1. 4 Strategies to Become Irreplaceable
You want to retain all of your clients – right? Well… at least most of them. You probably have a couple you wouldn’t mind offloading to someone… anyone. HOWEVER – and it’s a big however – there’s a low correlation between satisfied clients and the giving of referrals or making introductions. — Bill Cates
2. Believe It: Bitcoin Could Be Undervalued
Trading north of $56,000 and up about 9% over the past week, bitcoin doesn't exactly exhibit the hallmarks of an asset that's cheap, inexpensive or a value play. No, digital currencies aren't value assets. Perhaps that status will change in the future, but don't bet on it happening anytime soon. After all, bitcoin and its bretheren are shiny new objects meaning they're young by the standards of financial assets and disruptive. Those traits, particularly the latter, rarely if ever come cheap. — Todd Shriber
3. Should You Ask a Client for a Favor?
The principal of a firm whose client advisory board we are organizing expressed his discomfort about asking some of his top clients to participate. He does not believe we should be asking clients to do them a favor like this. He indicated he actually had to call in a chit to get one top client to participate after doing a favor for them. His feeling is that the firm should be doing things for clients and not asking clients to do something for the firm. Hang on a minute. — Stephen Wershing
4. How Advisors Can Profit From Small Accounts
Financial advisors have long grappled with how to properly invest smaller accounts. These small-but-mighty portfolios can come from many sources. A high-net-worth client may have a small individual retirement account or 401(k) rollover in addition to their larger holdings. Or the child or grandchild of a valued client may approach you asking for help with a more modest investment portfolio. — Rob Isbitts
5. Paid Advertising in Professional Services: Which Platform is Worthwhile?
You have a range of marketing tools and tactics at your disposal. There are online and offline tools, and it seems like new ones are popping up daily! Which ones are worth your time? One of them? All of them? A delightful mix of all of them? Here is an overview of the most common ad platforms for professional services firms today. — Ashley Bailey
6. Getting in Front of HNW Individuals You’ve Researched
Don’t you love living in the age of technology? E.O. Wilson said “We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.” Thanks to the Internet and social media, it’s easy to identify HNW individuals in your local market. The big questions advisors ask is “How do I get in front of them?” — Bryce Sanders
7. The Only Way To Crush Inflation (Not Stocks)
Folks are freaking out about inflation. The US government’s own numbers show prices are rising at their fastest pace in 12 years… Google searches for inflation hit their highest level ever last month… You’re likely feeling it in your pocket too. Tried to buy a car lately? If you can get your hands on one, it’ll cost you 40% more than last year. Home prices are rising at their fastest pace in more than 30 years. And here in Ireland, the average heating bill is expected to jump $500 this winter. Now investors are worried inflation is going to crash the stock market. — Stephen McBride
8. Develop a Deeply Engaging, Profoundly Human Client Experience with Julie Littlechild
We are honored to have Julie Littlechild as our 50th guest on Power Your Advice. Julie is the CEO of Absolute Engagement, a company that helps advisors and advisory firms use direct input from their clients to evolve and enhance the client experience, identify unmet needs and increase referrals. She is also the author of The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement, and host of her own podcast, Becoming Referable. — Power Your Advice
9. Small Business Optimism Remains Volatile Since the Pandemic Began
Over the past few years, we’ve written about trends in small businesses based on the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Survey of Small Business Economic Trends. We follow these trends because small business owners and small companies in the U.S. create about two-thirds of net new jobs, drive innovation and account for 44% of U.S. economic activity. This survey has a 48-year history of tracking insight from more than 325,000 small business owners and provides valuable data related to Small Business Optimism, Labor Markets, Capital Spending, Inventories and Credit Markets in businesses across the country. This survey also serves as a counterbalance to the large-company bias of the Purchasing Managers Index. — Brian Gilbert
10. NS Capital Opening New Doors for Revenue and Leads in Pooled 401(k) Space
RIAs looking to build out broader menus of services in order to grow and diversify revenue streams will find prime opportunity in the pooled employer plan 401(k) market. In fact, now is the ideal time for advisors to consider entering or broadening exposure into the pooled employer plan (PEP) arena. Because the SECURE ACT has changed everything by making regulatory changes to improve retirement plans for smaller organizations. The act has revised or eliminated rules and regulations which impose unnecessary costs and burdens on small business 401(k) sponsors by creating the Pooled Employer Plan. — NS Capital
11. 4 Marketing Strategies To Attract and Retain Millennial Clients
So tip number one is to offer alternative billing or fee structures. This is sort of a no brainer. Anyone who reads the news or who is involved in any kind of subscription service knows that subscriptions particularly have really overtaken our daily lives. And Millennials were one of the biggest age groups to adopt this early on. So for Millennials, we are used to paying. . . — Samantha Russell