— The feeling of exclusivity

— The opportunity to give back

With technology and especially social media at its disposal, NAIFA has the perfect platform to highlight its members and let more people know that they can fulfill their need to belong by joining their professional association.

So, five years ago, NAIFA created the NAIFA 20/20 Strategic Plan and overhauled the organization by focusing on why people belong and how to clarify the organization’s value proposition.

The strategic plan evolved NAIFA, based on several principles that technology affords, including:

— Adopting people-based technology that allows for face-toface communication

— Offering programs without geographic boundaries

— Offering programs for all members — those new to the industry and seasoned professionals

— Recognizing the value of individual work and teamwork, but using social media to publicly praise people and groups

In addition, after many years of not having a unified way to explain NAIFA’s values, the association now has a way and has chosen the words: Advocate. Educate. Differentiate.

As NAIFA celebrates its 130 years of existence, Mayeux urged the attendees to join NAIFA, or if they are already members, to become active members. “Join NAIFA and spread the benefits of belonging,” he said.

Mayeux also kicked off NAIFA’s commitment to move the needle on financial literacy on MainStreet USA by announcing the release of the overhauled Advisors You Can Trust consumer site, which has been renamed financialsecurity.org. This website showcases NAIFA members’ initiatives in improving the financial wellness of their clients and communities and features a Find a NAIFA Advisor icon where consumers can access a directory and find their perfect fit.

Tips For Growing Your Business

The Success Summit also featured several concurrent sessions, which taught attendees how to jumpstart their businesses.

In one of these sessions, Jennifer Miller, a retirement plan advisor with American Funds/Capital Group, explained how attendees can increase the revenue of their practice by making use of retirement plans.

The business case for having retirement plans in an advisor’s practice is quite compelling, Miller said. Retirement plans can:

• Provide the advisor with more assets under management.

• Help tie the advisor to the business owner of a company.

• Offer the advisor a steady stream of income. Most workers get paid every other week, she added, which is money that is going into their 401(k) plans.

Many studies have shown that participants do not usually change their plan contributions once they decide what they are, regardless of what the market is doing. So, when there is a market correction, 401(k) plans can provide regular contributions during lean years.

• Help advisors accumulate assets. If advisors meet with employees regularly, they will soon be seen as the “financial face” for these employees and will likely get new clients.

As they search for prospects, advisors should:

• Reach out to current clients. Some clients may have discretionary authority over a company’s retirement plan, while others may be willing to refer them to their retirement plan’s decision-makers.

• Reach out to family and friends. These people may not be direct prospects for them, she said, but they can still serve as a valuable resource in reaching direct prospects. “So, let them know that you not only help individual clients, you also help companies with their employee retirement plans,” she said.

• Connect with centers of influence. Look for people who, by their role or their standing in their community, can help open doors to retirement plan sponsors. Officers or directors of local chambers of commerce are good examples of these types of people, she said.

• Make good use of LinkedIn: On LinkedIn, advisors can click on the jobs button, look for companies that are hiring, congratulate them, and discuss business.

Also, in their search for prospects, advisors should make it a point to look for newly hired HR employees. This is because these people have usually not had time to build ties to any company, they do not have any gatekeepers yet, and they have not had time to accumulate hundreds of email messages.

Once they have acquired prospects and they are about to meet with them, advisors should make sure they have done their homework by creating a value proposition statement that outlines their role as a plan advisor and the services they can provide to the employer and to employees. They should also put together a list of key questions that can help them identify possible areas of opportunity.

Honoring The Best And The Brightest

The summit was the perfect place for NAIFA-Greater Washington to honor its best and brightest, and it did so by recognizing the following recipients of the association’s 2020 Four Under Forty Awards. They are Alex Abbenante,

CRPC, with Equitable Advisors; Gaffar Chowdhury, with First Financial Group; Matthew Grace, CLU, CLTC, LACP, with First Financial Group; and James Hicks, CFP, ChFC, ChSNC, CFBS, CLU, MBA, with J.L. Hicks Financial Group. In a fast-paced panel discussion with these “rock stars of the industry,” attendees received some valuable tips for moving ahead. To accelerate their journey to success, they should:

• Be focused.

• Try to work with clients they resonate with.

• Focus on things they can control, such as doing a lot of prospecting and marketing activity.

• Hold at least 15 meetings a week.

• Create a script they can use with their clients and prospects, study it thoroughly, and use it consistently.

• Be willing to receive a no from a prospect — this is all part of doing business.

• Give instead of take; it will always come back to you.

The Positive Power Of Naifa Membership

And when these winners were asked about the role NAIFA has played in their professional lives, they enthusiastically offered these powerful benefits of being a NAIFA member:

• ”The industry is always under attack and NAIFA helps fight those battles for us. We need an advocacy program that helps us, and NAIFA has an excellent program. Also, I get to rub shoulders with seasoned members and learn from them.” (Alex Abbenante)

• ”When I think of my clients, the successful ones are those who belong to their professional associations; so, I joined NAIFA to be part of my association. Also, NAIFA allows me to build camaraderie with advisors and to receive lots of sales ideas.” (Gaffar Chowdhury)

• “When you are stuck, it is good to have someone to talk to — and NAIFA offers people you can talk to. Also, advocacy representation is important to me and serves as a great confidence builder.” (Matthew Grace)

• “Continuing education is important to me and the NAIFA conferences always have good speakers.” (James Hicks) All told, the 2020 Success Summit truly lived up to its name by providing a place where forward-thinking advisors came together for the inspiration and information required for career success.