There are times when you are called to advocacy. As a profession, this is one of them. Advisors are the stewards, the informed, the protectors, and if there is a force that stands between the next generation of investors and financial devastation, it is you.

The fundamental concept that you must understand about LinkedIn is this: It is not a meritocracy, it’s an attention-getting contest.

If you could send a one-line email and get a prospect’s attention, how would you do it?

To persuade someone to do something, you have to show them the positive opposite of what they are doing by using this one word.

If you feel like you sputtered around and never got what you wanted out of your marketing plan this year, here are three tips so you can rock 2021 like Eddie Van Halen.

I’m going to teach you how to communicate successfully with any prospect in two sentences or fewer.

My three-question test will let you see if your LinkedIn profile page stinks.

I hear from people all the time who slightly mess up a sales meetings: they get the time wrong, there is noise from pets or kids in the background, etc. But what if you royally screw up?

I can’t wait until the election is over so that these horrible election year clichés will disappear.

Here’s my take on the six worst pandemic clichés that advisors keep using, which are ruining their credibility.

If you get dissed and dismissed by a client you want back, follow these five steps.

Given the upcoming election, advisors are going to be hijacked into awkward political conversations with clients. Here are five ways to handle those cringey dialogues you just don’t want to have.

Any advisor who refuses to clearly present fees on their website cannot claim to be operating a transparent practice.

I’ve always been frustrated by the lack of clarity about what advisors earn. And then I did my own research…

Here are the red flags that your client is sneaking and creeping around with another advisor.

With more advisors turning to social media during the pandemic, your LinkedIn profile picture has to be killer. I’m going to start with some smile basics, and then I’ll describe specific types of smiles and how to pull it off.

This is your chance to ask three well-known practice management experts -- who also are among Advisor Perspectives' best-read columnists -- how they can help you with clients and other business issues brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. They'll also share what they've been hearing from your peers about how the Covid-19 crisis has dramatically changed financial advisory practices. Don't miss this chance to get advice from these accomplished individuals.

I’m doing some wild things to stir up my Zoom calls. These ideas may be too radical for you. But humor me, read on and let me know what you think.

I sat down and gave serious thought to how I could improve my appearance on Zoom.

With all this gloom and doom, can anyone crack a joke anymore? Did the world forget how to laugh? More than anything, that is what people need right now.

Ever wonder if you’re offending others on your Zoom calls?

When you hear, “Let’s talk after things settle down,” it is a stall. Here’s how to respond.

What should advisors do when their AUM fees fall? Here are my top five ideas, in order of least to most favorite.

In a world at war with the coronavirus, your worst enemy is the game your mind plays with itself.

Given the instability that the coronavirus has created, what I am going to say may sound highly unusual. This is a great time for financial advisors who can offer a higher level of service and deliver more to their clients. But how do you humbly and graciously communicate that without putting on “the marketing mask?”

I’m teaching my kids how to read books. But it’s just as important for them to know how to read people. The truth is communicated loud and clear through nonverbal cues; most of the time we aren’t listening.

It’s scrappy and humbling, but their phone is the one thing that people will run back into a burning building to retrieve. Bring cold calling back into your 2020 marketing!

Don’t look at me like I’m crazy – hear me out. TikTok in 2020 is what Instagram was in 2012. Here’s why you want to get there first.

An apology is a delicate thing. You get one chance, so don’t do it badly and embitter the person further. If you’re going to apologize, then say you’re sorry like you mean it.

Life is too short for a boring style. Eyeglass frames are a highly neglected aspect of your branding. Upgrade your eyeglass frames in 2020 and you’ll set yourself apart, give your look more personality and get more attention.

Below is an example of a one-page website for a hypothetical RIA firm, Blue Spruce Pine Elm Mountain Rock Advisors (remember how you advisors love to use nature words in your firm names). Clear, crisp, and to the point. Now that’s a welcome change, isn’t it?

It’s that time of year when inevitably people at the holiday party are going to ask you what you do for a living. Say arrivederci to the meaningless, awkward mish mosh you were taught in the past. Try these new, cool elevator pitch ideas.

