The Advisor Solutions Podcast

Do you ever have a first appointment with a new prospect only to realize later that it was also a last appointment? The prospect didn’t want to meet again to hear your recommendations. Instead, they said they needed to speak to their spouse first or check their calendar. In reality, they didn’t see the value in meeting again, and when you followed up, they never returned your calls. Can you relate to this? If so, know that you are not alone! Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t have a systematic way of connecting with a prospect during the first appointment! They don’t take the time to understand each of the possible challenges that can clog the first appointment section of the pipeline, nor the solutions to tackle those obstacles. As a result, they go into the first appointment telling prospects about themselves rather than taking time to ask about the prospect. This episode shares practical strategies that successful advisors and agents have used to unclog the pipeline with the First Appointment. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Do you ever wonder why some people seem to grow their business year after year while others might be stuck on a production plateau? It could be as simple as them knowing one thing you don’t know: how to unclog the pipeline.  Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t have a systematic way to unclog their sales pipeline. They don’t take the time to understand each of the possible challenges that can clog the pipeline or the solutions that exist. As a result, they slow down or stop prospecting altogether, hoping they get an occasional referral or have an occasional client add additional assets. This episode shares practical strategies that successful advisors and agents have used to unclog the pipeline in Stage #1: The Initial Contact. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Have you ever sat down, grabbed the phone to start prospecting, and hesitated to dial because you were unsure of how individuals might respond or even worried about what to say? Or maybe, you've thought about all the potential objections a prospect could throw at you and wondered if reaching out is even worth the risk. In either case, know that you are not alone. Many financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers, at some point in their careers, face the biggest challenge when it comes to making calls, which is called reluctance! The secret to conquering call reluctance is to know that it is common but entirely conquerable. You just need a proven process! This episode shares practical strategies successful advisors and agents have used to overcome call reluctance. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps to incorporate into your practice, empowering you to strengthen your client relationships.

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a conversation with a client, unsure how to guide them toward the right decision without feeling pushy? Or maybe you’ve had a situation with a prospect where you knew a deal was slipping through your fingers, but you weren’t sure how to save it? In either case, know that you are not alone. Many financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers face challenges when negotiating—whether handling objections, closing a deal, or guiding clients through tough decisions. And often, these conversations don’t go as planned because we don’t realize that negotiation is an art and, thus, a skill that can be learned and mastered. This episode shares practical strategies successful advisors and agents have used to master the art of negotiation. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps to incorporate into your practice, empowering you to strengthen your client relationships.

Do you feel connected to your clients? Or, maybe a better question is, do your clients feel connected to you? If you don’t have a systematic way of connecting with them, the answer is probably “no”. And if that's the case, know that you are not alone. Many financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers lack a consistent way of connecting with clients. They have never seen creating a client connection system as a necessary task, let alone something to implement. As a result, some clients may not feel appreciated, which can lead to a decline in loyalty and trust. This episode shares practical strategies successful advisors and agents have used to connect with clients. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps to incorporate into your practice, empowering you to strengthen your client relationships.

