Articles about Marketing Sales & Marketing

• Living Your Brand
  March 2013
  The key to building a strong business reputation is to come from a place of caring.
  
  
• Engaging Clients on Facebook
  November 2012
  Avoid common pitfalls when using this popular social media site.
  
  
• Link Up with LinkedIn
  January 2012
  Learn how this tool can make your business relationships more meaningful and profitable.
  
  
• Mastering an Effective Networking System
  November 2011
  Realize the potential networking has for building trust.
  
  
• Using LinkedIn to Generate Referrals
  September 2011
  Identify prospects with this helpful social media tool.
  
  
• Leveraging LIFE's Resources
  September 2011
  LIFE has numerous tools you can use to educate and market your products to clients and prospects.
  
  
• Fire Up Your Marketing
  December 2010
  These three tips will help you get rid of inertia and move you toward success.
  
  
• From Lunch to Referrals
  December 2010
  Sharing your expertise while breaking bread is a good way to get introductions.
  
  
• Don’t Forget Your Small-Business Clients
  August 2010
  They need your help to understand and take full advantage of voluntary benefits.
  
  
• The Perfect Guest
  June 2010
  These tips will help make you a sought-after guest on radio shows.
  
  
• Warm Up Your Referrals
  May 2010
  It may be as simple as sending email to your contacts suggesting the referrals.
  
  
• Revive Your Prospecting
  February 2010
  Regardless of where you are in your career, these strategies will enhance your prospecting skills.
  
  
• Prospecting Techniques That Work
  November 2009
  Use these Circle of Friends techniques to gain more senior clients.
  
  
• Attracting Affluent Seniors
  October 2009
  One of the most effective ways to do this is through advocacy referral.
  
  
• Selling to the Multicultural Gen Xers
  August 2009
  With the help of some of these tips, you will find it easier to capture the fickle but lucrative niche of first-generation immigrants.
  
  
• Sell It Their Way
  July 2009
  Learn the correct way to sell to your affluent senior prospects and you will increase your closing ratio.
  
  
• How to Sell to Affluent Seniors
  June 2009
  The first thing to understand is to know what they really want.
  
  
• Gain More From Networking
  May 2009
  Use this program and you will quadruple more than what you get from networking.
  
  
• Does Cold Calling Still Work?
  March 2009
  Yes, provided you do your homework and understand that it’s a communications skill.
  
  
• Understanding Gen Y
  February 2009
  Gain better insight into this generation to successfully target it as clients and employees.
  
  
• A Market Waiting to Be Tapped
  December 2008
  Women are becoming wealthier, but most of them aren’t working with advisors.
  
  
• Grabbing Worksite Growth Opportunities
  November 2008
  It’s a great time to sell voluntary benefits since employers are now more open to offering them at the worksite.
  
  
• Launch a “Find the Money” Campaign
  October 2008
  This is an easy way to better serve your client, identify additional business and find potential referrals.
  
  
• 52 Steps to Becoming a Master Networker
  September 2008
  Follow these steps each week and watch your business grow.
  
  
• Getting the Most From Networking Events
  August 2008
  These seven steps will ensure that your networking actually works.
  
  
• Follow Up the Right Way
  July 2008
  These six simple steps will let you move the sales process forward.
  
  
• How to Grow Your Practice During a Recession
  June 2008
  It’s time to recognize the upside to today's economic downturn and leverage the current climate to grow your referrals.
  
  
• From Referrals to Introductions
  June 2008
  You need something stronger than your client’s name to make the most of your referrals.
  
  
• Promote 'Referral Awareness'
  March 2008
  Getting quality referrals from your clients may be as simple as asking them not to keep you and your practice a secret.
  
  
• Five Steps to Creating a Smart Script
  December 2007
  These five pointers will allow you to jettison your "dumb" script and move on to a client-centric approach.
  
  
• High-Touch Means Clients for Life
  November 2007
  Developing a systematic approach to getting to know your clients allows you to cement your relationship and grow a referral-based business.
  
