Financial Advisers Struggle To Survive

October 5, 2009 by Simon · Leave a Comment

dirty-devil-river-110221-ga There is a new Peak on the horizon yet there is another Valley to traverse which could eliminate one-third of financial advisors in some parts of the world by the end of 2012 and it has nothing to do with the Mayan Calendar. The depth of the Valley does not matter as long as the Vision is clear.

The Valley that I am referring to is this news out of the UK;

Financial advisers struggle to survive - Advisers who take a commission for financial advice face extinction after the Financial Services Authority confirmed in June that the practice will be banned from 2013

There are those that will thrive and there will be those that try to survive. What is it about the human condition that is always posturing itself to survive the next cataclysmic event?

Some say that Canada is just a few years behind on Fee For Service and I believe that five percent of financial advisors have already set the stage for an easy transition.

The reinvention of the financial advisor’s offering would go something like the following.

We specialize in working with clients that have an asset base of $___________ – $___________ that want to grow and protect their assets by working with a team of professionals that provide the following service offering;

Our fee for this service is $_______ per annum payable in advance.

Would you like to know more?

Filed under: Financial Advisor Stories, Sales & Marketing, Vision & Planning
Tagged: commission, commission for financial advice, Fee For Service, Financial advisers struggle to survive, financial advisors, Financial Services Authority

Clear Your Roadblocks eNewsletter – July 2009

July 24, 2009 by Simon · Leave a Comment

Inspired, Tired or Expired?

Clear Your Roadblocks | July 2009

Welcome to the July edition of our Clear Your Roadblocks E-Newsletter.

This edition of our Clear Your Roadblocks E-Newsletter includes;

As The New Economy Takes Hold
Inspired, Tired or Expired – Article
Inspired, Tired or Expired – Table
What Killed The First Half Of The Year?, Referrals Revisited, MDRT Plateauing Out Syndrome + More

True to our word in the June Edition of our Clear Your Roadblocks E-Newsletter we have worked to provide our financial advisor coaching clients with extreme care and have built and delivered The Leading Advisor Live Coaching 1 Day Workshop and The Leading Advisor Coaching GYM.

The Leading Advisor Live Coaching 1 Day Workshop is a step by step advanced version of the Curing The Unmet Needs Disease Book, and we will have more to share on this in the upcoming months. The stations or points of The Leading Advisor Coaching GYM are as follows and we are working towards launching a public version in the near future.

Coaching GYM

Unlimited E-Mail Access to Simon Reilly
E-Lessons
Audio Lessons
Monthly ¼ – ½ Hour Phone Call(s) with Simon Reilly that can be booked using and automated appointment booking on-line software
Monthly group coaching calls
E-Coaching Follow Up to your E-Lessons, E-Mails and Progress Reports – this means I am with you every step of the way reading your E-Lessons, E-Mails and Progress Reports and Responding with; Articles, E-Lessons, Feedback, Forms, Insights and Tough Love
Weekly Progress Report ( Automated )
A Private On Line Forum

Enjoy the read and thank you for the opportunity to be of service.

Simon Reilly
The Financial Advisor Coach
1 877 248 6019

As The New Economy Takes Hold

Little did I know as I sat in The EGO Café in Las Vegas in September of 2007 that we were beginning to experience the first signs of this passing economic debacle.

ego Cafe I had just finished a financial advisor speaking presentation and the while the financial advisor speaking testimonials were excellent, the response from the audience to engage me as a financial advisor coach were dismal compared to the financial advisor speaking presentations that I had done in the Spring of 2007. In fact, the response to engage me as a financial advisor coach from the Spring 2007 financial advisor speaking presentations was overwhelming. So much so that my plans to complete the writing of Curing The Unmet Needs Disease – How To Prosper in Business by Meeting Your Unmet Needs – Financial Advisor Edition were delayed until the summer of 2008 because we had so much financial advisor coaching business.

September of 2007 was one month into the Wall Street / Bay Street fallout from the Sub-Prime Mortage Crisis that would eventually catch up to Main Street in September of 2008.

The good news in all of this is that we are nearly two years through a Wall Street / Bay Street Recession, and one year into a Main Street Recession, and some say that the worst recessions last about 18 months.

This passing is evidenced by the many bright spots in the economy that include the upturn in the Canadian Residential Real Estate Market and Larry Summers’ comment that, “The number of people searching for the term ‘economic depression’ on Google is down to normal levels.” – Lawrence Henry Summers is an American economist and the Director of the White House’s National Economic Council for President Barack Obama – and late breaking news! Recession over, growth resumes: Bank of Canada – July 23, 2009 – Globe and Mail.

At the same time there are still worries about inflation, deflation and stagflation which echoes with the Inspired, Tired or Expired title of this E-Newsletter.

Like the Hebrew proverb, “Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened”.

