I Carry The Bag - Winter 2013

I S S U E 11 | W I N T E R 2013 | W W W. I C A R R Y T H E B A G . CO M

DaTa poin1T4 s paGe

8 keys

TO ENGAGING PRESENTATIONS PAGE 26 WHAT’S YOUR WHOLESALING

TieBreaker?

PAGE 12

TIME, PRIORITY & CALENDAR

manaGemenT

PAGE 16

5 career DisconnecTs

REFLECTIONS FROM 2012 PAGE 23

of oBservinG The BaG paGe 10

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Just another great tip I picked up at Wholesaler Masterminds‌

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Contact us today for a complimentary discussion: 888-508-5010

www.wholesalermasterminds.com 2 8 | WINTER 2012 | I CARRY THE BAG

Table of contents

1st QUARTER | WINTER 2013

EdIToR-IN-chIEf & puBlIshER Rob Shore coNTRIBuTING WRITERs Mary Allen Bill Bachrach Daniel Burrus Joe Calloway Kathy Freeman Godfrey Dr. Bob Froehlich Jon Gordon Allison Graham Kip Gregory kasina and Horsemouth Peggy A. Mengel Alan J. Parisse Mitch Ross Mike Robbins John Testement James S. Wanstall

Travel Tips for portfolio Manager Meetings james s. wanstall and mitch ross

06

Master the science of searching the Web kip gregory

07

carry the Bag with optimism

20

Allison graham

jon gordon

08

leverage Technology to Increase Your organization’s human factor daniel burrus

10 12

I see Wholesalers Everywhere What’s Your Tiebreaker? joe Calloway

14

data points by kasina and Horsesmouth

16

21

Time, priority, and calendar Management: The “secret” to being a highly successful wholesaler bill bachrach, Csp

4 | WINTER 2013 | I CArry THE bAg

The Importance of Boldness mike robbins

22

30 Years of observing The Bag dr. bob froehlich

a New Year of Networking: Growing forward by looking Back

23

Breaking Through the Most common obstacles to success – part 2

www.switchstudio.com

coNTENT dEvElopMENT Jennie Narraway To suBscRIBE, vIsIT:

www.icarrythebag.com

INTEREsTEd IN advERTIsING?

five career disconnects: Reflections from 2012

For address changes, bulk subscriptions, media inquiries, general questions or comments call 888-508-5010 or email icarrythebag@gmail.com

one size does Not fit all are Thank You Notes Just a “Nice” Thing to do? john Testement

26

aRT dIREcToR Elizabeth Dam | SW!TCH s t u d i o

mary Allen

peggy A. mengel

25

www.switchstudio.com

Please visit www.icarrythebag.com or call us at: 888-508-5010

kathy freeman godfrey

24

cREaTIvE dIREcToR Jim Nissen | SW!TCH s t u d i o

Eight keys to Engaging presentations Alan j. parisse

I caRRY ThE BaG®

is published quarterly 514 San Bernadino Avenue Newport Beach, CA 92663 Tel 888-508-5010 I Carry The Bag is a registered trademark of shorespeak, L.L.C. All content in this publication ©2013 shorespeak, L.L.C. and is protected by international copyright law. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Library of Congress ISSN 2157-1155 (print) ISSN 2157-1155 (online)

letter from the editor

noThinG Diminishes anXieTy fasTer Than acTion.

-Walter Anderson And we have been anxious at I Carry The Bag. Anxious because a change in how we deliver you this publication is in the works and we think you’ll like it.

Here’s the plan.

Starting with the next issue, Spring 2013, I Carry The Bag moves to a Digital only format – with the ability for you to print locally - supported by our NEW exclusive iOS and Android apps!

This means: • All of our future issues will be available to you both Online and in App. • All of our future issues can be Printed (from desktop) - any article, or the entire magazine.

• Our NEW I Carry The Bag app will allow for both Online and Offline reading.

• Our NEW I Carry The Bag app will be designed for iOS and Android.

• The entire Archive of I Carry The Bag is now available to all subscribers to read and/or print.

• If you have a subscription for your internal partner they will have all the same access that you do.

We know that many of our subscribers value the fact that we have been a print publication since our inception 2+ years ago.

And now the technology advances over the course of those 2+ years have us confident enough to join the digital-only age of magazine publishing.

As always, we thank you for your tremendous support!

Rob Shore Editor-In-Chief & Publisher I CArry THE bAg | WINTER 2013 | 5

pRoducTIvITY

TEchNoloGY

by kIp grEgory

master the

sCieNCe of searching the web

Harnessing the Internet’s intelligence-gathering horsepower can pay big dividends with producers

h

ave you heard the modern-day twist on that ancient Chinese proverb: give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach him how to use the Internet and he won’t bother you for weeks? Funny, and too often true.

Maybe that’s why so many wholesalers and advisors steer clear of the Web as a business-building tool. They fear the black hole of browser drift and the addictive pull of ESPN.com.

Let me suggest a different way of looking at the Internet, a view rooted in the conviction that the real currency of financial services is information, not dollars and cents. Rather than thinking of the Web as a giant time sink, why not see it as a vast pool of collective knowledge, one that—once understood—you can tap to your (and your advisors’) advantage?

Bill Gates nailed it more than a decade ago when he wrote in Business at the Speed of Thought, “The most meaningful way to differentiate your company from your competition, the best way to put distance between yourself and the crowd, is to do an outstanding job with information. How you gather, manage and use information will determine whether you win or lose.”

6 | WINTER 2013 | I CArry THE bAg

As a wholesaler that information may be about the market, but it could (and should) also be about clients, prospects and target audiences, or, running a profitable business. Information is what you convert into knowledge, then expertise and ultimately, a reputation as a business partner who knows how to do more than tell a product story-one who can actually move the needle on results.

Stop and ask yourself, how effectively am I doing those things? How well am I helping my advisors do a better job in gathering, managing and using information to build their business?

If you need to take your game up a notch, here are a few simple pointers to get you started.

Most people don’t realize that there are actually four main kinds of searches you can conduct online: an “any” keyword search, an “all” keyword search, looking for an “exact phrase” and a type of search called “Boolean.”

By default, every major search site—Google, Bing, Yahoo, you name it—starts with the “all” keyword option, meaning they assume when you type words into their respective search fields that you only want to see web pages that include all of the terms you’ve entered.

But sometimes an all keyword search doesn’t turn up what you want. You get too many, or occasionally too few, results. That’s where the others surface. “Any” keyword requests do what the name implies – return pages that include any of the words you type in. An “exact phrase” search limits results to web pages that only include the terms requested as a single phrase. It is done by placing the search terms in quotes. Boolean search lets you pinpoint results using the terms AND, NOT and OR (called operators). It’s the best way to filter out unrelated pages from your search results. (As a rule, employing those options in the order listed leads you from more to fewer results.)

How do you keep all those options straight?

One place to start is at Google’s Advanced Search screen, which is laid out like a worksheet where you can specify a variety of conditions you want your results to meet. You’ll find Google Advanced search at http://www.google.com/advanced_search.

Here’s my other tip: before typing in any search terms, take a moment to jot down key words that describe what you are looking for. For example, say you’re looking for articles on “money in motion” life event-style opportunities. Helpful terms might be words like “announced, acquired, promoted, relocated, hired, or merged.” Searching online for news stories or press releases with those terms often can lead you to great conversation starters and prospecting opportunities… if you’re the first to uncover them. (By the way, the best place to look for those types of results is Google News, Google’s specialty search engine for online news content at http://news.google.com.)

Google has put together a brief summary on searching that’s well worth reading. It’s under Basic Search Help on Google’s Support site— http://support.google.com/websearch/. Taking 10 minutes to school yourself on its content will save you hours of time, increase your effectiveness, give you knowledge worth sharing with your advisors and help you stand out from all those wholesalers who’ll be knocking on your advisors’ doors this year with nothing more in their bag than a product pitch.

Kip Gregory is the founder of The Gregory Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm that helps wholesaling organizations and their distribution partners improve sales productivity and profitability by unleashing the power of resources they already own. You can reach him at kip@ gregory-group.com or connect with him via LinkedIn at http://linkd.in/link2kip. © 2013 Kip Gregory, The Gregory Group. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

by jon gordon

carry the bag with

b

ob Iger, the CEO of Disney, was asked the most important characteristic of a leader. “Optimism” was his answer and I completely agree with him. After all, pessimists don’t start and build successful companies. Pessimists don’t create the future.

Pessimists don’t change the world. It’s the optimistic leaders and sales professionals that overcome naysayers, rejection and hundreds of set-backs and challenges to ultimately build a successful business.

If you want to experience first-hand what optimism can do simply drive down the 101 corridor of Silicon Valley. Visit the companies and talk to the employees. Sit in the cafés and listen to the conversations. There’s a collective optimism and positivity that drives innovation, creates jobs and represents everything that is right and great about America.

While the rest of the country was going through the great recession the people who lead and work for the companies in Silicon Valley refused to participate in it. They were too busy trying to succeed, believing they could change the world.