  
• Building Your Practice by Reaching Diverse Markets
  October 2007
  Is it really true that the best way to reach a diverse market—Hispanic, Asian-American or African-American—is by being from it yourself? For answers, we spoke with several producers who've successfully reached a demographic group not their own.
  
  
• Securing the Next Generation
  September 2007
  For years, you’ve asked your clients how their children are doing; it’s time to turn this friendly chitchat into serious dialogue.
  
  
• Attracting the Affluent
  September 2007
  Want to grow your business by 50 percent? Then it’s time to put a plan in place.
  
  
• 8½ Things to Do for More Referrals
  July 2007
  Develop these habits to start generating more word-of-mouth business.
  
  
• Dealing With Divorcing Clients
  June 2007
  Make your clients’ lives easier by being there for them during this difficult transition.
  
  
• Identifying Referral Partners
  June 2007
  Your email inbox is full and so is your voicemail—who in the bunch could be your next top referral partner?
  
  
• Untying the Knot
  June 2007
  Divorce financial analysis will help divorcees determine goals and cash-flow needs.
  
  
• The Only Referral Script You’ll Ever Need
  May 2007
  MDRT legend Tony Gordon gives you his two-part approach.
  
  
• Those Lucky Seven
  April 2007
  Only 7 percent of advisors net 10 or more affluent clients a year—is that success really a matter of luck?
  
  
• Stop Prospecting Forever
  April 2007
  Use this four-step “referralspecting” process and never have to make a cold call again.
  
  
• Ten Tips for Networking
  March 2007
  These helpful hints have led to a steady stream of referrals for one advisor.
  
  
• Overcoming Your Fear of Prospecting
  February 2007
  Are you one of the 95 percent of advisors who hate to prospect? Lynn Vincent features several advisors who have come up with innovative ways to keep the prospecting pipeline full.
  
  
• Successful Prospecting: It’s in the Mail
  February 2007
  Direct mail is successful when prospects read it. Here’s one very effective way to make sure they do.
  
  
• Beyond Traditional Referrals
  January 2007
  Doctors, attorneys, CPAs—yes, they’re good centers of influence, but every advisor is calling them. You don’t have to be one of them.
  
  
• Creating an Image of Success
  November 2006
  So, you want to tap into the affluent market? You’ve got to invest in yourself first.By Howard B. Cowan, CLU, ChFC
  
  
• The Best Time to Ask for Referrals
  October 2006
  When your clients acknowledge the value you provide, that’s when to talk referrals.
  
  
• Your Elderly Client
  October 2006
  Showing respect and genuine care opens the window to satisfaction and opportunity for you and your clients.
  
  
• Designing the Right Policy
  September 2006
  Help your clients see the value of buying the insurance that meets their long-term needs.
  
  
• Cultivating Women as Clients
  August 2006
  Save time and tap into the women’s market with this six-step seminar approach.
  
  
• Show Her You Care
  August 2006
  Shorten the sales process with women using these seven steps.
  
  
• Bust for the Boomers?
  July 2006
  What we’re learning about Boomers’ preparedness for retirement is alarming—and a huge opportunity.
  
  
• I Am Your Boomer Prospect
  July 2006
  Use this six-step prospecting technique to reach that leading edge of Baby Boomers who aren’t ready for retirement.
  
  
• Protecting a Fiduciary Who Sells a Business
  July 2006
  Help your clients understand the risks inherent in selling a business.
  
  
• I’m Retired. Now What?
  June 2006
  It’s one thing to retire; it’s another to be in retirement. This list will help your clients understand what’s at stake.
  
  
• I Love Referrals
  May 2006
  You can be enthusiastic about asking for referrals without becoming pushy or obnoxious.
  
  
• Connecting With the Women’s Professional Market
  April 2006
  This seven-step strategy will help you capture the business of women entrepreneurs and executives.
  
  
• Starting the Buy/Sell Conversation
  April 2006
  Help your business-owner clients get their long-term plans in order.
  