I’m taking the liberty to once again modify this Hebrew proverb to read, “Ten percent of financial advisors are Inspired and make things happen, eighty percent of financial advisors are Tired and watch things happen and ten percent of financial advisors are Expired and wonder what happened”.

As the momentum of this new economy takes hold, which will you be Inspired, Tired or Expired?

Inspired, Tired or Expired? – Article

Are you demonstrating to your clients that you are Inspired, Tired or Expired?

Some financial advisors have full HDTV satellite vision, while some watch in color with cable, and others wonder what happen because their black and white TV won’t work because it can’t pick up a digital signal, and all that they have left are rabbit ears, and they can still manage to get one or two channels if they get the positioning just right. The trouble is they spend so much time adjusting the rabbit ears, they miss the television show.

The financial advisors with vision are inspired by their future and the future is so bright they have to wear shades, The tired financial advisors are just going through the motions, and the expired are really just waiting around to die as they have already quit and given up.

Without vision, you can’t experience the future until you see it, feel it, and hear it through writing, visualization and affirmation.

Financial advisors that look in the direction of the past are not so fond of the memories, but it keeps them from looking into the future that could include things that are feared.

These same memories are like the jailer to the elephant that has become accustomed to captivity. While young, the elephant was bound by a chain to a log. When they tried and tried to escape they soon learned that they could not. All the trainer had to do when they became an adult was to tie the chain around their ankle and tether the chain to a small branch and they did not attempt to escape their defeats and fears of their past.

Having a routine is both a blessing and a curse, and while a routine serves us to do things like wake up early to practice exercise, meditation or prayer all the way to scheduling time to make those all important prospecting calls, the bricks in the castle wall of routine which are based on the unmet needs of approval, control, recognition, safety and worthiness become the prison that we cannot see our way out of.

Routine creates terrain that is familiar. In order to change, one needs to seek out new territories and activities in order to grow. Growth is often hindered by the old routine because we fear that the new routine will not function.

This is an irrational fear based on The Unmet Needs Disease.

The pact that is formed by the unmet needs of approval, control, recognition, safety and worthiness which spawns limiting beliefs like “I am not good enough” and “my plans may not work” are magnified by limiting emotions of anxiety and sorrow causes and this combination causes us to abandon our dreams.

The dread caused by our unmet needs, limiting beliefs and limiting emotions causes you to destroy what we love the most.

These same unmet needs that catapulted you forward to create the business that you have today, like the creation of a beautiful pearl in the oyster that was irritated by the grain of sand are still irritating you with limiting beliefs like “I am not good enough” and “my plans may not work” and limiting emotions of anxiety and sorrow.

The laws of attraction are absolute and the limiting beliefs of “I am not good enough” and “my plans may not work” will cause you to irritate and finally destroy what you love the most.

What vanishes with Curing The Unmet Needs Disease? The clouds that blur your vision to rise to the occasion to climb taller and taller mountains will vanish along with the idea that the mountains that you have conquered are far too small.

As you look down from the place of The True Values Based Financial Advisor you will marvel not because the mountains that you have conquered are far too small but because you have become so much bigger.

You are bigger because your True Values pulled you forward and because you learned to clear your Unmet Needs that were holding you back.

Like with any climb to the top, The Unmet Needs Disease that blurs your vision and causes you to struggle on your path will not disappear without some help along the way.

Inspired, Tired or Expired? – A Table

Inspired	Tired	Expired
Vision	To Do List	Post-it notes
Dedicated to professional growth	It’s a job	OMG another day
Confident	Cautious	Conservative
Business is booming	There’s a recession	We are doomed
Lives in the present and looks forward to the future	Copes and just tries to get by	Lives in the past and criticizes the future
Leadership	Management	Addicted to selling
Fulfilled	Doing too many favors	Overloaded and does not feel acknowledged
Cash Reserves		Sales driven by how far into LOC
Team	Staff	Nuisance
Support team	Home Office	Business Prevention Unit
Business manager	Assistant	I may as well do it myself
Does only what they love to do	Delegates	Does it all
Has a system for hiring the best people	Hires friends	Still recovering from the last hiring “fatal attraction”
Refers business to strategic alliances	Has financial advisors that are friends	Too busy and afraid
Concierge lounge	Client waiting room	Travels to client’s homes
Picture frames	Laminates	Blu-tack
Google	Yellowpages.ca	Yellow pages
Telephony office	Two receptionists	Answering own phone
True Values Based Financial Advisor	The Gentle Financial Advisor	John Doe – Financial Advisor
Instant messaging	Email	Contact us
	Graphic design	Business name
Has nailed the niche	Works with business owners, professionals and seniors	Tries to serve anyone and everyone
Web attraction	Web site	Brochure
Automated marketing system	Sends birthday cards	High and low prospecting cycle
Choice	Cappuccino	Coffee
Provides a consistent service experience	Client segmentation	Too many clients and not making enough money
Looks after people who have money	Tries to look after people’s money	Makes clients feel nervous because of a lack of energy, money and time
Empathetic listening	Listening	Talks
Takes a genuine interest	Builds rapport	Uses sales techniques
Concentrates on building relationships and delegates financial planning	Financial planning	Solves immediate problems using a product
Uses a consultative process and charges a fee	Sells products	Sells too many products
Educates clients that providing referrals is part of their business process	Asks for referrals	Afraid to ask for referrals
Understands clients want to know what you are going to do for them	Sells their favorite flavor of the month product	Loves to talk about their favorite subject, themselves
Promises regular returns	Afraid	Promises market leading performance
Succession plan is in place	Emotionally retired	Emotionally bankrupt