Companies and businesses around the country were closing their doors and people were losing their jobs and homes. But, innovators and start-ups like Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Google and thousands of others were changing the way we communicate, connect, learn, read, search, interact, live and work.

Silicon Valley is filled with optimistic people who believe that anything is possible. If you have a great idea it gets funded. If you are willing to innovate and work hard the American Dream is very much alive and available to you.

If you believe, execute and turn this belief into a reality, you can change the world. Silicon Valley embodies the can-do spirit, creativity, drive and courage that made, and will continue to make, America the birthplace of worldchanging ideas and innovations.

But you don’t have to live in the valley to carry the bag with optimism. Wherever you are

located you can feed yourself and others with the optimism that inspires you to think and act differently as well as lead and sell differently.

And, the research shows optimism is a great attribute. Turns out that optimistic sales people outperform pessimistic sales people. Optimistic and positive leaders are better able to garner the support of their teams and optimistic, positive teams outperform negative teams in the same industry.

Best of all research shows that even if you are not naturally optimistic, optimism can be cultivated by feeding the positive inside of us. In this spirit, here are 5 ways to feed yourself with optimism from my new book The Positive Dog.

Take out your telescope.

I often talk about a “telescope” when wholesalers want to create a big-picture vision for their future and dream about the business they want to build. The telescope represents our dream for the future and, according to Barbara Frederickson, research shows this is a simple way to boost positivity and optimism.

and building loyal relationships.

Every morning ask yourself this question: “What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?” Then take action on those items.

Be a Coach.

Coaches bring out the best in others. The best coaches mentor, encourage, praise, inspire and lead with optimism and positivity. Today, feed others and yourself with positivity by being a coach. Instead of complaining about what others are doing wrong, start focusing on what they are doing right. Praise them, encourage them, love them, recognize them and inspire them to be their best. You’ll help others feel great and you’ll feel great too.

Tell yourself a positive story.

Turn a LOSS into a GAIN.

Life is a story. The story we tell ourselves and the role we play in that story determines the quality and direction of our life. Successful people are able to overcome adversity by telling themselves a more positive story than the rest.

Instead of a drama or a horror movie, they define their life as an inspirational tale. Instead of being the victim, they see themselves as a fighter and over-comer. You may not be able to control the economy, but you can influence the outcome of your story.

When you and your company experience a LOSS turn it into a gain by seeing it as an opportunity. Make LOSS stand for “Learning Opportunity Stay Strong.” With every set-back you’ll learn, grow, improve and become stronger as you pursue your goals.

Focus on the important stuff.

Tune out the negative voices and start making positive choices. What are you doing on a daily basis to grow yourself, your team and your business? Don’t focus on the negative things said by other people and the media.. Instead, focus on marketing your business, taking care of clients

Jon Gordon’s best-selling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by NFL, NBA and college coaches and teams, Fortune 500 companies, schools, hospitals and non-profits. He is the author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller The Energy Bus, The No Complaining Rule, Training Camp, The Shark and The Goldfish, Soup, The Seed and The Positive Dog. His clients include The Atlanta Falcons, Campbell’s Soup, Wells Fargo, State Farm, Novartis, Bayer and more. Jon is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Masters in Teaching from Emory University.

I CARRY THE BAG | WINTER 2013 | 7

by dAnIEl bUrrUs

leverage technology to increase your organization’s

w

e live in an amazing era of technology-driven transformation that’s redefining how we sell, market, communicate, collaborate, innovate, train and educate—all in an amazingly short period of time. With that said though, we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that the future is a human future. And when it comes to humans, it’s all about relationships and trust. If you don’t have trust, you don’t have a good relationship.

But trust isn’t something you give and receive freely. Trust is earned through key values such as honesty, integrity and delivering on promises.

These values are true in every country and every culture all over the world.

Today we’re more connected to others than ever before thanks to the mobile Internet on our phones. In fact, right now 2.5 billion people are connected to the Internet. At any one time, 30% of the world population is online. And, over 70% of the phones sold last year were smart phones, meaning that people have television, radio and Internet access in the palm of their hand.

Despite all this technology, the human factor is more important for business success than ever before. For example, I know companies who have had breakthrough technology over the years and were using the latest equipment, yet they failed because they neglected the human factor of doing business. I’ve also seen companies using older technology, what we might call “legacy technology,” and they beat out their competitors because of their focus on the human factor.

So the question is, “Can you leverage today’s technology to increase the human factor?” The answer is yes!

Earlier I mentioned that we’re transforming how we sell, market, communicate, collaborate, innovate, train and educate over a short period of time. All these processes involve people. Without people, none of these things happen.

Let’s look at education and training of both employees and the advisor community specifically—which are things that cost money but are essential for companies to do—especially in a time of rapid change and transformation. I 8 | WINTER 2013 | I CArry THE bAg

recently had an executive ask, “What if I spend a lot of money educating and training my people and they leave?” My response was, “What if you don’t, and they stay?”

The point is you want your people to feel they’re engaging with a vibrant and thriving company. A strong human factor helps you create that mindset. You also want employees to feel when they go to work, they’re entering a time machine into the future. Technology helps you create that feeling. And, when the two work in conjunction—when you use technology to increase the human factor—that’s when you have an engaged workforce that excels.

The following are some leveragable technologies which will enable product distributors to build the human factor in their organization.

JusT-in-Time TraininG Over the next two years we will be transforming how we educate and train people using mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. All trainers know the best way to learn something is by doing it. That’s what just-in-time training enables people to do. Rather than sit in a classroom and learn, people learn in real-time. Since most employees and advisors have a multimedia computer (their phone or tablet) with them at all times, if they have a question or need assistance, they can simply touch an icon on their device’s screen and be connected to a live trainer who can help. If the firm’s employee needs a visual in order to help, the user can aim the device’s built-in camera to the problem so, as an example, the internal wholesaler can see it. When used in conjunction with traditional forms of advisor training, this approach cuts costs tremendously.

GameificaTion of TraininG With today’s technology we can deliver advanced simulations on, not only mobile devices, but also on today’s gaming systems. For example, an Xbox 360 is a perfect tool and delivers threedimensional photo-realistic advanced simulations to train both clients and employees—all while making it fun and game-like. I’ve identified five

core elements of gameification that, when applied together, can dramatically accelerate learning. The training becomes: self-diagnostic (so it knows each person’s skill level and progresses accordingly), interactive (people actually do something as opposed to sitting and watching), immersive (using interspatial 3D, you participate in scenarios versus having things pop out at you), competitive (the adrenaline rush keeps people engaged) and focused (which is a by-product of the other four elements).

social learninG In the past, executives decided what people needed to learn and found someone to instruct them. Today, learning is going “social.” By leveraging social learning, companies empower their employees to share their best practices and best ideas with each other using tools like their own computer video system. And, thanks to YouTube, companies don’t need to concern themselves with high production and high expense on educational videos. With social learning our own employees become both teachers and students, sharing with each other.

visual communicaTions Visual communications is very different from video conferencing. Video conferencing requires expensive equipment and is usually only seen in mid- and large-sized organizations. And, those systems are always booked by the executives.

Visual communications refers to utilizing free tools like Skype—the only equipment you need is a laptop, tablet or smart phone. When you can see and hear the person you’re talking to, you can adjust your communications to them in real time based on their facial expressions and body language. Plus, if the kids are using visual communications when they play their Xbox games, shouldn’t we be doing it with our advisors when we want to communicate at higher levels?

personalizeD TraininG Training used to be all about customization.

Today, it’s about personalization. For example,

if you and I both have iPhones and we both choose AT&T as our phone service provider, I know for a fact my iPhone is completely different than yours. Why? Because we’ve both personalized our phones with specific apps that are most useful for us. So, in essence, we’ve each created a “my phone.” Similarly, we’re now starting to see not just customized education, but also personalized education for the user, based on both achievement and a menu of options determined by the user’s needs.

make The human facTor your neW prioriTy All these factors are transforming training and education, and by extension, product distribution.

They raise the bar on the emphasis on the human factor in organizations. Remember, in times of rapid technological transformation, it’s the human factor that will win the race, not the technical factor.

So you can either be passively transformed, letting all of these technologies sweep down upon you and change your world, or you can actively be the transformer and use these tools to add value to your organization and increase the human factor.

Which option will you choose?

DespiTe all This TechnoloGy, The human facTor is more imporTanT for Business success Than ever Before.

Daniel Burrus is considered one of the world’s leading technology forecasters and innovation experts. He is the author of six books, including The New York Times bestseller Flash Foresight. He is the CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advances in technology-driven trends to help clients profit from technological, social and business forces that are converging to create enormous, untapped opportunities. He is a strategic advisor to executives from many Fortune 500 companies, helping them to develop game-changing strategies. For additional resources go to www.burrus.com or call 262-367-0949.

I CArry THE bAg | WINTER 2013 | 9

by dr. bob froEHlICH

of observing the bag admit that I have never actually carried the bag as a wholesaler. That said, I have been traveling with wholesalers my entire career so I do have firsthand experience on this topic. That experience comes from spending time with over 1,000 different wholesalers in the field observing how they do their jobs. While I wish I could give you the magic formula to become a great, successful wholesaler, we know it is not that simple. I believe that the wholesalers’ job in the financial services industry is one of the toughest, while being the most under appreciated.

