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January 01, 2009 at 07:00 PM
Many columnists discuss the challenges Americans are facing and will face in the future, and sometimes they make these problems seem overwhelming. How can you use that emotion to help your prospects and clients?
I use that feeling as a tool to inspire people to consent to a process of discovery about their needs and desires. Others may call this “fact finding.” Whatever term is used, this is the first step toward convincing a prospect or client to take action.
Discussing recent events helps my prospects and clients understand that they must take care of themselves by taking control of their financial futures. They must stop depending on governments, corporations and companies, unprepared and unwilling to deal with the coming financial storm.
Truly understanding that concept creates a sense of urgency to act now, and gets people emotionally invested in finding a solution to protect their family. Many agents and financial service professionals are unsuccessful because they skip this step.
An immediate solution I can offer is the idea of using the zero percent capital gains tax. Many seniors hold on to stocks and mutual funds because they have had substantial gains. I have a client who owned Pillsbury stock, and it had split so many times that it had zero basis. He was waiting until death so his heirs would receive a “stepped up” basis and could sell with little or no capital gains tax.