What Killed The First Half Of The Year?, Referrals Revisited, MDRT Plateauing Out Syndrome + More

Since our June E-Newsletter, we have posted some excellent blogs and they are as follows;

Please visit www.LeadingAdvisor.com for more Financial Advisor Resources and Training

Filed under: Newsletter
Tagged: Attraction, Clear Your Roadblocks, economy, financial advisors, professional growth

Clear Your Roadblocks eNewsletter – May 2009

May 20, 2009 by Simon · 1 Comment

The Life Insurance Parable

Welcome to the May edition of our Clear Your Roadblocks E-Newsletter.

With the completion of The Six Degrees Of Life Insurance Connection PowerPoint for The Independent Financial Brokers Summit in Toronto, May 26th and May 27th, I thought I would share some of the content.

This months E-Newsletter is about…

The 10 Second Elevator Speech

The 10 Second Elevator Speech is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project.

The name reflects the fact that an elevator speech can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride.

“Hi, I’m Simon Reilly and my company is Leading Advisor and I help financial advisors Clear Their Roadblocks.”

The 60 Second Elevator Speech

My example of The 60 Second Elevator Speech is as follows;

Are you successful, yet consumed with the cumulative demands of clients, marketing, sales and personnel? Are you challenged by market-driven changes, profitability, and service requirements?

… which means that you are working long hours, have no time to relax, and are disillusioned by business systems that are not working and by a lack of enthusiasm for your business.

We offer a two month Clear Your Roadblocks Coaching Program for financial advisors that has been proven to clear the roadblocks that are holding most financial advisors back.

The benefits are more energy from working fewer hours, a balanced home life and a new revitalized vision and passion for work that will enable you to implement the 10 key strategies that are essential for the success of your business.

Would you like to know more?

A financial advisor example of The 60 Second Elevator Speech is as follows;

Are you financially stable, yet consumed with concerns about having enough money for retirement and concerned about future health care availability and costs? Are you challenged by the ups and downs in the market?

… which means that you are working longer hours, have less time to relax, and are
losing sleep about your ability to fund your family’s education and have a safe and
secure retirement?

Because things are always changing in one’s Six Degrees Of Connection, we offer
The Six Degrees Of Connection Program to help you grow and retain your assets
while taking care of an unforeseeable future.

The benefits are a more balanced life brought on by a more confident future because you are protected against unforeseen risks that would damage financial goals that you worked so hard to grow and retain.

Would you like to know more?

The Referral Card

Would you like to know more?

And this is a great opportunity for you to offer a Referral Card. A Referral Card is a 3″ x 4″ high quality card, printed front and back that includes your 60 Second Elevator Speech, an outline of your services and most important, an invitation to visit your web site to subscribe to your free E-Newsletter.

Here are samples of our latest Referral Cards.

The point of your high quality oversized card is that it is less likely to be lost in that stack of other cards.

I have heard comments like, “these are absolutely beautiful” to where the person is actually taking the time to read the message on the card and the beauty of it is, I need not say a lot. The bottom line is – the card and I were both noted. And the best part? Instead of me saying, “here’s my card”, I have the pleasure of offering my card while saying “here is an invitation to subscribe to my monthly E-Newsletter called “Clear Your Roadblocks”.

This E-Newsletter was inspired by,

Angela Houle B.Acc. CFP CLU RHU
Certified Financial Planner

Advocis Ottawa Treasurer 2009
McAuley Financial Services/FundEX Investments

www.mcauleyfinancial.com

Enjoy the read and thank you for the opportunity to be of service.

Simon Reilly
The Financial Advisor Coach
1 877 248 6019

The Parable

They say that wisdom enters through the wound and the core of the passion to serve is based on life experience both positive and negative and the best advisors seem to have the deepest scars.

The life experience equipped them with the knowledge and the skills to pass onto other people to help them move forward.

This experience gives one something interesting to stand up and say rather than;

Hi, I’m Joe Advisor and I sell investment products and life insurance.

They use what has happened to them both personally and professionally, good and bad and use it as a catalyst to pass their experience and passion onto other people.

My example of The 60 Second Elevator Speech is as follows;

I can probably best explain why I have decided to be come a financial advisor business coach by sharing with you a defining moment in my life.

In 1994 I was the owner of a highly regarded and successful personal and professional development company.

