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The Fundamentals of Increasing the Value of Your Business
Recently, my son and I watched the Australian men’s basketball team, the Boomers, play a practice match in Melbourne before they departed for the Rio Olympic Games. The team consists of six NBA players, and as an avid basketball fan, I researched and calculated the salaries of these six players at $31 million annually. Top…
The Myth of the Millennium Producer
What’s the best way to develop millenniums into top producers? By holding them accountable. The last eight to ten years have been challenging times for the financial services industry; however, despite these challenges, many firms have been enjoying superior growth performance. I know of several businesses that consistently produce double-digit growth. What is the major…
Stealing Market Share from Your Competitors
Major accounts are not lost overnight, and more importantly, they are seldom lost on just price. When a firm loses a major account, it’s often the result of a competitor’s ability to successfully target and steal the account. Not so long ago I received a frantic call from the leader of a financial services firm…
Dispelling the Myth of the Natural-Born Salesperson
“ Product knowledge accounts for 5% of success, and knowledge of people accounts for 95%. If you can get an A in product knowledge but know nothing about relating to individuals, you will fail.” John Savage Did you know that everybody is a salesperson in the sense that we must persuade others of the idea…
7 Ways That Top-Performing Firms Drive Superior Growth
Successful financial services selling is about building clientele. So many professionals and firms simply forget this basic fundamental. A top-performing firm is one that is able to consistently produce superior growth in revenue and profitability. The top-performing firms regularly outperform their peers and competitors in the areas of retention and new business. Their primary source…
12 Things You Should Know Before Purchasing a Financial Services Business
Over the next 7 to 10 years, there will be a steady stream of baby boomer business owners (of financial services firms) retiring from the industry, according to a study by LIMRA and McKinsey & Company (The 2012 LIMRA-McKinsey Experienced Financial Advisor Study, April 30, 2013, www.limra.com). This will create a sales void for marketing…
Nine Factors That Can Affect Your Bottom Line
It’s often said that great athletes don’t always make the best coaches and managers. They know what to do, but they cannot communicate how to do it. I often see this in small- to mid-sized financial services firms. The owners, partners or directors, who are effective sales professionals in their own right, are having difficulty…
There Are No Shortcuts: You Can’t Outsource Your Marketing
Recently, I met the owners of a mid-sized financial services firm, who were looking for a quick way to generate sales leads to fill their sales pipeline and improve overall sales results. Their theory was that once they were in front of a qualified prospect, making the sale was easy. The problem was generating qualified…
The other day a client asked an interesting question, “Why is one firm able to produce superior growth and the others don’t?” It’s been my experience that the answer hinges on organic growth While on the surface this may appear deceptively straightforward, implementing a process for producing superior growth is anything but simplistic. That’s why…
Using Niche Marketing to Produce Superior Growth
What is a niche market and why do you need one? The key to delivering superior growth performance is for your business to be seen and positioned as something different and better than your competitors. You cannot be all things to all people; therefore, niche marketing is one of most important strategic decisions that you…
