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December 2005

• Something for Everyone
  A CRAT may let your clients have just that.
  
  
• Eight Resolutions to Keep
  These will help your clients put their financial houses in order.
  
  
• Advise Your Clients About Identity Theft
  Strengthen your relationship with your clients—and help them guard their money and good credit—with these guidelines.
  
  
• Jim Longley
  Against great odds, he won the election and became governor of Maine.
  
  
• Make a Gross Comparison
  Use this tip for business-continuation planning.
  
  
• Making Effective Presentations
  These seven pointers will help you ace your next presentation.
  
  
• The Importance of Ego
  It takes a strong ego to face rejection, but do you know where the line is between assertive and abrasive?
  
  
• The Many Paths to Success
  What do the four men profiled in this article have in common? They all took unusual paths to becoming top producers.
  
  
• Organizing All Your Business Spaces
  Here are six simple tips to streamline your office and your workday.
  
  
• It’s Time to Sell the Problem
  For more success in closing sales, spend more time exploring client issues during the factfinder.
  
  
• Timely Connections
  Webpage monitoring tools can keep you up-to-date on your clients and centers of influence.
  
  
• Thank You Very Much
  You send out thank-you notes, but what about those super clients who deserve an extra touch?
  
  

November 2005

• You Are What You Write
  Make sure your emails turn out to be good ambassadors for you and your business.
  
  
• Making Your Business a Top-Flight Operation
  Here are tips to make sure your business runs smoothly so you can concentrate on sales.
  
  
• Prospecting Tips
  Turn warm leads into hot appointments with these suggestions.
  
  
• Do Referrals the Right Way
  Don’t ask for referrals. Here’s how to properly use your customer base as a source of new business.
  
  
• Retirement Planning With VUL
  When used properly, VUL can be an effective supplemental investment tool.
  
  
• The Hidden Costs of Cancer
  This case study shows how critical illness plans can make the difference between life and living.
  
  
• Finding Prospects and Looking for Gold
  
  
  
• Immortalize Tithes
  Help your clients leave a legacy for their place of worship.
  
  
• Think Big
  Here are some tips for ramping up your business from two of the convention’s educational workshops.
  
  
• Two Guys Named Smith
  
  
  
• You Are What You Write
  Make sure your emails turn out to be good ambassadors for you and your business.
  
  
• A Briefcase in Your Pocket
  Your paperwork is much easier to carry when it’s the size of a pack of gum.
  
  
• Let the Buyer Beware
  Getting the best bang for your buck when buying computer or electronic equipment requires a little research, so here’s your guide to buying guides.
  
  
• Long-Term Care Insurance Deductibility
  Here are answers to questions your clients might find confusing.
  
  

October 2005

• Completing the Picture With Client-Centered Planning
  Use these five steps to strengthen and grow your practice beyond just a numbers game.
  
  
• The Boomers Are Giving!
  They are on track to becoming the largest generation of philanthropists ever.
  
  
• Give This Page to Nonmembers!
  Here are the issues NAIFA is working on for you.
  
  
• Client-Centered Planning Resources
  You’ve read this month’s cover story; now check out these books and websites to help you get started.
  
  
• Growing Your Business
  Keith Wolff’s answers to these commonly asked questions will help boost production.
  
  
• Katrina-Proof Your Business
  Here are some easy-to-follow suggestions to avoid business loss if Mother Nature goes wild.
  
  
• Let Your Clients Help You Find Prospects
  Come to your annual review meeting well prepared to get referrals.
  
  
• The Next Big Thing
  The latest, hottest item on the market isn’t always the best product for your client.
  
  
• Play to Win
  Here is an excerpt from the great new book: Sales Success — The Tom Wolff Way
  
  
• Know Your Customer and Be Flexible
  Building good relationships is the key to building a profitable practice.
  
  
• Five Habits for Success
  Develop these traits and watch your profits grow.
  
  
• Seven Truths About Affluent Clients
  High-net-worth clients know what they want. Make sure you know what that is.
  
  
• Why Go Wireless?
  Unsure about letting your data fly through the air with the greatest of ease? Now’s a great time to cut the cord.
  
  

September 2005

• The Seeds of Change
  What will happen when federal estate taxes no longer matter?
  
  
• The Un-Sale Sale
  Success is about finding out what someone needs and designing a way to make it happen.
  
  
• Top Secrets of Top Producers
  Here are four ways to create a winning edge in your practice.
  
  
• I Object!
  Wondering what to do when your client says no?
  
  
• Keys to Early Success
  Being a professional agent is both easier and harder than you can imagine.
  
  
• Power to the People
  By empowering those around you—with three easy techniques—you automatically boost your success factor.
  
  
• A Matter of Education
  You will attract Spanish-speaking clients if you are willing to teach them the importance of insurance protection.
  
  
• Asset Allocation
  Your clients’ plan should reflect their needs, goals, situation and risk tolerance.
  
  
• Ace Your Presentation
  Learning when to lean back may be the ticket to closing the deal.
  