In my career, I have always enjoyed developing my top ten yearly investment themes ( I have always been a big fan of David Letterman’s nightly Top Ten List). I thought it would be catchy for me to do the same with this article. However, I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried to remember 10 different things that I observed in the field, I kept coming back to these five observations of what successful wholesalers do to be great.

one

profile your aDvisor

Spend time developing a profile of the advisor that you are trying to sell to—and take the time to do this right. Most wholesalers get it half right and then wing the other half from memory. By half right I mean that you have to develop two profiles of your advisor—one should be a business profile and the other a personal profile.

Most wholesalers focus only on the business profile. They know all about the advisor’s business career and their successes. They know what types of products the advisor likes and uses. After all the work of developing a business profile is done, most wholesalers just wing the personal profile side. That’s a big mistake. With the number of advisors that you meet with every 10 | WINTER 2013 | I CArry THE bAg

...The Whoelsalers’ JoB in The financial services inDusTry is one of The TouGhesT, While BeinG The mosT unDer appreciaTeD. day you can’t survive without also developing a personal profile. If you don’t, you will one day really embarrass yourself. Conversely, if you do, you will be shocked how well it can work.

Examples: I can still remember running into a corner-office big-time advisor with our wholesaler. To break the ice, this wholesaler begins by saying, “So what kind of baseball season is that son Mike of yours having this year?” The puzzled corner-office advisor responds, “You must be thinking of someone else. I don’t have a son. My daughter Michelle is having a great soccer season.” Not only did the wholesaler’s icebreaker not work, it created an insurmountable iceberg. What a disaster; simply because they didn’t spend the time developing a personal profile as well as a business one.

On the flip side, I will never forget being in a large wire house brokerage firm walking around with our wholesaler when one of the bigger producers comes blowing by us, flying out the door, when the wholesaler asked if he had “just a minute.” The advisor responded, “I don’t have time today. Talk to my assistant about getting on my calendar.” The wholesaler replied, “I didn’t want to get on your calendar. I just wanted to ask how your daughter Susan did in the State High School cross country meet.

The last time we met I remembered you talking about how nervous she was.”

“I can’t believe you remembered that because I don’t believe I have even done any business with you,” said the advisor. The advisor then spent five minutes relaying how well his daughter did in the State cross country meet. Though running late, he asked us to walk out to his car with him, chatting about product the whole way. All because the wholesaler took the time to develop a personal profile as well as a business one.

two

help aDvisors BuilD Their BranD

Every advisor, whether they admit it or not, can use help building their personal brand. You need to be the wholesaler that helps them do that.

Any program, seminar or kit that helps them build that brand is vital. Make it your mission to assist advisors because it’s more important to their business today than ever before.

In the past when an advisor joined a firm they intended to stay with that firm for life. The only brand that mattered back then was the brand of the advisor’s firm. Today, advisors often move from firm to firm. Suddenly it is their brand that will determine how many of their clients they retain. By having a discussion with an advisor about their personal brand it shows that you care more about them—even more than the company that they work for.

three aDD research value

Add value to your advisor’s expertise by doing some investment research for them. When I started in this business there was limited good research or good research reports. Today, there is great research everywhere.

In one of the best displays of value-added research that I have ever seen, the wholesaler had just read the latest wirehouse research report on the market and the economy. The wholesaler took the time to compare that outlook to our firm’s and found three areas of agreement.

When we went into the brokerage office the wholesaler said, “I am sure that you all have read your firm’s latest research report. In case you haven’t, here are the three things that I found most interesting.” They were the most interesting because our firms had the same view. Most financial advisors hate to use their own firm’s research to make a point. In this example, the wholesaler gave them another research report to make the exact same point in an independent way. It also shows great respect for the advisor and their firm that you have taken the time to do your homework.

four GIVE DON’T TAKE

Try to be a giver and not a taker. Many wholesalers can’t wait to get in front of a financial advisor so they can say, “So, tell me what you are doing in this current environment.” Or, “So, tell me, what are your clients’ concerns?” I call this approach a wholesaler that only wants to take and take and take.

A pro turns this around by giving, and has the financial advisor eating out of the palm of their hand. The pro begins by saying, “I know how busy you are as a financial advisor and how many products get pushed to you every day. I thought that you might be interested in knowing what your competitors are showing their clients from our product mix and why. I have met with about 500 of your competitors over the past month and here is what they are saying and doing.” There isn’t an advisor alive who wouldn’t kill for this information. Every advisor loves to know what every other advisor is doing.

five

DO WHAT I SAY NOT WHAT I DO

Finally, if it is so important that your advisors do something why don’t you do it as well?

Countless times I recall wholesalers, who are trying to help an advisor grow their business,

TOP 5 THINGS SUCCESSFUL WHOLESALERS DO TO BE GREAT

1. Profile your advisor 2. Help advisors build their brand 3. Add research value 4. Give don’t take 5. Do what I say not what I do suggest that the advisor establish a Client Advisory Board—a select few clients they can bounce ideas off of and use as a sounding board. Yet I have only found two wholesalers who ever took the time to set up their own Client Advisory Board. One wholesaler I knew did so with advisors who did no business with them, stressing they wanted a truly independent view. It is hard to say “no” as an advisor when a wholesaler says, “You are the most admired and trusted advisor in my territory. I would be honored if you would be on my advisory board . There is no one I would rather learn from than you.”

None of these five observations will work if you don’t have the motivation, determination and enthusiasm to greet each day as an opportunity to carry the bag and take it to the next level.

If you can bring the motivation, determination, enthusiasm and add my five observations, you

will be well on your way to a great quarter, a great year and a great career. Happy selling.

Dr. Bob Froehlich has over 35 years in and around Wall Street with a unique perspective on retail investor’s behavior and motivation along with the relationship between advisor and client. He served as head investment strategist with expertise in US and global economics, global currencies and financial markets. In addition, he chaired investment strategy committees for multiple global asset management organizations, culminating in the election to 3 “All American” institutional research teams. He has traveled to, and has provided investment advice, spanning 107 different countries to both retail and institutional clients. He has authored 5 books and made regular television appearances on CNBC, CNN and FOX News.

I CARRY THE BAG | WINTER 2013 | 1 1

b y j o e ca l lo way

i see wholesalers everywhere

What’s Your

Tiebreaker? i

’m trying to decide who to do business with. Should I choose you or one of your competitors? You all look pretty much the same to me. One of you has to have something that will tip my decision in your favor. That’s the tiebreaker. Whoever’s got the winning tiebreaker gets my business. So, what’s your tiebreaker? What can you point to with confidence and say, “This is the reason that you should choose me. I rest my case.”

The tiebreakers of market leading companies and top performers may surprise you. Perhaps the biggest surprise may be that by simply doing what you said you’d do, but doing it with absolute consistency, you can create the greatest differentiator of all.

Whatever your tiebreaker is, or, if you’re really good, whatever your tiebreakers are, rest assured that it’s got to be there in plain sight.

You can’t make your customer guess or have to work to figure out what your difference is. One of the most valuable exercises you can do for your business is to have everyone answer the question, “Why choose us?” In my case, as basically a one man business, I ask that question all of the time. I never assume that the answer is obvious to a potential customer.

Work Your Way Up Whether you’re a seasoned external wholesaler 12 | WINTER 2013 | I CARRY THE BAG

or just getting started on the sales desk, there’s a hierarchy of factors that you have to climb. As you work your way up this hierarchy, you get closer to the tiebreakers.

It starts at the level of expected factors. These are the things that anyone in a particular business has to do just to get in the game. In the business-to-business arena these expected factors tend to be such things as being financially sound, having people who are knowledgeable and accessible and that you offer competitive quality products and services.

That’s not much different than what people expect from their dry cleaner. Be dependable, have good people and do a good job cleaning clothes. Okay. If you’re covered on all of the expected factors, congratulations. You are now the equivalent of a pound of nails. You’re a commodity. You are basically no different than any other minimal competitor.

Moving on up to the next level we get to the truly competitive factors. Here’s where we start to get some separation between those who are simply competent and those who are really good at what they do. In comparing one business to another, these factors will include expertise – the ability to provide not just products and services, but solutions. Competitive wholesalers will be innovative, collaborative and have the ability to help their clients improve profitability.

Then you reach the top level of the hierarchy of buying factors. This is the level of true differentiation. This is where you create tiebreakers.

Companies that do business with other companies find that there are three key differentiators.

You must establish long term relationships. You must understand your client’s goals and be client focused in everything you do. And, finally, the mother of all tiebreakers is to be easy to work with.

You may be doubtful. You may be thinking, “That can’t be. Surely ‘being easy to work with’ isn’t the most powerful tiebreaker in the business to business arena.” Oh yeah? Without question, being easy to work with is the cherry on top of the hierarchy of buying factors. All things being equal, being easy to do business with will be the one thing that will get you the win more often than not.

