Send the following e-mail, three times, five days apart

Dear _________,

Thank you for opportunity to be of service over the years.

I am sure that you have noticed employment shortages in your day to day travels and we too are starting to notice that more and more people are looking for financial advisors, especially when RRSP season comes around.

To make sure that your RRSP needs are completely taken care of, please call or e-mail my assistant Jane at 123-456-7890 or jane @ noemail.com and Jane will take care of getting an appointment scheduled with me so that we can provide you with the service that you require.

Puppies

Every once in a while I see a really great commercial …

A True Buffer Day & Giving Thanks For 2008

Dan Sullivan explains, "Focus Days, when you're producing the really best results; Free Days, when you're rejuvenating; and Buffer Days, when you are preparing--handling the backstage of your work. And you're not going to let one day's activities lap over into another's."

Focus Days are when I am working with my clients.

Monday was a Buffer Day and it was invested in following up on the loads of speaking leads that I have attracted over the course of 2007 and follow up contact was made with:

1. Advocis Toronto
2. CI Investments
3. Dundee Wealth Management
4. Queensbury Insurance Brokers Inc.
5. The Rice Financial Group
6. The Knowledge Bureau

I’m making a public commitment to keep updating my list and the number of 40 comes to mind.

After a day of concentrating on public speaking marketing I was feeling drained and tired by the end of the day. It is one thing to get out in front of 100 or so frosty faced financial advisors while they are thinking my butt hurts and prove it to me and yet another to go and find the gigs … whew … where do I find the energy?

So I practiced what I preached and wrote out the following list of accomplishments for January 2008 to give thanks for:

• Vision reignited
• Clients well taken care of to begin the year with files reviewed and prepared for calls
• Microsoft Tasks being used to stay more focused & organized, eliminated paper & files and saving time
• Gateway Tablet and Canon iP90 printer repaired
• Budget on trac
• Removing Your Roadblocks product upgrade nearly complete
• “Circuit” Group Coaching product plan created for launch in April
• Advertising, e-broadcasting and fax-broadcasting research started
• Removing Your Roadblocks booklets started to include audio, PowerPoint and transcription in production
• Transcriptionist being hired to transcribe coaching and speaking sessions to create articles, blogs, e-newsletters and products
• New Removing Your Roadblocks To 2008 PowerPoint created and presented in Toronto, London, Calgary and Vancouver
• New one on one coaching clients starting in January
• Invited to speak at Canada Life Education Day in February in Toronto
• Blogging resumed on a daily basis
• January e-newsletter is excellent
• Web site upgrades started on main, coaching, speaking schedule and testimonials pages

Eliminating Time Wasters, People Dumping Their Stuff And BMWs ( Bitchers, Moaners and Whiners )

Here is the language for:

• Time wasters in the office, “Would you be willing to help me? I have a pressing deadline on a project. Is there something specific that I can help you with that I can get back to you on? Thanks for understanding.”

• People trying to dump their work on you, “Thanks for asking for my help and I’m unable to help you right now … Perhaps there is another way that you can get this done? Thanks for understanding.”

• Avoiding negativity from people, “I’m working on a strategy to stay positive. I’m sure you have heard the expression that if you don’t have something positive to say about someone, don’t say it at all. With respect, I have heard you make the same comments a number of times. It’s best that you take your comments up with the person that you are speaking about. Thanks for understanding.”

Blog # 1000

Marketing is the process of elimination and clients will either like me or not. So in essence, hurry up and not like me so that I can get on with working with those who do because if you don’t like what I am writing about, you will not like me as your coach.

This 1000th edition of my blog that I started in February of 2005 is a reminder that my blog gives both clients and prospective clients the opportunity to look over my shoulder at what is going on:

* In my personal life - In November, I committed to getting back to my cycling and since then I have cycled or done cardio on a stationary bike in hotel gyms at least four times a week

* With coaching - I wrote a blog on January 17, 2008 called Many Are Called, Few Are Ready where I wrote about a prospective client walking up to me after January 16th’s presentation in Vancouver, BC and said; “I’ve seen you speak at least four times and while I am very successful there is something that is not quite right and I believe it is time that we have a conversation”. That prospective client became a client today.

* With marketing - I had a pre-presentation interview on Tuesday with Neil Kellock of Canada Life for a presentation that I am doing in February in Toronto, ON … this is to make sure that I am 100% associated to the message that they would like to offer the 150+ financial advisors in attendance. I received the invitation to Canada Life’s presentation because Neil saw me speak at a presentation for Advocis Durham in May of 2007.

* With planning - I am still hot and heavy into using David Allen’s Getting Things Done System Using Outlook.

* With product development - Kim Black has updated our Removing Your Roadblocks PDF & 12 Day E-Course, click here to view the Audio / Power Point Upgrade.

The Story of Two Wolves

With all of the ups and down with this week’s global markets, which wolf are you feeding?

One day an old Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson. He said, "There are two wolves fighting inside all of us - the wolf of fear and hate, and the wolf of love and peace."

The grandson listened, then looked up at his grandfather and asked, "Which one will win?"

The grandfather replied, "The one we feed."

Thank you for sharing your time.



Simon Reilly
The Financial Advisor Coach
sreilly@leadingadvisor.com
1 877 248 6019