Friday, 11 June 2010 08:49
Delivering Professionalism with British Standards - ISO22222
Written by Keith Churchouse
Yesterday, I undertook my third annual assessment for ISO22222 Personal Financial Planning. This is the British Standards for Personal Financial Planning and assessed by Standards International. I would like to thank Standards International for their support and guidance for yesterday and the past three years we have been working together. You have allowed our IFA business to grow.
The assessment went well and I look forward to the results in due course. So, why am I blogging about this? The reason is that, in my opinion, this is one of the most important qualifications that can be achieved in the financial advice industry.
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Unfortunately I think with this blog post I bring bad tidings.
I think it has been well documented that many IFAs do not intend to continue with their business post RDR. Instead for the majority the plan seems to be to build up as much trail or renewal commission within the business with the intention of building up its value with the ultimate aim of a profitable sale just before RDR hits.
With the logic of the pre-RDR world that a business is valued based upon its level of renewal or passive income and the FSAs assurances that any trail arrangements put in place before the RDR curtain falls would be regarded as historic and in some way protected.
This logic still stands up if your intention is not to retire but rather continue with the growth of the business however it falls down if you plan to retire! The FSA have indicate that in the post RDR world that every new client must agree their remuneration with their adviser and that on a transfer of Agency, trail will not be automatically transferred on to the new adviser who must instead put together a remuneration agreement with his new client.…
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Wednesday, 24 March 2010 17:37
Something Every IFA & Mortgage Broker Should Read
Written by John Bloomfield
When I originally started this blog I had no intention of posting myself preferring instead to try and attract posts from Sales & Marketing experts who could perhaps offer some insight in to how we as IFAs and mortgage brokers should be marketing our services and communicating what we can do to the general public. As the blog has aged however it has been quite difficult to keep up the pace of inviting guest bloggers and organising their posts etc. So recently I decided to throw the blog open to all IFAs and Mortgage intermediaries who felt they had something useful to tell others. If you are interested in submitting a post to the blog then please drop me an email at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
detailing what you would like to post about don't write the whole blog as I might not think it's a suitable subject, just send a summary.
I don't feel that I am really qualified to position myself as some sort of IFA marketing expert so I thought I would kick off by drawing your attention to a document that I think every independent financial adviser and mortgage intermediary should have read by now yet I have seen…
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Tuesday, 29 December 2009 09:06
4 Tips for Making Your Holiday Parties Profitable!
Written by Maribeth Kuzmeski
It’s that time of year again! Time for the annual company or neighborhood holiday party and all the other social events that come with the holiday season. The truth is that these seasonal events are also a great place for networking. And even if you don’t look at them as a ‘networking event,’ you likely will be meeting new people and making an impression in the process. You may as well make the most of it!
Here are four easy tips for maximizing your interactions at holiday parties this year:
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Tuesday, 29 December 2009 08:48
SIX PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS OF THE AFFLUENT AND WEALTHY
Written by C. Richard Weylman, CSP, CPAE
The Six Psychological Needs That Influence the Behaviors, Expectations, and Preferences of Affluent and Wealthy Individuals
1. The Need for SecurityTwo types of security issues that must be addressed in marketing, sales, and relationship strengthening activities are emotional security and economic security. To effectively address the emotional security issues with clients and prospects, it is essential that advisors convey that they can speak to them in confidence. Clients and prospects alike need to know and feel comfortable in discussing issues with advisors that are sensitive and perhaps ones that they may not feel comfortable sharing with anyone else. It is critically important that advisors guard and protect the privacy of their clients and prospects.
Even casual comments or gossip about other people can be seen as a breech of client privilege.
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Tuesday, 29 December 2009 08:41
Create Strategic Alliances to Be Seen As a Resource
Written by C. Richard Weylman, CSP, CPAE
To meet the ever-changing needs of prospects and clients, they want to see you as a resource for them. What does it mean to be a resource? It means that your clients and prospects see you as an advisor or a change agent – the person they can call when things change or need to be changed. You have available the things and people they need, when they need them. You are not just a product maven or simply focused on one process. To be a resource means that you are the individual that has access to knowledge about things, both financial and otherwise, that are important to the people in your market. It does not mean you are someone who is there to always sell them something.
Why do people today want to work with someone who can be a resource for them? First, because it provides convenience. People today are looking for one-stop shopping. By being a resource for them, they can look to you for all their financial needs as well as advice in other areas of their business and life.
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Thursday, 17 December 2009 14:56
Never is Heard A Discouraging Word
Written by C. Richard Weylman, CSP, CPAE
There is no doubt that we live in a sea of cynicism, skepticism, uncertainty and negative input. We are constantly barraged with negative reactions and general indifference to things we consider important. In the business world, there is the constant battle of maintaining enthusiasm – regardless of the things that cross our paths. To be successful in today’s environment, you must be positive so you can encourage people to see you and buy from you. In our fast-paced world, buying decisions are made less on price and company and more on the helpful encouragement and attitude of the people in the organization.
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Thursday, 10 December 2009 00:00
Managing Your Time and Money – Here’s a Great Tool to Help You Prioritise Tasks and Focus Your Mind
Written by Marie Swift
Over the past several weeks, I’ve given you dozens of low-cost marketing ideas – things you can implement and benefit from right now. But with all these options, it's more important than ever to figure out how to budget the time you expend on your marketing efforts. I recommend the Daily Progress Report, a system created by Allyson Lewis, CFP. You can download the form for free from her website, www.SevenMinuteDifference.com.
Proper use of Lewis's form can help you keep on track. Use it to list your top priorities before you leave the office at night and to make sure you know where you're leaving messages and with whom you're communicating. You can use it to play what Lewis calls the "Five Before Eleven" game-which, in a nutshell, means that you have to get your five top priorities done before 11:00 a.m. each day.
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Randy Males is a furniture salesman. In furniture stores the salespeople alternate with their "ups." (They take turns serving customers as they come in the store or "come up".) One day a fellow salesperson, muttering under his breath, said, "I can't sell people like that!" Randy asked what the problem was and the salesman told him that the man was blind and deaf and the wife was almost completely blind and deaf. The salesman emphatically stated that he would not waste his time trying to sell them and he would not allow them to be counted as his "up." Randy asked if it would be o.k. if he talked with the couple. The response was, "Yes, if you want to waste your time."
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Thursday, 03 December 2009 00:00
Using Surveys to Gather Information and Let Clients Know You Care
Written by Marie Swift
Last time, I provided some tips on how you can add multi-media to engage your audience online. This time we’ll talk about using surveys to gather information, build relationships with clients and cull out business opportunities.
Conducting a client survey is a good way to let them know that you care what they think. More important, it will yield valuable information about your clients and your market. With survey information in hand, you can anticipate problems, capitalize on opportunities and expand business relationships. www.SurveyMonkey.com and www.Zoomerang.com are both quick and easy to use, although I recommend that you pay the $20 per month fee to get the ad-free service. You can "brand" your survey template with your logo or even have a graphic designer create a custom banner.
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Find A Problem! Many years ago Dr. Karl Meninger of the world-famed Meninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, was asked the question: "What would you do if you feared that a nervous breakdown was coming on?" Without hesitation Dr. Meninger said, "I would find somebody with a bigger problem and get involved with helping him solve his problem; in the process I would forget about my own."
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