Establish long term relationships, understand your customer’s goals and be customer focused, and be easy to work with.

Easy To Do Business With As a wholesaler do not overlook the power of being easier to do business with than your competitor. It’s true for any business. Whether it’s an easy-to-navigate web site, a bank that’s open on Sunday afternoon or a concrete pipe manufacturer that writes contracts the way the client wants them written, the positive power of the “easy” factor can’t be overstated. Relationships are everything and if you’re a pain to deal with, you’re fired. The customer’s perception is that somewhere, somebody wants my business

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more than you do and I’ll go to them in a heartbeat if you make life difficult.

“Easy-to-do-business-with-tiebreakers” are everywhere. Think about these businesses, what their tiebreakers are and what your version of each tiebreaker would be as a wholesaler:

California Pizza Kitchen: Kidfriendly. I have a three year old and a seven year old. Believe me, being kid-friendly is a monster tie-breaker.

original French market coffee stand, serving café au lait and hot beignets (French doughnuts) 24 hours a day, year round.

This familiar New Orleans landmark has been located in The French Quarter since 1862.” You do the math. They’ve sustained success for a very long time. Having been there, I can tell you that the only “wow factor” is that they serve really good coffee with really good beignets all day and all night. They are pleasant people.

They are easy to do business with.

Wow. Do you think maybe there’s a lesson for all of us there?

Jack In The Box: Breakfast served any time of day.

Zappos: Free shipping on orders and returns.

Southwest Airlines: No change fees and a ridiculously easy to use website.

Google: The entire reason the company exists is to make the internet easier to use.

Your neighborhood bartender: Remembers your drink. Asks about your kids.

W Hotels: Many of them offer free car service in a joint promotion with Acura, to wherever you’re going in the city. Sure beats waiting for a taxi.

Netflix: I’m a fan of independent films.

Netflix has a greater selection of independent films than any other movie rental service than I’m aware of.

Mapquest: They make it easier for me to get from here to there.

It’s Right On The Coffee Cup I like to write early in the morning.

Right now it’s 6:05 a.m. Like many people, I have a favorite coffee cup.

As I’m writing this section of the article about tiebreakers and “wow factors” and sustained success, I just looked at the writing on my cup. It’s a coffee cup from Café Du Monde, “The Original French Market Coffee Stand” in New Orleans. I’ve been to the Café Du Monde and it’s a great place to go early in the morning. Lines of customers waiting for their café au lait and beignets.

On the back side of the coffee cup it says “Café Du Monde, the

Joe Calloway is a performance coach and advisor who helps great companies get even better. As a business author, coach, and speaker for 30 years his client list reads like a Who’s Who in business, ranging from companies like Coca Cola and IBM to Saks Fifth Avenue and American Express. He is the author of four ground-breaking business books including Becoming A Category of One, which received rave reviews from The New York Times, Retailing Today, Publishers Weekly and many others. Joe is a popular speaker for business meetings and events, and has been inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame. For information: JoeCalloway. com or Kris Young at kris@joecalloway.com.

I CARRY THE BAG | WINTER 2013 | 1 3

by kAsInA

aDvisor asseT allocaTion

averaGe use of eTfs By aDvisors

50%

The average advisor has 50% of their ETF assets in traditional equity/sector ETFs.

74%

19.3%

74% of advisors use ETFs.

3.5%

On average, advisors who use ETFs allocate 19.3% of client assets to them.

Advisors average only 3.5% of their ETF assets in Actively Managed ETFs. 14 | WINTER 2013 | I CArry THE bAg

choosinG BeTWeen eTfs

82.5% 54.6% 23.9%

aDvice on invesTinG

40.4%

When choosing between similar ETFs, 82.5% believe that fees are an important distinction. 54.6% consider fund family. Only 23.9% focus on home office recommended status.

selecTion process

MUTUAL

FUND 59.1% of ETF users agree that the selection process for an ETF is similar to that of a mutual fund.

40.4% of advisors do not rely on home office advice and/or models when investing in ETFs.

source kasina and Horsesmouth kasina’s FA Vision (in partnership with Horsesmouth) is the industry’s most comprehensive and frequently conducted survey of financial intermediaries.

Our data-driven analysis of the behaviors, preferences and opinions of financial intermediaries helps firms make tactical improvements to their brand, product and distribution.

To learn more about FA Vision, visit www.kasina.com or call 212.349.7412

I CArry THE bAg | WINTER 2013 | 1 5

b y b i l l b ach r ach , c s p

TIME, PRIORITY, & CALENDAR MANAGEMENT The “secret” to being a highly successful wholesaler

16 | WINTER 2013 | I CARRY THE BAG

t

here are fundamental truths for knowing your priorities, placing them on your calendar and developing the discipline to consistently honor your calendar.

The challenge, of course, is in developing the habit to consistently do what you probably already know you should do in order to achieve your goals. Sometimes a little illumination on a subject can go a long way to producing your desired results.

The process of time, priority and calendar management is easier when you have committed, clear goals.

He who has a reason why can bear most any how.

- Frederick Wilhelm Nietszche So, what are you committed to? What matters to you so much, personally and professionally, that you need to manage your time very well in order to dramatically increase the probability you will achieve it? When do you want to be there?

What will you be thinking and feeling once you have achieved each of your goals? You want your “why” to be big enough and important enough to pull you to take action on the how.

Keep in mind that you can’t actually “manage time.” All you can do is decide which high pay-off action items you are going to schedule into your time and do those things most of the time. You won’t be perfect.

Fortunately, perfection is not required to achieve your goals.

Here are a few tactics that will help you get more done, accomplish your goals and reduce feeling “overwhelmed,” which is compounded during challenging economic times.

Almost 20 years ago Dr. John Lee taught me the simple 4-D formula for time management: Drop. Delay. Delegate. Do. The easiest way to gain more time is to NOT do something that isn’t especially important any way. How many times do you think you have to do a task which could actually be dropped without changing your results, or, your life? Drop them. Get them off your list and get them out of your head. Think of one thing right now that you can drop completely. Doesn’t that feel better? You just got the gift of time.

There are some things that feel more urgent or important than they actually are when you compare them to your goals. What can you delay—perhaps indefinitely—that will free up time now to do more important, resultsproducing activities?

There is a rule in economics called “comparative economic advantage.” It simply means that if you generate $100 an hour with your time and you can pay someone else $25 an hour to do some of your lower pay-off activities, thus freeing you to do more $100 / hour activities, this is a good deal. What can you delegate to others? The key, of course, is to actually use the extra time you gained from delegating to achieve higher pay-off activities.

If you hire someone to delegate tasks to and then use that time to read the newspaper you are not getting the value of comparative economic advantage.

And, the last of the 4 D’s is do. What are the things that have the most impact on achieving your goals? Your high pay-off activities likely include: meeting with clients, asking for referrals, making your follow-up calls to your referrals to schedule appointments, meeting with prospective clients, doing your part of the planning and preparation for upcoming client meetings, professional development, building and leading your team so you have willing and capable people to delegate to, etc.

Use the 4-D formula and realize an immediate boost in your productivity.

Another simple way to improve your results is to “get real” with time. Most of us have more to do than is possible to get done in our weekly ration of 168 hours. Why do some people get so much more done with their 168 hour ration than others? They schedule the important action items on their calendar and honor their calendar. This mean they make appointments with themselves to do what’s most important.

Not just meetings with others, but actual appointments on their calendars with themselves.

The appointments could be used to rehearse and prepare for a client or prospect meetings, a block of time scheduled to make follow-up phone calls, an hour scheduled to call clients to just check in, an appointment with yourself to go for a run or hit the gym. This is more than an idea in your head that you will do something at 11 o’clock. It’s an actual appointment with yourself, at a specific time, to do a high pay-off activity.

Imagine how much more productive you will be when your most results-producing activities are on your calendar. This is much more powerful and effective than having a to-do list.

Scheduling your high pay-off activities on your calendar accomplishes at least two important things. First, it gives you a time and priority consciousness. Consider all the more important things you can do with your time than shoot the breeze with a colleague; you wouldn’t schedule time to do that on your calendar. With your new-found time consciousness, because everything you need to do to achieve your goals is on your calendar, you will naturally gravitate away from things that waste time. Secondly, it reduces the feeling of being overwhelmed from not getting as much done as you want to. You still won’t get everything done, but when you cross your completed items off on your calendar and reflect on the day’s results you will feel good knowing that the most important things got done. Feelings of stress from not getting enough done are largely the result of realizing that less important things got done at the expense of the more important things.

Scheduling your most important action items on your calendar and developing the habit to honor your calendar makes you more productive and lowers stress.

The bottom line is that your time is something you have control over. At a time when there is so much turmoil and uncertainty in areas you can’t control (the market, the economy, and world events) it’s comforting to know that your success is still in your hands because you can choose to fill your calendar with high pay-off, result-producing action items.