I thought I knew all about motivation and sales.

But I lost my business. Why?

Looking back – it was simply because I didn’t pay attention to the detail and although I was always well prepared for the day ahead, I wasn’t well prepared for the year ahead.

What did I learn?

That the most important business activity I could engage in wasn’t the mastery I had achieved in marketing and sales (even I couldn’t sell my way out) – it was the planning and preparation that went into the organizational structure and systems on which my business operated.

As a result of my experience, I have dedicated the rest of my business life to help others avoid making the same mistakes.

Would you like to know more?

A financial advisor example of The 60 Second Elevator Speech is as follows;

I can probably best explain why I decided to become a financial advisor by sharing with you a defining moment in my life.

I grew up in a house that was a big believer in protecting what matters most, protecting myself, my family and my future.

So while my brother and I were just heading off to college with a stay at home mom, my dad passed away suddenly from cancer at the early age of 52.

What did I learn?

My dad was a firm believer in life insurance and his allowed us to work through the grieving and the stress without having to worry and he enabled all of our lives to
continue knowing that the financial support was there.

That the most important financial planning activity was not growing and retaining assets … it was taking care of an unforeseen risk.

As a result of my experience, I have dedicated the rest of my business life to help others to grow and retain their assets and use risk management strategies to protect against unforeseen risks that would damage financial goals that they have worked so hard to grow and retain.

Would you like to know more?

The Life Insurance Parable

In my business I am constantly reviewing the plans of others because things are always changing within someone’s Six Degrees of Connection Circle of family, friends and loved ones.

I know that when one experiences a life changing diagnosis that many things run through your mind.

The one thing I never worried about was whether I would be OK financially if things went sour.

I have the ability to work through a diagnosis without financial stress.

I am passionate today about what I can offer my clients with respect to protection strategies because I have personally experienced the benefits of having them in place.

As life continues to throw curve balls within my Six Degrees of Connection Circle of family, friends and loved ones, it reinforces the ideas that were first established by my parents – protecting what matters most.

We have been dealing together for __ years with respect to your investment planning and I would like to thank you for allowing me to assist you with your retirement planning.

As you may be aware I possess the designations of a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Life Underwriter and a Registered Health Underwriter.

We have never discussed in depth how these designations can help you so with your permission I would like to spend some time as to why I pursued these designations.

Up to this point we have dealt primarily with planning for your income in retirement.

A critical part of my role as a financial advisor is to ensure that we discuss risk management strategies that can be established to protect your goals.

If we work together simply under my ‘investment advisor’ hat and all goes as planned then you will reach retirement and be able to enjoy all the funds that you have accumulated.

However, the reason that I possess the designations that I do is to enhance the planning that I can offer you and avoid planning issues.

These planning issues are important to review since I know there are a few situations that could arise over the course of our investment planning years to derail even the best laid plans towards your retirement goals.

It is important for us to review together your current plans and the plans that could exist to protect you in the case of premature death, inability to work for an extended period of time and what you would like to occur if your family suffers a critical illness.

The one thing that I can tell you for sure about illness, and I am sure you will agree, is that it is completely random.

No one can predict for certain who will be struck with a life changing illness at any one moment.

I recently prepared my own personal Six Degrees Of Connection Circle to see just how random and unpredictable illness can be.

All my cousins are healthy except I have one cousin on my father’s side that died at the age of 44 from a heart attack.

At many accidents, illnesses and deaths I found myself uttering …

“Why her, why him and even what if it happens to me?

With the good lifestyle that they lead and the fact that they were such a good person”.

Illness doesn’t care about those issues – it is simply random.

I have asked myself the following question;

“If I can’t control who will get an illness or pass away prematurely what can I control?”

The answer to this question was simple – I can ensure the plans are in place to protect the families going through this life changing experience.
I can ensure that my clients are given the opportunity to change financial concerns to financial protection because quite frankly they deserve it.

The time to consider protection against the unpredictable is when we have the little voice inside our head that says – “It won’t happen to me”. Once that statement has changed to “Why me/him/her?” it is too late.

Can I ask for your permission to the gather the necessary information to provide you with an individual analysis of the protection strategies that matter most to you and your family?

* * *
Thank you to Chris Barrow for your coaching on The Elevator Speech, Referral Card and The Parable.

Please visit www.LeadingAdvisor.com for more Financial Advisor Resources and Training

Filed under: Newsletter
Tagged: elevator speech, financial advisors, financial brokers, future health care, life insurance

Clear Your Roadblocks eNewsletter – April 2009

April 15, 2009 by Simon · Leave a Comment

The Fine Art Of Surfacing

Welcome to the April edition of our Clearing Your Roadblocks E-Newsletter.

A lot has happened since the March edition of the Clearing Your Roadblocks E-Newsletter.

Laura and I have not had that many weekends at home because my mother at 89 has been in and out of the hospital since February 19th with COPD – chronic respiratory pulmonary disease, a broken leg, and a heart attack … and the good news is she has recovered through all of this.

