It is important that financial professionals understand the financial product options that have the potential to provide financial resources to offset the cost of a long-term care event. However, it’s not enough just to understand what the options are…

Which is “better,” commission-only or a hybrid (fee and commission) model, is the wrong question to ask. Even though the DOL rule did not take effect, the regulatory environment is constantly evolving and it can cause us to think along these lines. However, one model isn’t necessarily better than the other, but it’s a decision many financial professionals are faced with — should I make the switch to a hybrid model?

When it comes to workshops and seminars, everything matters. And I do mean everything. Too many times financial professionals think that if they just show up and dazzle people with their intelligence, then those in attendance will want to meet with them. Unfortunately, that could not be further from the truth...

Have you ever taken a moment to calculate just how much an assistant adds to your bottom line? That's right, adds to your bottom line. Too many financial professionals look at having an administrative assistant as an expense they just can't afford, but I can assure you, if you leverage that resource correctly, your assistant can dramatically improve revenue and contribute tremendously to your bottom line.

I’m a creature of habit, and my Saturday morning routine always takes me to my favorite dry cleaners. The owner knows that I work in the financial services industry but made it clear on another occasion that he has an advisor already and one whom he seems to be happy with.

We’ve never talked specifically about his personal finances because I don't  make a habit of talking business with folks unsolicited. I’m uncomfortable with it. On this day however, my friend asked me some questions...

If you aren’t currently using videos to promote your financial services business, you could be missing one of the greatest opportunities to build your practice, branding and visibility. Did you know that one third of all online activity involves watching videos and 90% of viewers say a video is helpful in the decision making process? If you have a website or social media account, these stats alone should prompt you to take advantage of this growing trend. But where do you start? 

For every delighted client you have, there are plenty of consumers out there who will never seek financial advice because it’s just not on their radar and there are others who actively avoid financial help. And then you have those who go out of their way to put down the services those in our industry provide... 

We all have brand new goals we can’t WAIT to tackle. Many will make a huge push in January and then unfortunately, slip back into the same old patterns of doing business. Would you like to change that? To see a positive difference in your profits and your people this year?

We have unique views here at Partners Advantage when it comes to elevating and innovating your financial services and insurance practice. 

In order to make more money and maybe even work less hours doing what you love (helping people not just survive but thrive in retirement), you have to do things differently. However, that's not the way many of us were taught in this industry... 

Last updated: October 2020

One of the first questions we have to answer as a business is… who is our customer?

The term “customers” can be a grey area in the insurance agency and IMO space. We could assume that our only customer is the end-user: the insured or annuity contract owner. But that’s not the case.

We have many “customers” and for the purposes of this blog post, I want agency owners to consider producers your number one customer.