It’s time to get back to work so you can achieve your goals and enjoy what is truly important to you in life. © Bill Bachrach, Bachrach & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. For 23 years Bill and his team have been helping advisors attain top 1% success as measured by value delivered to the client, financial success, and quality of life. Bill Bachrach is the author of several books, including the best-selling Values-Based Financial Planning.

He has delivered approximately 2,000 keynote speeches and presentations teaching financial professionals to build high-trust client relationships. To learn more go to www.billbachrach.com or call 858-558-3200 to schedule a Success Road Map® consultation.

I CARRY THE BAG | WINTER 2013 | 1 7

b y m I TC H r o s s

travel tips for

POrTFOLiO MaNaGer MeeTiNGs

t

he opportunity to get a portfolio manager in front of your most influential advisors could close business in a meaningful way or could ensure the exact opposite happens, depending on several critical issues that should be addressed well in advance of the planned trip. Everyone wants portfolio managers (PM) to spend their valuable time producing competitive rates of return. However, in today’s environment, advisors often want to hear from the PM themselves and this requires them to dedicate some time marketing their portfolios.

GeTTinG The riGhT porTfolio manaGer on The roaD. James Wanstall believes that the PM needs to remember that the advisor is the client and that his needs and perceptions should be addressed.

If the PM merely wants to discuss positions in his portfolio, this will be an uphill slog.

make sure ThaT you have compleTeD a Dry run.

Nothing kills the deal faster than an unorganized PM who is shuffled out in front of clients and appears to have a less than bulletproof investment process. Review with them the standard pitch: people, process, philosophy and performance. Also, mentally prepare the PM to have a 2-minute, 15-minute and 30-minute version of the story or “pitch”. History has shown that when you show up for meetings with some big-gun, corner-office advisors, on occasion they like to put the heat on the PM to see how well they act under pressure. It’s their way of getting a gauge on how well they will perform when the market goes against them.

make sure The pm is a Team player. BuT GeT Them on your Team early in The Game.

Christopher Walwyn, President of Lingard Investment Partners in Vancouver advocates a full contact approach. Ideally, if you can have a cup of coffee or drink together with the PM in advance of the trip, it makes for a better foundation for your long-term relationship. Politely explain to the PM the way that you have built a business as a wholesaler, your approach to posi18 | WINTER 2013 | I CArry THE bAg

tioning the investment strategy/solution (never say product), technical aspects of your closing process and other ways that you are creating value or making best use of the PM’s time.

markeTinG maTerials - senD Them in aDvance or WaiT To presenT Them aT The meeTinG? Technical pieces should always be sent in advance, but the closing piece of supportive documentation should best wait for the presentation.

If your PM has published whitepapers, books or interviews reference those in the meeting, but save them for a post meeting follow up.

inTroDucTions.

GeTTinG Their BioGraphy riGhT. Introducing the PM positions the investment strategy, their credentials, and, at times, serves as the pre-cursor to the investment case. It is best to not simply introduce the PM and let them do all the talking. Remember to practice the introduction in the dry run.

In today’s environment, many advisors will buy a portfolio based on several factors which include a level of comfort with the PM. And, the wholesaler has to work a lot harder and longer to get an idea onto an advisor’s shelf.

The opportunity to give advisors direct access to the person running the money can shorten the sales process and circumvent needless backand-forth which is typical of the due diligence process. It is up to the wholesaler to execute a PM road trip in a way that will maximize the impact of the effort.

James S. Wanstall, CEO, BluMont Capital. James has 25 years of industry experience. Since moving to Canada in 1991 he has served in progressively more senior roles within the fund management industry.

Mitch Ross, President, Union Investments. Mitch has 24 years of financial industry experience. He started his career with a chartered bank in the late 1980’s and moved into a financial planning role during the 1990’s.

Mitch began his mutual fund wholesaling career in 2000 and has recently created Union Investments where he represents a select group of investment managers in Southern Ontario.

mitch’s

TOP 10 TiPs for TakinG a porTfolio manaGer on The roaD

1

You are the salesperson and they are the PM. Don’t expect them to do your job. This is a balancing act because your audience wants to hear from the PM. A brief setup and positioning will help maximize the impact of what the PM has to say.

2

Your PM has to eat too. It is easy to book back-to-back meetings while you are filling the day. You need to allocate time for the PM to eat.

3

Clarify if the PM needs to touch base with their traders or team. You may need to create some gaps in the schedule to let the PM do their job. Remember managing the portfolio is, after all, their most important job.

4

Brief the PM before every meeting. Describe the general audience and let them know who the whales are and who the time wasters are.

5

Have your internal or assistant send out a teaser piece introducing the PM or portfolio prior to the meeting.

This should be part of the reminder of where, when and who will be presenting. The branch administrator can be a valuable ally in getting the message to the right advisors.

6

Bring extra marketing materials. If you run out, you risk looking ill-prepared and unprofessional.

7

When driving the PM from place to place it is important to drive sensibly. Don’t drive like a maniac and avoid steering with your knee, while you answer an email and drink your coffee.

8

Take the opportunity to get to know the PM. Research has shown that advisors want to feel a connection with the person managing their clients’ money.

There may be important anecdotes that can help make this connection.

This info can be used during a meeting or after as part of the follow-up campaign.

9

Know your PM’s pitch so that you don’t steal their thunder.

You can raise questions and/or plant relevant info in the event the PM glossed over or forgot to mention some information altogether.

10

Thank the PM for their time and efforts in helping drive sales in your territory. Make sure they have a good experience so that you have the opportunity to bring them out at a future date.

This list goes to:

11

folloW up, folloW up, folloW up.

A PM’s time is a precious commodity and needs to be used wisely and respectfully. A well prepared and successful marketing trip will ensure that the PM will be ready to help you again in the future. If they perceive the time as wasted, you will not likely see them in your patch again anytime soon.

I CArry THE bAg | WINTER 2013 | 1 9

b y a l l i s o n g r aha m

Growing Forward By Looking Back

t

his is the time of year when all eyes look forward. We experience the sense of renewal that’s been ingrained in us since childhood. Our outlook is marked with a new enthusiasm. We are hopeful our bad habits, business misses and formerly unattainable goals will be conquered in the new year. Granted, the coming year’s potential is largely dependent on the foundation created last year. So, rather than focus on the year ahead, first let’s focus on the past year and how our networking skills impacted our professional life.

When it comes to networking it’s easy to watch time pass with minimal measurable results. Bringing strategic focus to your relationship building efforts can ensure your growth goals become a reality.

Recognizing personal networking patterns is essential to uncover the reasons why your profitable networking efforts may be, well, less than profitable.

The key is to look at the actual networking evidence rather than what you anecdotally “think” you’ve done. Often professionals tell me how much they network and focus on building relationships, but their calendars don’t indicate that reality.

To start, consider your most influential professional relationships. Over the course of a year, there should be a significant shift among your key influencers. Established relationships

20 | WINTER 2013 | I CARRY THE BAG

Recognizing personal networking patterns is essential to uncover the reasons why your profitable networking efforts may be, well, less than profitable. should have a deeper bond and thus have more loyalty associated with them. There also needs to be a constant influx of new relationships to keep you fresh and to ensure you’re seen as an “in demand” professional in the marketplace.

If today’s contact list is about the same as the one you would have produced last year at this time, then there is a good chance you are in a relationship development rut. It’s not uncommon for this to happen to seasoned professionals.

When hockey tickets or other social opportunities cross your desk, the natural inclination is to invite your preferred clients—even if that means this is the tenth outing with them this year. Meanwhile, your other clients only see you socially once or twice a year.

We naturally gravitate to the relationships requiring the least amount of work, so it makes

sense that you’ll call your top five clients because they feel more like hanging with your buddies.

It requires discipline and strategic focus to engage those who aren’t normally priorities on your roster. A habit to combat this tendency is to invite the third, fourth or fifth person on your list instead of the first or second person who comes to mind. Do this about half of the time and you’ll notice relationship growth among your periphery network.

After looking at your results regarding relationship progression, we next consider the activities you’re engaging in with your professional contacts. To do this, simply export and print last year’s calendar using Excel. This should generate several pages of meetings from the last year.

Ideally your appointments will already be categorized, but, if not, code them as client meetings, prospecting activities, general networking events and/or relationship building activities.

Separate the personal and irrelevant appointments but keep time-gobbling activities on the list. For example, you’ll want to track travel time and internal meetings to highlight any important patterns such as failing to use travel time effectively for new relationship development.

Looking at this list there are several questions you’ll want to ask yourself. First, consider what type of activities you’ve done and which were the most impactful?

By viewing last year’s calendar, you can extrapolate data to understand the results of those activities. If you can’t trace significant changes in your influencer list either in terms of depth or quantity, there is a problem. Ideally we want to find the highest value activities and do more of them consistently.

The first time I exported my calendar activities, I realized I’d been to roughly 250 events and group networking opportunities in year. 250 was a significant number that the majority of people would never --and should never --attend. For me, at the end of the year, I could trace which events resulted in relationships that generated huge contracts and business opportunities. There was no question what was worthwhile and what I could leave off the schedule for the following year.

by mIkE robbIns

Last year’s activity list may also show patterns of what are your most effective and easily integrated networking activities. Are you more inclined to do lunches, breakfasts or after work drinks? With some of my clients we’ve realized a link to successful relationship development patterns. For example, as part of the sales process, one client included a lunch, after work drinks and a sporting event. The client identified a workable pattern for himself, so he formalized it as a best practice for his relationship development activity.

