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Here’s a look at the Top 11 Most Viewed Articles of the Week on Advisorpedia , May 21-25, 2018
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1. The Biggest Advisor Marketing Problems and How to Avoid Them
Each week, I speak with advisors and entrepreneurs who want to take their business to the next level. As they share the details of their marketing plan, I ask how they came up with the plan. Most often, they reply, “I think this will work.” When asked if they have done any research to confirm it will work, the answer is either “No” or “Well sort of.” — Annette Bau
2. The One Number That Matters Most to Your Investments
It sure was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it? A new president, promises of deregulation and new tax cuts tickled the stock markets for 16 months. Now, there’s a wall of worry being built based on the threat of a trade war with China, Middle East turmoil and, instead of deregulation, new regulations on technology companies that may slow the exuberant gains the highest-flyers have achieved. — Bill Acheson
3. Can Advertising Be Effective for Lead Generation?
In today’s challenging, volatile and dynamic world of professional services the effective advertising techniques are usually digitally based. More importantly they are understood to be only the first part of a longer engagement cycle. — Tony Vidler
4. Smooth Out Market Volatility With a Merger Arbitrage ETF
Remember the halcyon days of 2017? For advisors and investors, it was a fabulous year. The stock market maintained a steady climb skyward, and it delivered a nice, smooth ride to the top. In fact, if you look at the numbers, 2017 was the least volatile market since the mid-1960s. Of course, as many predicted, it was also the calm before the storm ... — Index IQ
5. If Failure Looms, Will Men Quit Rather Than Fall Short?
Women appreciate everything you do for them as a financial advisor and are far less likely to abandon the plan you built together when the markets are down because, “they are able to adjust their goals in the moment, and stay focused on finishing the race, which means realizing their goals.” — Paulette Filion and Judy Paradi
6. How to Motivate Yourself to Prospect — When You Really Don’t Want to
All advisors need new clients. Your current ones may seem satisfied, but they die, move or get prospected by other advisors. This means prospecting. Many advisors consider prospecting an unpleasant task they endured early in their careers. Been there, done that. It’s behind me now. — Bryce Sanders
7. Why Marketers Need to Perform a Content Audit
Would you go on a diet if you knew you'd gain 65 percent of your weight loss back? Would you work an 80-hour week if 65 percent of your output was never used? Believe it or not, these are the kinds of inefficiencies we're seeing in the content we create. — Dennis Shiao
8. The Stock Market Predictions Experts Don’t Know, Either
Rarely does a day go by without someone asking for my thoughts about the direction of the stock market. How long do I think the bull market will continue? When will a bear market start? Is now a good time to sell? — Rick Kahler
9. What’s Behind the Discontent of so Many Advisors?
We’re accustomed to having advisors speak candidly and confidentially to us, sharing the things that annoy or disappoint them most about their firms, the industry and about being an advisor. But over the past 6 to 12 months, advisors have become more vocal about areas of discontent. That is, more seem to openly admit that they’re not happy with their firm. — Barbara Herman and Allison Brunwasser
10. Is the Preference for Human or Digital Relationships?
My belief is that you have to have humanity in the digital experience. My issue – and that our their digitally designated leaders – is that if you don’t buy into digital augmenting the human experience and that digital can provide something that is over and above the human ability, then you will probably miss out on the opportunity that digital offers to give the client better information, service and knowledge. — Chris Skinner
11. How to Tell a Client You Can No Longer Work With Them
Saying goodbye to clients often seems counter-intuitive to new advisors, whose primary concern is to grow a customer base. But failing to ‘weed out’ unprofitable clients is a bad idea for any advisor’s business. To succeed in this industry, you need to spend your time servicing your most profitable relationships and this necessitates dropping unprofitable accounts from time to time. — Don Connelly