  
• Bullish on HSAs
  Learn how to mine the gold in your “abandoned” and bottom-tier clients.
  
  
• Sell to Sell Again
  Learn the red-carpet service system, and turn a proepect into a client for life.
  
  
• 7 Ways to Turn Failure Into Success
  Learn from the greats in history what it takes to turn a crash-and-burn into a turnaround.
  
  

August 2005

• Cutting-Edge Skills for Selling LTCI
  Focus on the client, not the product, to strike gold in this lucrative market.
  
  
• Doing the Right Things Right
  Pump up the profits and productivity in your practice with these four tips.
  
  
• Business Succession Strategies
  Don’t let your small-business-owner clients become a statistic; now is the time to help them plan for the transition.
  
  
• Harvesting the Gold
  If LTCI sales are still nothing to write home about, why sell it? Because the future financial and physical health of your clients depends on it.
  
  
• Stretch IRAs
  These tools offer your clients powerful planning techniques.
  
  
• The Six Principles of Powerful Persuasion
  Do you want clients and prospects to say yes more often? Then you need to learn these principles.
  
  
• Improve Your Referral System
  Using the MISC formula can help you convert more referrals into clients.
  
  

July 2005

• Successfully Selling LTCI
  Position your services as the family’s support structure.
  
  
• Success—It’s All in the Mind
  Here are three laws that can help put you on the road to career and life success.
  
  
• The Hidden Estate Tax
  Clients should understand the ramifiactions if estate and capital-gains taxes return.
  
  
• Priming the Prospecting Machine
  If you look in fertile locations for new clients and cultivate often, you will get results.
  
  
• The Sales Power of Storytelling
  No matter how young you are, there is a story you can tell that will connect you with your older clients.
  
  
• Controlling Your Email
  Don’t let the beast that is your email in-box get the better of you. Use these four easy-to-implement suggestions.
  
  
• Seven Ways to Effectively Manage Older Workers
  Are you a Gen-X manager? Here’s how you can effectively communicate with and lead older generations.
  
  
• Affluent Selling
  Do you know the 12 commandments of selling to affluent clients and prospects?
  
  
• THE SALES POWER OF STORYTELLING
  In sharing stories with your clients, you quickly unearth what deeply matters to them.
  
  
• A SHORTCUT TO THE CLOSE
  Ask prospects for their agenda early in a meeting.
  
  
• SUCCESSFULLY SELLING LTCI
  Position your sercives as the family's support structure.
  
  

June 2005

• Building a Top of the Table Staff
  It's time to find, keep and motivate top-notch employees; here's how.
  
  
• Entrepreneurial Spirit
  Marcus Henderson’s clients have taught him how to be a better advisor.
  
  
• It’s Not About Me
  For Gregory Large, it’s about working as a team to give his clients the best service.
  
  
• Achieving Balance
  Efficiency and a great staff help make this dream a reality.
  
  
• Living the Dream
  The financial services industry still offers countless opportunities for success.
  
  
• The Golden Spouse
  A simple question can get your clients into the DI-buying mindset.
  
  
• Product Recommendation and Commissions
  How do you balance choosing the correct products for your clients with being fairly compensated?
  
  
• It’s Summer—And Time to Grow
  Identifying what’s stopping you is the first step toward getting where you want to be.
  
  
• Four Under Forty: Advice for Success
  
  
  
• Income-Planning Strategies
  VAs help clients prepare for retirement and overcome income-planning obstacles.
  
  
• Net Unrealized Appreciation
  Gain new business by providing this benefit to your Baby Boomer clients.
  
  
• Life Insurance and Divorce
  Guiding your clients through these options can help ease their transition.
  
  
• Top 10 Media Relations Tips—and More
  Learn what Million Dollar Round Table members already know about shining in print, and on radio and TV.
  
  
• Setting Up Your Own Practice
  There is so much to take care of before hanging out a shingle. Here's a list of what you need to do to stay on track and out of trouble.
  
  
• Your Brand Identity
  It's time to get the word out about you and your services; just don't start with the New York Times
  
  

May 2005

• What Do You Do?
  You are an insurance agent and proud of the profession you have chosen.
  
  
• Women and LTCI
  Positioned as an investment, LTCI will be attractive to women.
  
  
• Securing a Happy Retirement
  Whether your clients are late to the game or ahead of the plan, they should adopt a balanced approach to financial planning.
  
  
• Six Secrets to Stellar First Impressions
  Make those first seconds with your prospects count with these tips.
  
  
• Improving Your Relationship Management
  A formal process can help you assess your performance.
  
  
• How Much Money Is Enough for Retirement?
  Helping your clients calculate their retirement-income needs is an invaluable service.
  
  
• May-to-December Clients
  Husband and wives who are many years apart face unique financial-planning issues and challenges.
  
  
• Five Questions for Productive Presentations
  Go beyond the facts to the root of your clients’ needs.
  
  
• Relationship Management Tools
  Use this cover letter and questionnaire with your clients, peers and employees to get a comprehensive view of your practice.
  