Also notice if there is a hobby or special interest that takes much of your time. If you play recreational basketball in your personal time, consider creating a business development activity around that by organizing a basketball tournament for your territory. Love to enjoy a glass of scotch and a fine cigar? Invite clients to a scotch and smoke night featuring a talk from a cigar aficionado.

A year in review will also highlight your consistency in networking –or your lack of it. Spurts at various times of the year, such as during sales quota crunch time, can reveal you are more reactive than proactive in your relationship building efforts. Noticing this allows you to make the strategic decision to be more consistent with your proactive networking in the coming year.

There is a point in a professional’s career when he or she loses the naïve belief and fresh enthusiasm that’s required to meet new prospects and nurture professional relationships.

Yes, it is easier to stick with the status quo, but today’s marketplace demands more. Hopefully by looking at last year’s activities and relationship development results you will gain the perspective you need to effectively achieve the New Years’ resolutions on your clean slate.

Allison Graham is a keynote speaker who specializes in teaching professional service providers and small business owners how to increase their results by developing stronger relationships and increasing brand awareness. She is the author of From Business Cards to Business Relationships: Personal Branding & Profitable Networking Made Easy! (published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd) and has written for Fast Company, Huffington Post and has been featured in several other media outlets. Allison lives what she preaches as the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development for The OTC Group of Companies. Planning a conference? Check out Allison’s speaking videos and check availability at www.

ElevateBiz.com.

the importance of

d

o you consider yourself “ bold” or someone who “goes for it” with passion in life and business? Some of us do, but most people I know and work with, myself included, admit they don’t often think of themselves as a “bold” person. Or, if we’ve done or said bold things in our lives, they seem to be few and far between...and they also seem to scare us half to death at times. Hence, we often don’t find ourselves “going for it” in our work and our life –or not nearly as much as we’d like (especially these past few years).

Being bold, while scary and challenging for many of us, is essential if we’re going to live a successful and fulfilling life. Boldness is about stepping up and stepping out onto our “edge” in life –-pushing the limits of what we think is possible or appropriate.

It’s about living, speaking and acting in ways that are both courageous and true to who we really are.

Because we’re all unique, our individual versions of boldness will look quite different.

Something that might be “bold” for me, may not be so for you –-or vice versa. “Going for it” entails getting in touch with our deepest truths, passions and desires in life and then having the courage to live and act “out loud” in a way that is congruent with our discoveries.

Here are five key reminders of what it takes to be bold and go for it in life:

1 Be True To yourself Tell and live your truth with courage, authenticity and commitment. We must also remain in constant inquiry with ourselves about who we are and what’s important to us. It’s okay and necessary in this process to admit when we’ve made a mistake, gone off course or done something that’s out of integrity for our character, and, if we feel totally lost (which we will at times). Being true to who we are is about being ruthlessly honest and forgiving with ourselves (and with others) in a way that is both fierce and compassionate.

2 live WiTh passion Passion comes from within us, not from the external circumstances, events, activities or people in our lives.

Being bold is about going for it—not holding back— and committing ourselves fully to our work, our relationships and our lives. To do this

we must generate authentic passion, which is both a powerful emotion as well as a state of being.

3 sTep ouT Challenge yourself to say and do things that are outside of your comfort zone and that scare you. This will force you to “step out” in your life and “step in” to who you really are. We often don’t think we’re “ready,” we sometimes don’t know exactly what we’re supposed to do and we almost never have a guarantee that things will work out. So what! As Ray Bradbury famously said, “Jump, and build your wings on the way down.”

4 lean on oThers Support, inspiration and accountability from other people are essential along our journey of boldness and authenticity. We can’t do it all by ourselves. It’s imperative we reach out to others who believe in us, will tell us the truth and can help us when we get stuck. Create a “dream team” of powerful and supportive people around you with whom you can share your hopes, dreams and ideas. And, be willing to ask for and receive their support, contributions and generosity.

5When you fall DoWn, GeT Back up It’s important to make peace with the fact that you will fall down—probably a lot— if you’re really going for it and playing big in life. How we respond to falling down is what truly makes the difference in our lives. When we make a commitment to ourselves to get back up, dust ourselves off, be real about how we feel and what happened AND to not let it stop us from being who we are and going for what we want –-we tap into what true power, boldness and authenticity are all about!

Mike Robbins is an author, motivational keynote speaker and business coach who works with individuals and organizations all over the country. Mike, a former college and pro baseball player (at Stanford and with the Kansas City Royals), is the author of two books Focus on the Good Stuff and Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken. He and his work have been featured on ABC News as well as in Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. His clients include Wells Fargo, Google, Schwab, London Life, Gap, Citibank, New York Life, and many others. To learn more about Mike’s work, check out: http://www.Mike-Robbins.com

I CArry THE bAg | WINTER 2013 | 2 1

lifestyle

balance

b y m a r y a l l e n , c p cc , m cc

Energetically “Open to Receive” 7 Not

Are you clear about your desire AND taking action, but still feeling blocked? The final culprit relates to your ability to RECEIVE. I call these your “receiving muscles.” Let’s evaluate two key areas.

i

PART 2

n the first part of this two part article (see the ICTB Archives online for the Fall 2012 article) we explored the first three of the seven most common obstacles and how we can breakthrough them. We all have obstacles and learning how to breakthrough them is essential to realizing your most important goals and living a fulfilling life.

Here are obstacles 4 through 7

4 Low Physical Energy

Energy is required to take action.

Oxygen, food, water, and rest are the physical components to ENERGY. Sleep, nutrition, hydration, exercise, and wellness are foundational to your success. Include these components in your Daily Habits.

Nutrition — Are you putting “premium fuel” in your body, or a lower grade of fuel?

Skipping meals? Indulging in energy-zapping foods (starchy carbs, caffeine)?

Hydration — How much water are you drinking daily? Dehydration creates sluggishness. Keep yourself well-hydrated. I recommend eight 8 oz. glasses of water daily.

Exercise — Are you getting enough physical activity to keep your body energized with oxygen? Aim for a minimum of 20 minutes of cardio 3-5 times per week.

Rest — How much sleep do you get each night? Are you replenishing your energy stores sufficiently? Not enough sleep or too much sleep can leave you feeling sluggish. What amount is ideal for you?

22 | WINTER 2013 | I CARRY THE BAG

REMEDY — Extreme self-care. What can you do to enhance your energy and build long-term energy stores? Do you need to eliminate something from your diet?

Commit to drinking more water? Get more exercise or better sleep? Pick ONE thing to positively affect your well-being.

of FOCUSED Attention and ACTION 5 Lack

How much TIME are you spending focused on your most important goals? What would you like to spend? Often, the simplest solution is a SINGLE action step. And, it’ll adjust your entire state of being. Be WILLING to act.

REMEDY —If there is truly something you desire, schedule it. DECIDE. Make it a MUST. Action breeds action. What THREE ACTION STEPS will you take this week?

6 Time Constraints

We all get 24 hours in a day. We all have commitments. Work. Family. Health.

Friends. We have to eat, sleep, shower, and pay bills. Commitments are part of reality.

You get to choose to either let external circumstances control you, or to creatively find time to realize your goals.

REMEDY — Identify where your time is going. Look at your patterns around time, so that you can consciously choose how you want to spend your time. Prioritize. Then, schedule it. Create accountability.

Imagine someone is going to pay you $1,000,000 IF you accomplish the top three tasks on your list THIS WEEK. Could you find a way? You would get creative and resourceful. It is often not a lack of ability or capacity.

Are you willing to “create space” in your life for your goals to become real?

If you want a new relationship, are you willing to give up time, energy, and some of your independence, in exchange for it? If you desire more success in business, are you willing to invest the time and energy to meet your objectives? If you desire fitness, are you willing to spend time working out and eating healthfully?

Do you feel that you deserve that which you desire?

Every human being faces the core fear of “unworthiness.” It is something we all simply have to confront. While we think we want something, if at the core we don’t believe we are worthy and deserving of it—we energetically block it from coming into our lives. It can be tricky to disarm this sneaky culprit.

Story — One of my coaching clients dramatically expanded his personal income. When we started working together, he made $800,000 per year. 18 months later, he made over $4.5 million. Another client asked, “What shifted to realize that leap in income?” He quickly summed it up. He said, “I believe everyone receives what they feel they ‘deserve.’” Through our coaching and a weekly structure we set up, he had consciously focused on expanding his feelings of “worthy and deserving” each week.

Take inventory of the obstacles slowing you down, and commit to break through them.

