Are you working your client base efficiently — or do you cherry pick? By cherry pick, I mean this: do you glance over the names in your client files and call only the people you think will do business? Are you calling them because of a hunch, a preconceived notion or past history? If that’s the...

Appointment scheduling is one of the most important parts of your business. Without a regular stream of quality appointments, you end up with flat sales and unimpressive revenues. In my nearly twenty years as a consultant, I’ve come across common scheduling mistakes that cost advisors time and money....

Originally published in the National Post on November 20, 2007. There are no limitation periods specified in the Investment Dealers Association’s registered bylaws with respect to disciplinary actions, and to date the IDA has seemingly proceeded on the basis that it was not governed by any limitation...

Originally published in the National Post (August 2008) Older clients seem to be at the heart of most litigation and regulatory risk in my practice these days. Senior clients launch complaints with the MFDA, IDA and securities commissions and sue their advisors in court, asserting that investments were...

To be successful, financial advisors must be energized and focused, have meaningful goals, and know how to achieve them.  If you can’t seem to pick up the phone to build your business, see whether one of these five issues is the quiet culprit. Rick was recruited into his company by one of the best and...

1. Help Clarify Vision, Values and Goals A well articulated vision based on ones values an goals is an absolute must to achieve long term success. Most successful business owners obtain the benefit of counsel in developing, articulating and pursuing their vision. It’s a significant step towards achieving...

QUESTION: The market is slow right now. What can I do to get people moving and do business? ANSWER: Approach prospects with simple and easy ideas that they can decide on quickly and easily. These simple ideas may not be terribly profitable, but because they are interesting to clients, they get the...

Inc. magazine asked Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last, what we might expect in the next 30 years. His answer: uncertainty, chaos, turbulence, and risk. In other words, it’s not a bad time to be an entrepreneur. Below are some excerpts that will give you some idea of what the times...

by: Machen MacDonald Most of us run our lives on a handful of systems. Between our cell phones, our planners and our e-mail inboxes, we have organized ourselves and our time. And if you ever doubt the importance of these systems, recall your panic the last time you lost your planner. Yet as important as...

by: Andrea Bullard The vast majority of financial reps have businesses that are "people-dependent." This is a huge problem because people make mistakes, people leave the business, and people do not always agree on priorities. This problem creates the following: The majority of financial reps...