Articles on the necessary business support activities such as finance, facilities, technology, and employee management that provide a foundation to ensure sales, marketing, and service activities are made possible. Tailored to financial service advisors, sales associates, and service associates. Examples: Hiring, Training, New Employee Setup, Payroll, Employee Development, Systems, Commission Structures, etc.
Indiana Jones embarking on a quest for the Ark of the Covenant. Frodo undertaking a journey to destroy the Ring. As challenging as these tasks may be, the quest to find the next great employee in the financial services industry is equally daunting. How does one even begin this quest?...
In the fast-paced world of financial services, efficient task management is a crucial skill. It's all too easy to forget important tasks when they come at you from a variety of sources: emails, phone calls, text messages, and your home office. The key to staying on top of your workload...
How often do you meet with your team members? In the financial services industry, it’s not unusual for leaders to skip meetings with their team. We hear excuses such as we’re too busy to meet, or a client called or we talk every day, leading to internal meetings being scheduled...
There’s a lot to consider when it’s time to hire. You have to decide what the position needs to do, how much you’ll pay them, where to advertise, and so much more. Yet, one question that often gets overlooked is, “How does our company stand out from other companies competing...
Scripts. Many in the financial services industry hate the idea of using a script. The obstacles that scripts create are real. Agencies are concerned that if they use a script they will: Come across as robotic and not authentic. Miss opportunities by creating too narrow of a focus. Create a...
Working with financial services professionals across the country, one thing we’ve heard a lot lately is that it’s hard to hire. This isn’t exactly news because it’s something that small business owners in many industries are experiencing. There is no sugar coating it. The employee market is difficult, but it...
Welcome to Life Insurance Awareness Month! By intentionally focusing on life insurance awareness, September is usually a great month for financial services professionals. In many companies, the buzz about life insurance may include more engaging content, contests and conferences to get you and your team motivated. This intentional focus creates...
When hiring, it’s a well-known fact that you don’t want to sell a position to a candidate during the interview process. During the interview you want the candidate to do most of the talking, while you listen, so you can qualify them. Selling the position comes before you interview a...
According to the National Ethics Association, one of the top five reasons E&O is paid is because of inadequate business practices. Errors were found because of the lack of knowledge, action that wasn’t taken, poor communication, and inconsistent business practices. When you look at how fast an agency moves and...
In business, the general rule of thumb is to be slow to hire, because hiring the wrong people can be a costly mistake. In the financial services industry, this is especially true. For most positions, you have to find team members that can do the work, pass the right background...