Mary Allen, CPCC, MCC is one of the most well-known life coaches worldwide, helping clients enjoy greater success with inner peace, in all areas of life. For over 13 years, her clientele have included busy professionals, and even a couple billionaires. She is author of the acclaimed book “The Power of Inner Choice: 12 Weeks to Living a Life YOU Love.” She leads The Inner Peace Immersion Retreat annually. Receive 26 Inner Peace Tips & 2 Free Chapters from her book at www.lifecoachmary.com.

career

Disconnects Reflections from 2012

t

he instability in the labor markets continued in the investment industry during 2012. We saw some major players in our space cutting out complete business units, product lines or distribution efforts. With those cutbacks, we saw many good people in our industry suddenly faced with unemployment. Still other firms were expanding their offering during 2012 and with it, they expanded their sales organizations and their leadership structures.

The disconnect and disparity was also evident in the candidates we evaluated during the searches we conducted. So what were the takeaways that came out of 2012 and how can you prepare your career to maximize your potential as opportunities present themselves?

Below are five career concepts to synchronize any potential disconnects in your own situation.

Be cognizant ONE of where you are at Visibly evident in work conducted with senior executives in 2012 was that many were not keeping a realistic pulse on how their careers were being affected by the more macro changes within their firms. Some very senior individuals were demonstrating blind loyalty through corporate mergers, buyouts, reorganizations or a void in leadership at the C Suite. They were deferring the reality of their own situation in deference to the job ahead. Weathering direct disrespect by a new leadership regime, or watching the decay of a historically strong firm brand in the face of these macro changes are clear indicators that compel action within your own career.

line is. So you can imagine the disconnect that is evident when interviewing someone who has a clear path outlined to achieve this year’s sales goals but who hasn’t given any thought to what direction they are moving with their career? One senior executive, with 12 years of tenure, watched over a two-year period as his firm slowly dismantled the organization around him until he was given his own pink slip. It didn’t mitigate his achievements as top producer but certainly made me question why he wasn’t more discerning with his career choices. Did he want a severance package? Does he really want to work? How could he let that happen when there were so many indicators up to that point? Defending those questions when you find yourself unemployed is not where you want to be.

b y k ath y f r ee m a n g o d f r e y

or business unit in your own firm that appears to be growing or is most fascinating for you to align yourself with. Or, you’ve identified the firm or market segment that is growing and are working to align your skill sets to be an attractive match to a firm within that space. Reactive individuals aren’t taking charge of their career but rather leaving it to chance. They are sitting back on their heels, waiting for the promotion they believe they deserve, or the call from the search firm that will offer up their dream job from out of nowhere.

“Chance FIVE favors the well prepared”

Everyone seems to have been tasked with doing twice as much since the downturn. Resources are lean and everyone is making do with less support.

The result of this frenetic pace is that we have little time available to ponder our current situation as to whether we are happy and enjoying the career we are leading. If the scheduling notched down just a bit, would you find that you are challenged in your work? Do you like your colleagues? Do you feel like that you are surrounded by a group of individuals that meet your own moral and ethical standards? When the call comes in from a search firm or from an industry colleague asking if you’d consider a great opportunity that has surfaced, you should have prepared ahead to know what that answer is and why.

This Louis Pasteur quote was never truer than in 2012. Last year in particular the preparation was critical when it came to the interview process. The disconnect we witnessed in 2012 was that many firms who went to the market to attract top talent, then became indecisive, thinking candidates would wait for weeks and months for a decision in their favor. The candidates that prevailed last year were those that could articulate to the companies why this role and their firm was the right fit for their career.

They showered the company with evidence that confirmed their years of prior success. They had senior allies in the industry on standby to make a call on their behalf. They didn’t wait for the firm to make the hiring decision but rather proactively presented themselves as “the candidate of choice”.

These career disconnects aren’t unusual but are worthy of attention. The downtime in our busy lives often presents itself on trains, planes or in the local car service. Going into the New Year, set aside time to take stock of where your career is at and compare it to where you want it to be. Are you keeping pace with the growth of your firm or is your firm keeping pace with the growth of your career? When both sides are in alignment, it’s a terrific position to be in!

There are two clear choices in your career. You can be proactive – “skate to where the puck is going,” as Wayne Gretzky was fond of saying. In this scenario you’ve identified the organization

Kathy Freeman Godfrey founded her retained executive search firm in 1992, focusing her work on assignments for senior level sales, marketing and client-facing executives exclusively within the investment industry. The Kathy Freeman Company celebrated its 20th year of successful partnerships with its clients in 2012. Visit us at www. kathyfreemanco.com to gain further insights.

THREE Analyze your inclination for change

Be cognizant TWO of where you are going Are you FOUR being proactive or reactive?

Working with forward thinking, Type A sales and marketing talent, I’m accustomed to hearing dialogue peppered with take charge action. Logic dictates that the people who are constantly moving the ball forward on the field know where the goal

careers

I CARRY THE BAG | WINTER 2013 | 2 3

by pEggy A. mEngEl

one size

DOes NOT d

o you know the communication style of your advisors? What is your communication style? Are you getting positive results from an advisor when you present a new product or marketing idea? Does your insides sales rep’s communication style create a unique experience for each of your advisors?

Trust is still the key to any ongoing business relationship. Have you experienced how quickly trust can be built when there is improved communication? But wholesaling is also a numbers’ business so let’s get straight to the bottom line: effective communication leads to advisor engagement. And advisor engagement leads to increased sales. 2009 Gallup Research shows that when clients are fully engaged and have a strong emotional connection to the organization, they deliver an average 23% premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth over the average client.

The key is therefore to understand the communication style of your advisors and the behavioral factors that motivate them.

Effective communication is a foundational starting point in building a sound relationship with any advisor that you interact with.

Further, the quality of the relationship with any advisor has a direct impact on the quality of decisions that get made. Will this advisor accept your next call, place more business with you or give you referrals to other successful advisors?

Behavior performance Gap causes loW enGaGemenT Sales people naturally emotionally engage with 25% of customers

fit all

What happens when communication is poor is that people start making decisions around each other because trust has been diminished.

Also, poor decisions can get made because the information has not been heard as intended.

How you present a new product or marketing idea to an “Information Gatherer” advisor will require a lot of details and a lot of time for this advisor to make a decision. If you are a “Lifestyle” wholesaler, you will be more comfortable with high-level presentations and it can be frustrating having to justify every statement. If you are not careful, the relationship can break down quickly as the advisor views you as lacking depth of product knowledge. The advisor makes a decision that this product/marketing solution is not the “right fit” for her clients.

Over the past ten years, DNA Behavior has performed extensive research using our behavioral profiling systems to determine how people communicate. While each person will have a unique set of preferences, there are 4 primary styles that define how a person would typically wish to be communicated with. These have been categorized as follows: • Goal sETTER - present opportunities and vision • lIfEsTYlE BuIldER – seeks enjoyment, fun and connecting with people • sTaBIlIZER – requires stability and safety

Typically Only 40% Revenue Production Capacity Achieved Through Natural Relationship Connection

enGaGemenT opporTuniTy

For the next 30% of customers the engagement is hit andmiss – partial value creation couple with value loss and inefficiency 45% lack of customer engagement with complete loss of value and efficiency Average customer engagement and revenue growth

24 | WINTER 2013 | I CArry THE bAg

Potential 60% Revenue Production Capacity Loss from Lack of Engagement Caused by Behavioral Mismatch

enGaGemenT loss

5

sTeps To BuilDinG effecTive communicaTion

The key steps for building effective communication can be summarized as follows:

1

IdENTIfY YouR coMMuNIcaTIoN sTYlE – identify your natural “hardwired” propensity to communicate so that you know how others should communicate with you and your natural starting point for communicating with others.

2

dIscovER ThE coMMuNIcaTIoN sTYlE of oThERs – identify how your advisors, and your insides sales rep wish to be communicated with based on their natural behavior.

3

BuIld coMMuNIcaTIoN aWaRENEss – discuss with your advisors and team members how you each wish to be communicated with, and appreciate the potential differences.

4

adapT YouR coMMuNIcaTIoN – adopt the “Golden Rule” of relationships by communicating on the other person’s terms, not on your own. Include the advisor’s communication style in your CRM to start tailoring all of your communications and information flows.

5

sElf-coachING – before and after discussions with those you have interacted with, refer to your and their communication styles to assess where there was positive energy in your communication and where the conversation was stressful.

• INfoRMaTIoN GaThERER – provide analysis and make the message tangible Based on each of the 4 primary communication styles, there are unique communication keys. Further, in presenting products and services or making key decisions the following unique needs must be recognized: • fINaNcIal appRoach: If presenting a new product, would they prefer to know which other advisors are using this product or are they reluctant to accept new ideas?

• lIfE NEEd: Do they have a desire to influence, have order or create a particular lifestyle?

by joHn TEsTEmEnT

• sERvIcE dElIvERY sTYlE: Do they need a lot of interaction and regular communication or more options that allow them to make the decision?

• MEETING coNducT: Should you make it fun or a bit more formal?

• INfoRMaTIoN REquIREMENT: Do you need to present the big picture, give them lots of details, or details only as requested?

• RElaTIoNshIp REquIREMENT: Should you ask about their story, family or goals?

