The Advisor Solutions Podcast

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 96- Learning From The Lessons of Failure

Do you let your failures get the best of you? Do you view losses such as not closing a prospect, losing a client, or making poor client recommendations as business setbacks? If this sounds like you, know that you are not alone!
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers let business failures get the best of them. They have never realized how they view their losses can lead to even greater wins. In other words, winning is exciting, but it’s the losses that can shape us more profoundly because they can lead to personal growth, resilience, and future victories that are much more impactful than present situations.
I’ve always felt that a loss is never a loss if you learn from it. If you live by this perspective, learning from the lessons of failure can lead to better results over the long term.
In this episode, learn how successful advisors and agents change their perspective on failing so that you can learn from them and implement strategies to succeed! 

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 95- Mastering Your Stress Management System

Are you stressed out most days? Running a business in the financial services industry can be very stressful. There are plenty of things that you can’t control, such as the stock market, clients, and the economy. As a result, at times, you might be full of anxiety and stress. If this sounds like you, know that you are not alone!
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers spend their days at the office unaware that they are in a constant state of low-level stress. They don’t know it because they are so used to living this way it has become the norm. And, they’ve never learned a stress management system, much less mastered it, in order to live less stressed.
You don’t have to live this way! You have a lot more control than you might think. In fact, realizing that you are in control of your life is the foundation of stress management.
Stress management is about taking control of your thoughts, emotions, time, activities, and energy, as well as how you react to challenging situations when they arise.
In this episode, learn what successful advisors do to master stress management! 

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 94- Strategies for Creating Instant Connections

Do you know how to create an instant connection with prospects? If not, know that you are not alone!
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t know strategies for creating instant connections. They have never learned the techniques and exercises to increase their interpersonal soft skills.
If all you focus on is the information you provide prospects and not the connection you can create with them, they most likely will not work with you because they don’t feel connected.
I’m sure you have heard the saying, “People tend to work with people they like. And, people tend to like people that are like them.” So, how do you help people understand that you are like them? It’s in knowing how to connect instantly and having real-world exercises to do just that.
In this episode, learn what successful advisors do to increase their interpersonal soft skills!

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 93- Building Your Business Soft Skills

Do you know how to make effortless connections? What I mean is, can you connect with anyone, anywhere, and at any time? If not, know that you are not alone!
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t understand how to make effortless connections. The reason is that they have never really viewed building your business soft skills as something that could take their business to the next level.
You see, to do well in the financial services industry, you need two kinds of skills: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are the technical skills you use in your business, like creating a financial plan or doing an insurance quote. They are easy to measure because you know how to do it or you don’t. Soft skills are people skills that are about making connections with others.  They are harder to gauge because measuring things such as communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution is difficult.  
Without mastering the soft skills of connecting with others, you won’t utilize your hard skills, like creating a financial plan, because prospects won’t be interested in working with you. Having excellent soft skills makes a prospect want to become your client.
In this episode, learn what successful advisors do to build effortless connections!

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 91- Learning Your Leadership Style

Have you ever wondered if great leaders are born or made? I believe anyone can be a great leader if they understand themselves, understand what motivates others to want to follow them, and apply what they learn.
Do you understand yourself? In other words, do you know your leadership style and how you lead others? Most likely, you don’t. If so, know that you are not alone!
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t understand their leadership style! The reason is they have never really viewed the topic of leadership styles as something that can be motivating or even demotivating to those they are leading. Instead, most people don’t give the topic much thought.

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 90- The 7 Skill Sets to Become an Effective Leader

Do you consider yourself an effective leader? Whether you’re responsible for leading your clients, an assistant, a staff member, an entire team, a branch, or region, having the skill sets to be an effective leader is important because it not only makes you more productive but it also has a positive effect on others.
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers and even agency managers don’t understand the importance of being an effective leader! The reason is that they have never viewed the topic of leadership and how to become an effective leader as a set of skill sets that you can sharpen at any time.  
In this episode, learn what successful advisors and agents do to bring their skill sets around effective leadership into stronger focus.

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 89- Designing Your Ultimate Business Day

Do you control your day or does your day control you? One way to answer that question is to think about your average day at the office.  Did it go something like this?  You arrive, grab a cup of coffee, read emails, listen to voicemails, call clients back, get ready for a meeting, get interrupted, put out that fire, go back to what you were doing, and then get sidetracked by the next interruption!
Does this sound like your average day? If so, know that you are not alone!
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t have a way to design their ultimate business day. The reason is that they have never had a process for creating, implementing, and achieving their ultimate business day.  You need to start with the end goal in mind: how not just to be busy, but productive. 
In this episode, learn what successful advisors and agents do to be in control of their day, achieve better results, and avoid business burnout!

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 87- The Advisor’s Edge

Do you have an edge over your competition? 
What sets you apart if you and your competition have the same target market, same products, and same fees? 
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t have a way to create an edge over their competition. They don’t because they have never really learned what prospects and clients want, and what they want is…a connection.
They want to feel connected to you more than they do to their current advisor or agent. They want to know they can trust you and that you have their best interest at heart. And, they want to start feeling this way the first time you speak with them.
In this episode, learn about The Advisor’s Edge Worksheet, a tool successful advisors and agents use to make effortless connections with clients!

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 85- The Flipside of Foolish: Part II

Do you take time to prepare for your meetings? If you are meeting with a prospect or a meeting with a client, do you prepare your recommendations? 
When was the last time you prepared what you will say and how you will say it?  Do you practice that preparation to make effortless connections with them?  Most likely, you don’t!
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t take the time to work on their people skills. The reason is that they are so busy working “IN” their business that they don’t take the time to work “ON” their business, by sharpening their soft skills.
You need to understand what role playing can do for you and how to role play effectively. In this episode, learn what other successful advisors and agents do to make effortless connections!

The Advisor Solutions Podcast EP 84- The Flipside of Foolish

Do you spend time practicing how to make better connections with prospects and clients?  Do you schedule time each week to role play techniques? 
Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t know that the most essential skill sets they need to develop are soft skills (or people skills.) 
They don’t know it because they have never really realized that the ability to make effortless connections is valuable.  People want to work with people that they like and people like people who are like them. In other words, when you can instantly connect with others, they want to work with you.
In this episode, learn what other successful advisors and agents do to make effortless connections!