The gift that my mother Irene gave me through this is in having the compassion for my mother and with experiencing the sadness and grieving of the potential loss of my mother. I have learned a lot about how to deal with loss. You are welcome to click on the following article that I have written that relate to my experience;

Through this process, it made me realize what financial advisors must be experiencing with their clients financial losses. To this end, I am writing a brand new financial advisor speaking PowerPoint presentation called The Compassionate Advisor. I am delivering The Compassionate Advisor at The Independent Financial Brokers Summit in Calgary on April 22nd and I’ll record the presentation and turn it into an e-book.

I have included an article in this e-newsletter called The Fine Art of Surfacing and a link to Grieving Your Financial Losses which are part of The Compassionate Advisor.

I’ve enjoyed Spencer Johnson’s new book called Peaks and Valleys which have inspired me to write Peaks and Valleys and Recession Is Great For Client Segmentation.

On my way to creating a Live Leading Advisor Workshop, I am also writing a brand new financial advisor speaking PowerPoint presentation called The Six Degrees Of Life Insurance Connection which I will be delivering at The Independent Financial Brokers Summit in Toronto on May 26th.

Our financial advisor speaking bookings have gone very well and I having completed presentations to Financial Management in Vancouver on March 10th, Financial Management in Calgary on March 12th and Advocis Victoria on March 26th.

“Relevant and timely material. This was not a bunch of hype, but instead was very useful. You delivered, and then some!”
Neil Hanson – Sun Life Financial

“Emphasizes planning and goal setting with a focus on the big picture and downplays the recession – it is a state of mind. The systems Simon has are very good, great information for all advisors.”
Brian Prochnicki – Investors Group

Click here to read the rest of the financial advisor speaking testimonials.

Here is the balance of our financial advisor speaking bookings in advance of the summer.

Date	Company	City
April 22^nd	Independent Financial Brokers Summit	Calgary, AB
April 29^th	Advocis North Central Sask. Chapter	Saskatoon, SK
May 7^th	Investors Group	Nanaimo, BC
May 22^nd	Advocis Newfoundland & Labrador Chapter	St. John’s, NL
May 26^th	Independent Financial Brokers Summit	Toronto, ON
May 27^th	Independent Financial Brokers Summit	Toronto, ON
June 18^th	Advocis Toronto Chapter	Toronto, ON

To assist you in making the second quarter of 2009 your best quarter ever, please click the following links to blogs that I have written;

In closing, here are a couple of articles that relate to The Unmet Needs Disease;

Enjoy the read and thank you for the opportunity to be of service.

Simon Reilly
The Financial Advisor Coach
1 877 248 6019

Receive our Free E-Newsletter
“Clear Your Roadblocks”

The Fine Art of Surfacing

The Compassionate Advisor™ PowerPoint is going well and I’ve thinking about everything that I have learned over the years to relieve stress and this idea came to me from days gone by.

Step one – close your eyes and imagine your subconscious mind as an ocean of space.

Step two – imagine all of your worries floating like bubbles in the ocean of your subconscious mind and examples could be; aging parents, business, cash flow, clients, compliance, crime, debt, disease, education, sales, retirement, terrorism, the economy, the environment and war.

Your list probably isn’t as long as the one I created. I took the liberty to think of as many things as I could to stir up your subconscious mind. I believe that it is best to get these things out onto the surface versus having them buried deep below the surface where they can fester and create some real long term damage. At the same time, I believe that thoughts are real forces and if I think about and emotionalize a negative thought long enough I will make it real and attract it to me.

As an example, if I were a financial advisor and I have an upcoming meeting with a client and I fear that my client is going to be angry with me I am going to approach the meeting coming from the place that I have to defend around what they are going to say. If I were to release my fear about what I have to do for the client and first show them some compassion, I would likely find that it is more about offering my client empathy and listening and more about being than doing.

Step three – imagine standing under a waterfall.

Step four – imagine each one of your worries floating like bubbles in the ocean of your subconscious mind coming to the surface and being washed away by the waterfall out of your subconscious mind and away from you downstream so that the bubbles, along with your worries, are getting smaller and smaller, and one by one you can’t see, hear, or feel them any more.

Step five – all that you can see is the stillness of your subconscious mind, all you hear is stillness of your subconscious mind, and all you can feel is the stillness of your subconscious mind, and you know that you are now ready to consciously surface to make this best day that you have ever had.

Filed under: Newsletter
Tagged: financial advisors, financial brokers, financial losses, insurance connection, personal coaching

Financial Planner Business Building Solutions – Life After The Financial Crisis

October 26, 2008 by Simon · Leave a Comment

As I approach the completion of the combined projects of the new book, tradeshow booth and web site I’m looking forward to things getting back to normal which will include reading a good book.

