In a world of skeptics — how do you earn the trust of your prospects and clients? Well, you’ll have to read this blog post to find out.

The term recession has gained a lot of airtime recently. Fears of an economic slowdown seem to be everywhere. And many folks are tuned in to the fearmongering, allowing it to affect their daily lives.

Without an agreed upon definition of retirement, it’s pointless to discuss strategies or financial products. Strategies and products aren’t likely to get your clients there in the most efficient manner, when we don’t know where “there” is.

You may often hear clients say, “I want to keep my money liquid, I don’t want to tie it up.” The desire to keep money liquid can be strong across all socioeconomic and political spectrums. Why do many clients insist on keeping out money in a liquid state? And what does that really mean, to keep money liquid?

Whether your clients file their taxes with the assistance of an online preparation service or by working with you or a tax professional, they may have been advised to contribute to a qualified plan like an IRA in order to minimize their previous year’s taxes. Where clients have allocated their resources may increase their taxes in retirement and contribute to determining their Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs).

There are several ways financial professionals can lift their workshop attendance whether prospects register through traditional direct mailing methods or digital marketing strategies. The same processes can help increase attendance for both prospecting tactics. Financial professionals should be confident enough with their processes to potentially spend a significant amount of time and money on finding and converting prospects into clients.

“I just can’t afford to hire an assistant right now.”  How many times have you heard other financial professionals say that? You may even say it yourself. However, those that do not hire an assistant may be tripping over dollars to pick up pennies.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is in the books. It may be seen as a benefit to individuals as well as some business structures. It’s best to discuss with your clients how they can take advantage of the new changes.

Many financial professionals I speak with believe that they can grow their business if they have more prospects to see. There’s truth to this. Without prospects to see, you are unemployed. If you don't have anybody to serve, then you're out of business. Unfortunately, many of those same professionals are poor at prospecting and are struggling to get more clients. Often it comes down to lack of direction, focus, and commitment to prospecting efforts.

One of the most common risks in retirement is order of returns risk (also known as: sequence of returns risk). It is well known within the financial services industry that investing in marketable securities exposes clients to this risk. However, do your clients know that many indexed products are not immune from order of returns risk?