• lEaRNING sTYlE: Is it more intuitive with pictures or do they learn as they have an open discussion with you?

An important new area of behavioral research relating to communication is a person’s learning style. i.e. whether a person is more Anchored (experiential) or Creative (new idea) driven, or whether the person is more left brained (logic and reasoning) or right brained (stories and feelings). This difference in behavior (not intellect) has a very significant impact on how people should be communicated with.

For instance, if you are presenting a new product to an advisor, the message could be heard very differently depending on the advisor’s learning style. And, it will impact the advisor’s perception of how risky your product is, regardless of the actual level of risk. Their perception may have little to do with the advisor’s actual risk propensity or tolerance.

When you understand these four communication styles, you’ll have a better sense of which types of advisors you want to focus on and which ones that would be better served by your inside sales rep. You will identify the ones that you will most enjoy working with and those to whom you can bring the most value.

As you continue to carry the bag this year, remember that the load doesn’t always have to be so heavy if you focus on creating unique advisor experiences.

Peggy A. Mengel is Vice President/Business Development at DNA Behavior International. DNA Behavior® is a worldwide leader in providing customer centered human behavior solutions to businesses for customer experience management, human performance development and wealth management using cutting-edge technology platforms. Prior to joining DNA Behavior, Peggy spent over 25 years in the financial services business in Sales (yes, I carried the bag for 8 years!), Account Management, Training, and Marketing.

DON’T beT ON iT. Are thank you notes just a nice thing to do?

w

hen we get really busy serving our customers and filling our funnels, even us ‘thank you note believers’ will let thank you notes fall to the bottom of our to-do list. The value of a thank you note is a hard thing to quantify, unlike getting an order filled on time or landing a new customer. So it stands to reason that if something has to be left for another time, it would be the thank you note.

Unfortunately, study after study shows that when you express gratitude to your customers, they are warmer on follow up visits, spend more with you, send referrals and become talking billboards for your products and services.

And customer loyalty is quantifiable – it costs 5 times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep a current customer.

Saying “ thank you” to your advisors and COIs results in better service, on time deliveries and preferred treatment. And clients who feel appreciated are more productive and stay longer. Thank you’s do pay big dividends wherever they are expressed.

It is because all these transactions are based on relationships -- human to human, even in this highly digital age. And, one of the most basic human needs is acknowledgement. Acknowledgement is the action of expressing or displaying gratitude or appreciation for something.

Think about any relationship you have that isn’t working as well as you would like. Chances are, an abundance of acknowledgement or appreciation is missing. Casual “thanks” are nice, but often miss the “effort” factor. Acknowledgement in the form of a simple thank you card, received in the mail, is absolute magic.

But we still have the problem of finding the time to do it. While there are digital solutions, e.g. email, CRM systems and automated follow up letters, they do not always convey the sincerity that we want. Fast and easy appreciation can often come across as insincere. We want speed and convenience and we also need the personal touch. Thankfully, there are some new technologies that give us both.

On the web there are several greeting card applications that allow you to create and mail greeting cards. These are convenient if you are at your computer, and let you do a fair bit of customization, but most of the cards are a little too ‘cute’ for professional use.

The better solution might be an iPhone app such as ThankYouPro that allows you to create and mail a real thank you card (not a postcard!) in minutes - right from your phone. You can use an app like this while on the go, and even take a picture with your phone to use as the front of the card. Your thank you card is mailed first class within 24 hours. This convenient app has a selection of professional card designs, provides a variety of handwriting fonts, and best of all, lets you sign your card right on the phone.

The result is a personalized handwritten look to say thanks for that sales call, an interview, a nice gift and/or a valued friendship. Instead of that impersonal thank you email (that might just get deleted) send a real thank you card through the mail and make a real impact.

I Carry The Bag readers get a special 10% discount on ThankYouPro cards. Download ThankYouPro from the appStore and enter promo code wmbag92 when you go to buy ‘TYP Stamps.’

John Testement is an entrepreneur, engineer, marketer, salesman, consultant, and coach. John has over 20 years of marketing management experience in fast-paced, high technology organizations such as Texas Instruments, Philips Corporation, and Aldus/Adobe Corporation. His work in large firms is complemented by years of experience running his own businesses. John founded Zendoa Corporation in 2011 to market ThankYouPro, an iPhone application to create and mail professional thank you cards.

I CArry THE bAg | WINTER 2013 | 2 5

presentation

skills

a l a n j. pa r i s s e

8

ment and facial expressions flow naturally—from the inside out. It takes practice to develop new habits, but it can make a huge difference.

Great speakers have options. They are masters at adjusting their content and tone to meet the moment-to-moment needs of their audience.

Here are eight keys to expanding your options.

1 Authenticity Audiences crave authenticity. Rather than presenting a first class version of themselves, however, many speakers offer a mediocre imitation of whatever they think a speaker is supposed to be.

There’s an old joke that “authenticity is the most important thing and when you can fake that you have it made.” Don’t fake it. The best way to “do authenticity,” is to be authentic. Be you—enhanced and edited perhaps—but authentically you.

Don’t be afraid to call on your various personas.

Most of us display distinctive personas depending on the role in life we are playing at the moment.

We are different with our boss, clients, colleagues, staff, spouses and children— to say nothing of the personality that rears up when someone cuts us off on the highway. Despite having this rich assortment available, most speakers limit the personas they display to one or two.

To add authentic aliveness to your presentations, tap into your repertoire of personas. Then use them to appropriately emphasize and bring alive various points in your talks. Be you— the variety of you—the best of you.

2 There YOU Are! All too many speakers walk to the front of the room with an attitude of “Here I am! Here is my agenda, my ideas, my stories and my objectives.”

Your presentations will soar above the norm, when you arrive with the point of view of “There YOU are!”

When audiences sense you are impressed by them, focused on them, and interested in their needs and desires, they are much more likely to open up to you and your ideas. So forget those college lectures and think dialogue.

Lectures can impart information, but they rarely create connection, elicit motivating emotion or evoke enduring action. Dialogues are different.

26 | WINTER 2013 | I CARRY THE BAG

They connect as they inform. Even when you are the only one talking, view your presentation as a dialogue –more precisely a multi-channel collaborative conversation. See the audience’s reactions, hear their spoken or unspoken commentary, and sense their mood. Then adjust your tone and words accordingly.

3 Openers Start your presentation like you mean it. Openings are prime time— the Super Bowl ads of speaking. Only 20 to 30 seconds long, openings are critically important and oh so expensive if you don’t use them well.

Face it: minds will wander during your talk. For the first few seconds, however, you are likely to have virtually everyone’s attention.

Don’t squander your opening on clichés and platitudes. Use it to attract attention, establish a connection, spark interest and elicit emotion.

4 Start with the Ending Closes are crucial. They can summarize your talk, make one last powerful point or call for action.

In his “Habits” books, Stephen Covey suggested starting with the end in mind and then setting a course to get there. When you prepare your talk, begin by planning your close. Then map a path to the end.

Keep in mind that your last few words are what the audience is likely to remember best. Make them good.

5 Body Confidence Abraham Lincoln is credited with having said “If the words don’t agree with the body, believe the body.”

That’s why body confidence is vital. Make sure you dress and organize your body in a way that it adds to your credibility and supports your words.

The ultimate goal is to become comfortable in your ‘speaking skin’ and let your gestures, move-

6 Simplicity Works Clearly there are times when it’s appropriate to dive into details. In fact, just the right mix of details can help establish credibility. But if you err, do it on the side of simplicity.

Simple often gets confused with simplistic—the dismissal of complicating but critical details. Making things simple isn’t about omitting important facts. It is about knowing your subject so well that you can describe complex concepts in clear and understandable language.

If your talks tend to be too detailed, keep in mind that audience members don’t tend to remember much of what you say. What they remember is how you made them feel.

7 Do Less One quick road to simplicity is to do less.

Remember the college professors who were so determined to cover the entire lesson plan that they machine-gunned their presentations? They “got it all in,” but we students didn’t.

Something similar often happens at conferences where wholesalers are required to do their 45-minute presentations in 15. With a few welcome exceptions, the advisors in the room are subjected to one wholesaler after another trying to “get it all in.” If you are forced to do 45 in 15, plan 12. Be the wholesaler with “white space.”

Legendary speech coach Ron Arden asserted that it’s a rare presentation that could not be improved by cutting 20%. Remember, it is not about your “getting it all in.” It is about the audience accepting you and the essence of your message.

8 Take a Chance With all the speaking a wholesaler does it is easy to have it become old hat, even boring. To bring the “juice” back into the game, do something different. Take a risk—not a compliance risk—a personal risk. Stand out from the crowd and be different.

Start small: Add a new gesture or two. Replace that tried and true analogy. Give a new line a whirl.

You might even be a little controversial and challenge the audience a bit. After all, the speech with which everyone completely agrees, is the one whose message few are likely to remember.

For Information on Alan Parisse’s speaking or The Speaking Intensive go to www.parisse.com or contact@parisse.com.

by Hikingartist.com

28 | SUMMER 2012 | I CARRY THE BAG