  
• The Barely Boomers
  April 2006
  With all the attention focused on the retiring Boomers, it’s easy to forget there are plenty of Boomers still in their 40s.
  
  
• Train Your Customers To Think Of You First
  April 2006
  An exotic animal trainer lets you in on the secrets to building lasting client relationships.
  
  
• Opening The Door to Small-Business Sales
  March 2006
  Start with an insured medical reimbursement plan.
  
  
• The Boomer Touch
  March 2006
  This influential generation is about to reshape retirement. Understanding how they will do this will put you in a position to help them reap golden rewards.
  
  
• Create Your Own Board of Advisors
  February 2006
  Tap your best clients to get your best clients.
  
  
• Opening the Door to Business Owners
  February 2006
  Properly answering the question, “What do you do?” can be the difference between a client and a cold shoulder.
  
  
• Seven Truths About Affluent Clients
  October 2005
  High-net-worth clients know what they want. Make sure you know what that is.
  
  
• A Matter of Education
  September 2005
  You will attract Spanish-speaking clients if you are willing to teach them the importance of insurance protection.
  
  
• Business Succession Strategies
  August 2005
  Don’t let your small-business-owner clients become a statistic; now is the time to help them plan for the transition.
  
  
• Affluent Selling
  July 2005
  Do you know the 12 commandments of selling to affluent clients and prospects?
  
  
• Seven Ways to Effectively Manage Older Workers
  July 2005
  Are you a Gen-X manager? Here’s how you can effectively communicate with and lead older generations.
  
  
• Reaching Diverse Markets
  April 2005
  Success will be yours if you develop a keen understanding of both broadly applicable principles and cultural specifics.
  
  
• Influential Advisors: Your Key to Consistent Referrals
  March 2005
  Don’t just cultivate centers of influence, cultivate those who advise others. Find out how.
  
  
• Selling to Seniors
  February 2005
  Patience and understanding seniors’ three important needs is key.
  
  
• Winning in the Senior Market
  February 2005
  You need lots of patience and a keen understanding of your prospects’ needs and wants.
  
  
• Enhance Benefits With Less Money
  December 2004
  POPs can help employers add benefits without adding costs.
  
  
• Targeting the Latino Market
  December 2004
  Patience and empathy are valued traits to promote trust and loyalty.
  
  
• Creating Balance
  October 2004
  Success can come at a young age if you know how to focus and learn to work those referrals.
  
  
• One of Them
  August 2004
  Working within his own age group, one advisor grows his practice.
  
  
• Reconsidering Generation X
  August 2004
  Here's why these former slackers make great clients—and what products work.
  
  
• The Clients of the Future
  May 2004
  Want to target younger prospects? Here's what they're looking for.
  
  
• Selling to the Mature Market
  April 2004
  These strategies will help you sell to Boomers and seniors.
  
  
• Ditch the Pitch
  March 2004
  To close a 401(k) deal, engage the client in your presentation.
  
  
• Generating More High-Quality Referrals
  March 2004
  Do-not-call laws make a solid referral pprogram key to your sales success. Learn how to get referrals without ever having to ask.
  
  
• Business Appraisal Tips and Tactics
  February 2004
  Appraising a business should be a structured and planned activity.
  
  
• Your Board of Directors
  January 2004
  A client-based board of directors can give your business focus and lead to more referrals.
  
  
• Don’t Say Too Much
  January 2004
  Knowing when to stop talking can be just as important as what you say.
  
  
• Power-Packed Prospecting
  January 2004
  These pointers will prove useful to many advisors?novice and established.
  
  
• The Third Stage of Life
  January 2004
  Baby Boomers are changing the face of retirement—here's how to cash in.
  
  
• Tomorrow’s Client
  January 2004
  Selling to the young is a challenging task at best. Find out what it takes to make it worth your while
  
  
• Stop Cold Calling, Start Networking
  December 2003
  Joining a professional organization can provide access to qualified prospects.
  