Many of you are planning an office move or renovation next year. Here’s a morsel of advice as you dial up your Corcoran realtor: Get an office without a conference room.

I would derive such immense pleasure from lighting a match to the website of every single advisor in this profession and watching it burn down to the ground.

When I was an advisor, I had tremendous success meeting prospects while my kid was swinging on the jungle gym. Here’s the method to use to meet new clients while your kid is at soccer practice (or tennis, basketball, etc.)

Many of you read my article about the “70 deep model,” which explained the paradigm for a practice serving 70 or fewer clients with deep, high-touch service that commands a higher price. Here is how to develop those relationships.

Time has come for change. Let’s take a hard look at the abolition of silence, the role technology can play, our values and identity as a profession and who we allow to lead us.

I’d rather pierce my own ears than read another advisor-written economic update piece. Advisor economic updates stink.

Most advisors are making life painful by sacrificing depth of client relationship for volume. Consider the “70 deep” model.

Should advisors wear a business suit to meet with prospects or are less formal options a better choice?

My business results drastically improved the day I decided to shut up and limit my speech to no more than two sentences in any given interaction with another human being.

Whichever title you use, introducing yourself with the word “financial” is enough to kill the conversation at the summer barbecue.

Choosing the wrong broker-dealer is a nightmare beyond reckoning.

A broker-dealer isn’t just somewhere to hang your licenses or clear your trades. And the best deal isn’t necessarily the one that is the most financially lucrative on paper on day one. It’s about finding an ecosystem that allows you to grow your practice to its full potential.

This webinar will be full of concrete examples of broker-dealer transitions that did and did not work out. From these real-life examples, advisors will learn how to judge a broker-dealer firm based upon the following:

• Compliance – Too lax imposes the risk of being subject to litigation or suffering the risk of being associated with a firm who has a bad reputation. But on the other side, too strict and growth can become compromised. How do you find the point of “middle ground” that works for you?
• Marketing –They all say they want to support your growth, but do they include the client acquisition blueprint to actually help you grow?
• Leadership – You’ve got to know that the long term vision for the company lines up with your own. As the spiel goes, at the end of the day it all comes down to people. What do you look for in the people who are running the company? What should be a red flag to you?
• Technology - Does the company have relationships with the right vendors? Do they have enough leverage with these vendors to offer a substantial benefit to you as the advisor? Or is it a “nothing special” case in which they are just checking the box.
• Size. There is a difference between big and small broker-dealer firms.

Kestra Financial leads the industry in wealth management, service and technology solutions, and practice enrichment. Our independent RIA and broker/dealer services have over 20 years of industry experience and are taking flight to elevate the level of personalized service you need. To learn more about how Kestra Financial can support your business check the box in the registration form to the left.

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CFA®, CPWA®, CIMA®, CIMC®, and RMA® CE approved

Investments & Wealth Institute® accepts this webinar for 1 hour of CE credit towards the CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA® certifications. If you provide the required information during the webinar registration process and stay for the entire LIVE event we will report your attendance to IWI. If you watch the ON-DEMAND event please email us at [email protected] for the IWI® webinar ID to self-report your attendance.

When I talk to an advisor who is unhappy with their current broker dealer firm but scared to make a change, I understand why. Here’s how I chose the wrong firm and what I would have done differently. There’s a powerful lesson in it for advisors who are making the same decision.

This is the number one way I would find prospects who have suddenly come into wealth and need your services: Rather than lottery winners or athletes, start with a unique category – so-called YouTube celebrities.

Here’s yet another unpopular idea. Reg BI is no more than SEC posturing and won’t have a substantial impact on the way people do business.

Anytime you are in a meeting, recording a YouTube video or speaking on stage, the position of your hands matters.

Once you get a lead from an on-line service, like SmartAsset, how do you get the person to agree to a meeting without creeping them out?

I would rather read about your love life than anything in the typical advisor biography. Those bios stink. To liven yours up, read on.

If you are getting nowhere on social media it is probably because you sound like one of the following five examples.