How to Start Your Day
If you can't make the clock stand still... at least you can get something going in the morning.
It’s not an easy business. You need to be constantly filling the pipeline and ringing the cash register.
On the other hand, giving people peace of mind, helping make their dreams come true or plan for a secure retirement is very rewarding. You’ve made a positive difference in their lives.
(Related: 7 Ways to Stay on Your Prospect’s Radar)
Making this happen requires getting up early. It also requires a plan. Having been an advisor for 14 years (and meeting lots of other successful advisors) I’ve found six best practices worth sharing.
1. Get in early.
You determine the time that works for you. Few people are around to distract you.
You are creating extra, uninterrupted time in your business day. Your manager might see you. That never hurts.
2. Read the paper.
A San Francisco advisor would sit in the conference room and spread out the day’s WSJ or major daily paper. Read the business stories.
You are now up to date on the latest business stories.
3. Call a client.
You saw a story about a stock they own or the company where they work. Call as early as you dare. Mention the story, which you assume they’ve already seen. You wanted to be sure they knew about it.
Your client might be in their pajamas having coffee. Your call lets them know you are already dressed and at work. That’s the kind of agent or advisor they want working on their behalf.
4. Clip and mail some articles.
Your compliance manager might have an opinion, but if you cut the entire article and mail the clipping, not a copy, they may let you do it. You include a handwritten note: “Thought you might find this interesting.” You do this with several articles, mailed to various clients.
Surface mail is a novelty today. It gets attention. The original clipping implies there was only one. Your client thinks “Of all the people he could send this to, he chose me.” They feel you are keeping up with news and thinking about them.
5. Prospect.
The office has come to life. As a good producer, you prospect every day. At least you intend to prospect! Get it out of the way early! Business owners might be at their desks. A new day is like a blank canvas. Nothing has happened to spoil it yet. You catch people while they are still in a good mood. Your early morning enthusiasm comes across.
People realize you are an early riser. You must be disciplined.
6. Ring the cash register.
Make those high priority business calls on the daily plan you prepared before you left last night. Getting some business in (or moving prospects closer to becoming clients) takes some pressure out of your day.
If you get your major business done in the morning, it frees up time for business lunches and sales calls in the afternoon.
You’ve seen firsthand how sales meetings, lunch and learns, paperwork crises and clients calling about service issues can consume time. These are important activities, but getting an early start means you will have made progress on developing future business and ringing the cash register.
— Read 10 Ways to Tactfully Get Your Point Across, on ThinkAdvisor.