  
• The Third Secret
  Avoid the commodization trap: Learn to sell your clients on your “intellectual capital,” not your products and service.
  
  
• The Benefits of 529 Plans
  With higher-education costs spiraling upward, 529 plans are a great sell.
  
  
• Help Your Client Cope With a Job Loss
  Sound planning will prevent a bad situation from getting worse.
  
  
• Change Your Beliefs
  Positive beliefs are your path to maximum success.
  
  

April 2005

• Banking on Clients
  No overhead and access to top-shelf clients are two reasons advisors move to banks.
  
  
• Forging a Working Relationship With Bankers
  Learn what a bank needs and wants from an advisor—plus tips on splitting commissions.
  
  
• The Give-Get Ratio
  These steps will help you get as much mileage as possible from your first contact with a client.
  
  
• The Pros and Cons of ILITs
  Learn when to use these flexible instruments and when to seek alternatives.
  
  
• Rev Up Your Referrals
  To encourage referrals, give blank phone directories to clients and prospects.
  
  
• The Search Is Over
  New desktop search tools from Yahoo! and Google are about to make your life easier.
  
  
• One Plus One Equals More Than Two
  Treat your partner with respect, and happiness will be yours forever.
  
  
• The Search Is Over
  Desktop search tools from Yahoo! and Google can make your life easier.
  
  
• Reaching Diverse Markets
  Success will be yours if you develop a keen understanding of both broadly applicable principles and cultural specifics.
  
  
• Preparing for the Unexpected
  Bond laddering is one of the best strategies for the risk-averse investor.
  
  
• Long-Term Care Insurance: Is It for Everyone?
  Find out when it makes sense for your clients to have LTCI and how to craft a good plan.
  
  

March 2005

• HSAs: On the Move
  A small but growing number of consumers are shopping around for health-care coverage and discovering the benefits of health savings accounts.
  
  
• Guaranteed No-Lapse UL Insurance
  Improper management of these policies may jeopardize the long-term coverage guarantee.
  
  
• Influential Advisors: Your Key to Consistent Referrals
  Don’t just cultivate centers of influence, cultivate those who advise others. Find out how.
  
  
• Mastering the Art of Delegation
  Need a primer—or a refresher—on this difficult skill? Here you go…
  
  
• Store or Shred?
  This article tells you how to decide what to keep and what to discard.
  
  
• Document Your Factfinder
  Turn your factfinders into a tool to keep clients.
  
  
• Give Your Business a Boost
  Updating your image and points-of-contact can go a long way to generating more top-shelf clients.
  
  
• Clients Forever
  Advisors with near 100-percent client-retention rates share eight of their secrets of success.
  
  
• Ask For—and Get—More Assets
  Knowing what and how to ask will increase your chances of getting more of your clients’ assets to manage.
  
  
• Boosting LTCI Production
  Achieve success by learning how to prequalify prospects quickly.
  
  
• 10 Quick Tips for Getting Organized
  There is no right or wrong way to get organized, so just do it.
  
  

February 2005

• The Customer Is King
  He is a valuable commodity and should be treated as such.
  
  
• Advisor As Athlete
  Invest in your body and mind, as athletes do, to stay in top form.
  
  
• How Not to Be a Freeloader
  Do yourself a big favor and join NAIFA today.
  
  
• Convincing Commitment-Phobes
  Get estate-planning prospects to commit to their priorities during the first minutes of the interview.
  
  
• Plan Now for the 2006 Tax Season
  
  
  
• Tips for Investing
  Frequent communication, strategic thinking and principal-protection products will help your client stay the course.
  
  
• Selling to Seniors
  Patience and understanding seniors’ three important needs is key.
  
  
• Winning in the Senior Market
  You need lots of patience and a keen understanding of your prospects’ needs and wants.
  
  
• Want Higher Profits?
  Your staff holds the key. Here are five steps for maximizing their performance.
  
  

January 2005

• First Impressions
  First impressions can make or break you. Here is how to use them to your advantage.
  
  
• The Multibillion-Dollar Pie
  How big is your slice? It may be time to rethink annuities and how you can successfully incorporate them into your practice.
  
  
• Twenty Ways to Motivate Yourself
  Here are some practical tips to help you achieve this year's resolutions.
  
  
• Systematize Your Way to Success
  Here is a checklist to get your practice up to speed for optimum “referability.”
  
  
• Take Action Now!
  Your annual marketing plan is useless unless you use it.
  
  
• All You Really Wanted for Christmas
  Did you get what you wanted this holiday season? If not, it’s time to treat yourself.
  
  
• Health Literacy at the Workplace
  Health-care literacy is a major issue facing today’s small businesses.
  
  
• Mentoring for Success
  A mentoring program can benefit new agents, seasoned pros and the agency.
  
  
• New Year, New Goals
  Breaking a goal into manageable pieces will help you stay focused throughout the year.
  
  
• Office-Directory Prospecting
  Your clients’ neighbors need your services, too.
  
  
• Protect Yourself
  Hackers are lurking, so follow these tips to protect your computer and your network.