  
• The Voluntary Benefits Market
  December 2003
  Has your prospecting been stymied by the do-not-call registry? Try worksite marketing.
  
  
• Keeping the Dream Alive
  October 2003
  With planning, you can help foreign nationals pass on their wealth to the next generation.
  
  
• Lifetime Income for Seniors
  October 2003
  A reversionary annuity may be the answer to the burdensome problems faced by some seniors.
  
  
• Stop Asking for Referrals!
  October 2003
  Instead of referrals, start asking for—and working toward—client recommendations.
  
  
• Finding Your Niche
  September 2003
  Targeting women business owners will open a door to the affluent market.
  
  
• The Referral Lucky 13
  September 2003
  Learn 13 common-sense methods to gather the best referrals.
  
  
• The Death of Cold-Calling
  August 2003
  Mastering referrals is more important than ever.
  
  
• The Next Untapped Market
  August 2003
  You can boost your productivity by becoming a financial gerontologist.
  
  
• Follow the Money
  June 2003
  The road to success is in retirement plan asset rollovers.
  
  
• Reverse Mortgages
  May 2003
  A reverse mortgage can increase retirement income for seniors if combined with an annuity.
  
  
• Targeting Seniors
  April 2003
  Today's seniors are active and living longer. That means yesterday's products and approaches may not be a good fit. Here?s what you can do to keep these clients financially healthy as they retire.
  
  
• Finding Your Niche in the Women's Market
  April 2003
  You shouldn't be selling to all women, just some women. Find out why some advisors are taking this tack, and why you should as well.
  
  
• Tips for Conquering the Boomer Market
  February 2003
  Gain insight into Boomers, and turn them from prospects into clients.
  
  
• Who’s Next?
  January 2003
  Running through your list of friends and relatives doesn’t mean you’ve reached the end of the line.
  
  
• A Ready-Made Market
  November 2002
  Reputation?not low-cost products?will win the business of women business owners.
  
  
• The 10 Keys to Success
  November 2002
  This tip sheet has winning strategies to help you succeed in this significant market.
  
  
• The Affluent Client
  November 2002
  Affluent clients may not "need" more insurance, but they should certainly "want" it.
  
  
• A New Approach to Selling Voluntary Benefits
  September 2002
  Boost production by integrating web components into traditional sales practices.
  
  
• Cloning Your Best Clients
  July 2002
  By developing an ideal client profile, you can focus in on the types of prospects that best support your business.
  
  
• Prospect Profiling
  July 2002
  The secret to making it work in sales is learning how to do it accurately.
  
  
• Insuring the Middle Man
  June 2002
  Simplified underwriting may be the key.
  
  
• Rookie’s Regret
  February 2002
  People learn from their mistakes, but sometimes the lesson comes at too high a price.
  
  
• What Women Want
  January 2002
  When selling financial products and services to women, gender is a factor.
  
  
• All in the Family
  October 2001
  Handing over the business to family members can be fraught with difficulties.
  
  
• From Acorns to Oak Trees
  September 2001
  Sow quality time with quality people and thus develop quality relationships that produce quality results.
  
  
• Secrets of Successful Prospecting
  August 2001
  A child’s shoe or a canoe paddle may be your ticket into a potential client’s office.
  
  
• Employee Benefits: Ensuring the Right Fit
  July 2001
  The growing complexity of employee benefits creates opportunities for administrative and consulting services.
  
  
• Depressing Releases
  June 2001
  Want to talk to the media? Get your message out effectively with this how-to.
  
  
• The New Old Ways of Prospecting
  April 2001
  Perhaps the best ways to reach customers are the ways you?ve always reached them.
  
  
• The Magic Question
  October 2000
  It only takes one sale a day to make it to the top, according to this amusing anecdote.
  
  
• Sudden Wealth
  May 2000
  Regardless of how clients acquire wealth rapidly, they all have similar problems. Advisors can provide a wealth of information, knowledge and solutions to the new issues clients will face. .