In advance of this goal, I purchased Deepak Chopra’s Life After Death which seems to align with the economic crisis that the media is trying to convince us that we are in. I believe that there will be life after the death of the current economic situation.

I’ve barely started Deepak’s book and I’m already intrigued by this excerpt from the introduction:

• The afterlife is a place of newfound clarity
• The afterlife isn’t static. We continue to evolve even after we die.
• Choice doesn’t end with death; it expands.
• Earthly images carry us into the after life ( we see what our culture has conditioned us to see ), but then the soul makes creative leaps that opens new worlds. – © Deepak Chopra 2006

This coincides with my beliefs that no matter what happens with the economy and the market; I am not my business, car, clothes, home or money. Even if these things all die, there is life after their death and I know this having already experienced losing everything in this life time. There will be life after death. There always is. All we have to do is to let go of the current form of our perception of the world. Focus on becoming very comfortable with death and creating a brand new world, your world.

I suppose the economic system is already dead and it is going through its last gasps like a ball loosing its bounce going up and down with the ups and downs becoming less and less until flat line which is what some believe we are at right now. As Peter Sellers’ Chancy Gardner said in Sellers’ last movie Being There, “there will be growth in the spring”.

It is Saturday morning, October 25, 2008 and I’ve just come back from Starbucks and you would not know there is an economic crisis as the line up went right into the street.

Then again, Canada’s situation is a lot different. While we are all in for rough times, to quote our finance minister: "The point is Canada’s better positioned to endure the difficult times than other western industrialized countries." Another headline reads “The drop in Canadian home prices in September may not be as severe as it seemed, TD Securities said on Wednesday, bolstering the case that the country is not headed for a U.S.-style housing meltdown.”

Then again, now that some have been scared into not buying big ticket items like cars and houses, are we buying small ticket items like a nice tie, quality make up and Starbucks to satisfy our addiction to medicating ourselves with the outside niceties of life, to avoid the reality that we are scared shitless about what might happen?

Am I satisfying some sort of addiction with my Saturday morning trek to Starbucks? Not so much. I enjoy going to Starbucks to sit in the white noise to blog, empty my mind, journal, review my goals and give thanks. My day always begins with deep mediation and deep breathing exploring my mind and body delving deep into whatever negative emotions and beliefs that may be lingering and adding the light of day into the darkness.

With an empty heart and mind that is no longer consumed with the material things and survival, I then look to fill my space up with quality feelings and/or information to join with everything else that I have been reading.

I always enjoy Douglas Todd’s articles in the Weekend Review section of The Saturday Vancouver Sun.

Behold the title of his Saturday article to coincide with what else is on my mind; In Dying, Philosophers Teach Us How To Live.

The article is subtitled; We should all try to figure out death before we, well die.

Having said this, to thrive in this new economic world; “We should all try to figure out fear before it contributes to the death of the economy. Thoughts are real forces and we have to focus on the economy that we what to realize”.

Then again; "Whatever does not kill me strengthens me." – Friedrick Nietszche

Todd’s article talks about British philosopher Simon Critchley’s new book; The Book of Dead Philosophers (Raincoast/Granta) that explores what 190 philosophers have said about death.

Todd goes on to write “Critchley wisely suggests meditating on one’s death is a route to spiritual freedom. He quotes the Roman Cicero: "To philosophize is to learn how to die." He also appreciates Montaigne’s, "He who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave."

I believe that in order to live, one will find business, personal and spiritual freedom by learning how to face and release their fear. My new book Curing The Unmet Needs Disease contains an excellent process on how to eliminate fear.

"There is no better test of a person’s authenticity than the correspondence (or lack thereof) between what he or she believes about dying and how he or she departs this mortal coil. When it comes to death, you can’t fake it." – Douglas Todd

Even in last Monday’s passing of our poor dog Chase, he left us with a demonstration of his character. The embolism caused his heart rate to sore to 200 bpm from his normal 70 bpm and Chase kept his composure even though he was in agony. Laura’s love helped him to stay grounded through the ordeal.

Here are five more excerpts from Todd’s article that lead me feel no fear about the so called economic crisis because with death, there is life … the economy was apparently broken and now it will get fixed one way or another.

1. Even though it’s easier said than done, I agree with Critchley that in learning how to die we are learning how to live.

2. There is no more famous philosopher’s death than that of the ancient Greek, Socrates, who, the story goes, accepted being condemned to death for his politically incorrect ideas. Socrates welcomed death, in which he said two things could happen: We could be annihilated, or we could experience a "migration of the soul from this place to another." We do not know, Socrates taught, which one is right.

3. Buddhists die in interesting ways. You can’t help but be impressed by Eisai (1141-1215), one of the founders of Zen. "[Eisai] went to Kyoto to show people how to die," Critchley writes. "To this end, the monk preached to the crowd, sat still in the Zen tradition and died. But when his followers complained that his death had been too sudden, he revived and died in exactly the same way five days later."

4. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-80), the French existentialist and political reformer, was thick about the Big Sleep, saying, "Death? I don’t think about it. It has no place in my life."

5. Then there was Alfred Jules (A.J.) Ayer (1910-89), whose analytic philosophy still dominates western academia. Ayer devoted his career to aridly separating philosophy from life. But the doctrinaire atheist was in for a surprise when he "died" in 1988 and had a near-death experience. Ayer wrote that his NDE provided "rather strong evidence that death does not put an end to consciousness."

As we consider the birth of a new and better economy consider the death and new life that you have experienced:

• AM and FM radio may give way to satellite radio
• Beta gave way to VHS
• Bias ply tires gave way to radial tires
• Cash is giving way to ATM
• Carburetors gave way to fuel injection
• Desktop computers gave way to laptops
• Direct mail gave way to e-newsletters
• Driving to the office has given way to telecommuting
• In store shopping has given way to online shopping
• Motivational seminars gave way to personal coaching
• Oil dependant automobiles are going to give way to electric and hybrid automobiles
• Overwhelm is giving way to virtual assistants
• Pay phones gave way to cell phones
• Roadmaps are giving way to GPS
• Single glazed windows gave way to double glazed windows
• Shotgun marketing is giving way to niche marketing
• The business card has given way to the web site
• The cassette gave way to the CD
• The leisure suit just plain gave way
• The six o’clock news gave way to 24 hour cable news
• The vinyl record gave way to the eight track and cassette
• Transatlantic steamship travel gave way to jets
• TV antennas gave way to cable TV
• VHS gave way to the DVD
• Voice mail gave way to e-mail

It is all about eliminating fear and learning how to reinvent you.

Click here to read my

October e-newsletter entitled “Separating The Advisors From The Survivors”.

The E-newsletter contains articles from five well respected financial advisors.

Filed under: Sales & Marketing
Tagged: business building, financial advisors

Financial Advisor Business Building Solutions

October 24, 2008 by Simon · Leave a Comment

WARNING:

Curing The Unmet Needs Disease is generally well tolerated and can be read at any time during the day or night, with or without food.

Curing The Unmet Needs Disease will cause side effects that can be mild, severe, temporary or permanent and can cause you to eliminate aggravation, anger, anxiety, boredom, confusion, conflict, depression, disappointment, exhaustion, failure, fatigue, fear, frustration, hesitation, irritation, jealousy, misery, negative thoughts, night sweats, overwhelm, panic, paranoia, procrastination, sadness, sorrow, terror, unhappiness and worry.

Some people that read Curing The Unmet Needs Disease report feeling adventurous, alive, appreciative, calm, cheerful, confident, eager, encouraged, energetic, enthusiastic, excited, fulfilled, grateful, happy, inspired, joyful, optimistic, peaceful, relaxed, satisfied, thankful and wonderful.

Who should NOT read Curing The Unmet Needs Disease?

Common business side effects can include creating a vision for the future and developing a business plan, implementing excellent financial controls and making more money, refining your sales skills, attracting lots of qualified referrals, assisting high-quality clients and delegating your C and D clients, becoming a recognized expert and creating a unique brand focused on an affluent niche, focusing on profitable and specialized products and services, recruiting, leading and delegating to a championship support team, creating harmony in all business relationships and delivering amazing customer service and celebrating your success and achieving your true potential.

Curing The Unmet Needs Disease side effects to your personal life can include a happier family, better friendships, healthier immune system, improved personal grooming, less clutter, more exercise, more intimacy, more love and weight loss.

How would you like to read the first 6 chapters of this book for FREE?

Curing The Unmet Needs Disease

How to Prosper in Business by Meeting Your Unmet Needs

Financial Advisor Edition

Filed under: Clear Your Roadblocks
Tagged: business building, financial advisors

Clear Your Roadblocks Coaching Program

October 16, 2008 by Simon · Leave a Comment

Clear Your Roadblocks Coaching Program

Hi, I’m Simon Reilly,

I’m concerned about what I’m seeing in the Financial Advisor industry.

Recent survey results are revealing problems like:

Financial Advisors are having a difficult time implementing very valuable elements into their business, such a business plan, a marketing plan and financial controls.
Financial Advisors are emotionally retired, their hearts are not in it.
Financial Advisors are not making enough money and their numbers are dwindling.

In my experience, these problems are caused by Financial Advisors struggling with their own unmet needs, negative emotions and negative beliefs. They’re experiencing a lack of vision, purpose and mission, which are the very foundations of a strong business.

Through personalized one-on-one telephone coaching, I help Financial Advisors to overcome these problems.

The Clear Your Roadblocks™ coaching program is based upon years of
client experience and the scientifically proven impact that values, positive
emotions and positive beliefs have on your business.

Phil Hauser’s testimonial says it all:

“From the moment Simon was introduced to our conference I simply knew that he was the one who would coach me to awaken the energy within myself to advance my practice and my life to where I have always felt it should be. Simon and Laura ignite an enthusiasm within me to fulfill this desire to propel my energies forward to conceive, believe and achieve my goals. The Leading Advisor approach is simply fun to work through. While coaching is not meant to be a quick fix, several ideas put forward in sessions have delivered results beyond my expectations within 24 hours of first hearing them. I have begun to identify the roadblocks to my success and am enjoying the experience of removing them! I’m really enjoying this work it is very challenging and I am feeling I get far more out of it than I put into it.“

Philip Hauser, CFP London, Ontario

The Financial Advisor industry is awash with experts talking about how to achieve success,
yet most Financial Advisors are having a difficult time implementing these very valuable strategies into their business.

Things such as:

Creating a vision for the future and developing a business plan.
Implementing excellent financial controls and making more money.
Refining your sales skills.
Attracting lots of qualified referrals.
Assisting high-quality clients and delegating your C and D clients.
Becoming a recognized expert and creating a unique brand focused on an affluent niche.
Focusing on profitable and specialized products and services.
Recruiting, leading and delegating to a championship support team.
Creating harmony in all business relationships and delivering amazing customer service.
Celebrating your success and achieving your true potential.

Why are these strategies so difficult to implement?

There are some key elements missing in their business strategy, starting with values and vision. You see, a truly successful business and life are doomed unless you first define your:

Values, which are the DNA of your vision.
Vision, Purpose and Mission, which are the foundations of your business plan.
Goals
Business Plan, which is the foundation of your marketing plan.
Marketing Plan, which is foundation of your brand.
Brand, which is the foundation of your niche.
Niche, which is the foundation of your product and client specialization.
Product Specialization
Client Specialization

Recent survey results revealed that:

Most Financial Advisors are emotionally retired

23% of Financial Advisors over 63 years of have no succession plan
33% of Financial Advisors have no vision or business plan

There are not enough inspired and/or qualified advisors

12.4% of Financial Advisors are very satisfied
49.1% of Financial Advisors are not very satisfied
40% of Financial Advisors are unsatisfied

Most Financial Advisors are not making enough money

1/3 of Financial Advisors make $50K-$100K
1/2 of Financial Advisors make $100K-$200K
1/5 of Financial Advisors make $250K

“I started working with Simon over 9 years ago with a mandate to double my income and provide me with more time for myself and my family, and to enable me to work on my business versus always having to work in it. I met and exceeded the mandate within the first year and have forged ahead to build a Financial Services Practice with a strong team of specialists that provide Critical Illness, Group Insurance, Life Insurance and Money Management.“

Nelson Deslippe – CFP, CLU, C.H.F.C – Integral Financial Services Inc. – Vancouver, Canada

The Clear Your Roadblocks Program^TM includes:

Values and behaviors assessment – completed and delivered online
Values and behaviors assessment debriefing – 1 hour telephone debriefing
Assignments and systems to identify and meet your Unmet Needs, negative emotions and negative beliefs
Assignments and systems to identify and integrate your values, positive feelings and positive beliefs into your vision, business and marketing plan
Bi-monthly one-hour coaching calls for 2 months
Weekly goal tracking software
24/7 email and/or telephone access
Access to our Knowledge Bureau

The Clear Your Roadblocks Program ^TM uses a scientific approach that starts with values and behaviors assessments.

While working with hundreds and hundreds of clients through their assessments, Leading Advisor has benchmarked the values and behaviors of today’s most successful financial advisors. We further identified six key values, and we will see how these specific values are expressed in your assessment.

Your behaviors are how you carry out the actions towards your goals. As we discuss in Curing the Unmet Needs Disease, behaviours are either an expression of your values, or they are a manifestation of your Unmet Needs and their accompanying negative emotions and negative beliefs, which conflict with or overshadow your values.

At the end of the day, that leaves you with conflict, inconsistency, lack of motivation and even worse, an unfulfilled business and personal life.

Through these values and behaviors assessments, the Clear Your Roadblocks Program^TM will help you to understand and implement the values and behaviors that are required for sustainable and consistent success.

If you’re struggling with:

Lack of focus.
Not enough money coming in.
Loss of motivation.
Failure to ask for referrals.
Too many small clients and small products.
Administrative “busy work” that takes all your time.
Conflict and disputes with clients, partners, management, associates and staff.
Beating yourself up.

The Clear Your Roadblocks Program^TM can help you to turn things around and work towards achieving these crucial business strategies:

I follow a written 5-year vision and business plan and I always have enough time.
I am fully satisfied with the amount of money I am making.
I feel naturally excited about my work and I enjoy the selling process.
I am getting lots of great qualified referrals.
I am getting a lot of new high quality clients.
I have branded my business and I am focused on a niche market.
I am focused on profitable products and services.
I do what I love to do, have a hiring system and delegate everything else.
I am effective at managing my business relationships extremely well.
I always celebrate my successes, learn from my setbacks and I am achieving my true potential as an advisor.