Do you ever feel like your life is out of balance? Do you find that you spend so much time on your business that the rest of your life, such as time and focus on family, friends, and even hobbies, seems to take a back seat?  Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t take the time to balance out their business and personal lives. They have never viewed the topic of building work/life balance as something essential to achieving overall success. As a result, many eventually burn out. This episode shares practical strategies that successful advisors and agents have used to find work/life balance. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Are you consistently attracting ideal clients? Do you have a system to get in front of your target market or, even more importantly, someone who could be an “A-Client”? If not, know that you are not alone. Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t have a process for consistently attracting their ideal clients. Unfortunately, they have never learned a step-wise approach to being able to identify, much less attract, the type of clients that they have always wanted. Instead, they typically utilize a hit-or-miss approach to building and growing their client base. As a result, they have fewer ideal clients than they would like. This episode shares practical strategies successful advisors and agents have used to attract ideal clients. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “Time flies when you are having fun,” but have you ever thought about why it flies so quickly? Do you know what it takes to enjoy your business and what you do nearly every day? Do you know what energizes you about what you do professionally?   Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t understand what it takes to consistently experience fun while working in and on their business. You see, when you love what you do, it no longer feels like work. Rather, it feels more like a hobby. And, at the end of the day, you don’t feel drained but energized. This episode shares practical strategies successful advisors and agents have used to identify what brings them joy in their business. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Breaking bad news is never easy, especially when it comes to money, the market, or not getting the coverage that your client wants. But one thing is certain: at some point in your career, you are going to have to break bad news to someone. The real question is, has anyone ever expressed to you the best way to do that? Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t have a specific strategy to share bad news. The topic of “how to break bad news” benefits from a stepwise approach for an advisor to make difficult situations less challenging to discuss. Rather than merely telling people what is going wrong, having a process of how to break the bad news is essential. The delivery of bad news is important as a client might feel shocked, defensive, and, in some cases, angry- and you don’t want to add to their angst because of how they heard about it.   This episode shares practical strategies successful advisors and agents have used to create a better connection when discussing difficult subjects. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Are you confident in your business? Are you confident that your business is optimized and that you are running it in the most efficient and effective ways possible? If not, know that you are not alone. Many financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers lack confidence in some facet of their business. The reason is that they’ve never learned a step-by-step approach to increasing their confidence level. Rather, they focus on aspects of their business that are already working and neglect or avoid elements of their business that are not. Unfortunately, having this philosophy will eventually catch up to you. Why not learn how to boost your confidence and address these issues head-on? This episode shares practical strategies successful advisors and agents have used to build their business confidence. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Are you feeling burned out in your business? Does it seem like the more you do, the more still needs to be done and it feels like you can never catch up? Or maybe you are already burned out and have no idea how to bounce back. Does this sound like you? If so, know that you are not alone. Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t have a process for rebounding from burnout. The reason is that they’ve never learned a step-by-step approach to recovering from burnout when they experience it. Rather, they take a vacation and come back to the same chaos, repeating the cycle. At the end of the day, you are going to feel drained or you are going to feel energized. Of the two, which one would you prefer? If you answered "feel energized," then you know that having a process to achieve that would be a game changer! This episode shares practical strategies that successful advisors and agents have used to bounce back from burnout. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Have you ever wondered how successful advisors, agents, and wholesalers consistently achieve success? Is it luck or is there a strategic process behind it? If you guessed it’s all about having a strategy, you’re absolutely right! Here’s the real question: Do you have a strategy for success? And are you learning from others to avoid reinventing the wheel?  Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers overlook one of the most valuable resources for taking their business to the next level: building a podcast library. Podcasts offer a treasure trove of insights, advice, and real-life success stories that can help you navigate the complexities of your business. You can learn from my twenty years of coaching advisors, agents, and wholesalers by tuning into The Advisor Solutions Podcast. You can also learn from your peers by hearing stories about those who have faced many of the same challenges you have but have learned the solutions to overcome them; this not only saves you time but also provides you with proven strategies to take your business to the next level! This episode shares practical strategies that successful advisors and agents have used to build their podcast library. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice

Do you have a “success” library? Do you have a collection of books, audios, podcasts, or other media that you can reference to help you create more success in your business and your life?  Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t consistently feed their minds with the information they need to reach the level of success that they want! They have never viewed having a “success” library as a process of learning from others, so they find solutions to the challenges they have in their business and life. It’s important to feed your mind. Just like your body needs the right food to stay healthy, your mind needs the right type of information to be healthy as well. If you feed your mind with negative things, such as only watching the news, you most likely will have a negative attitude about life, and that can spill over into your business as well. This episode shares practical strategies that successful advisors and agents have learned from others to reach the next level in their business. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Have you ever heard the saying, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”?  Well, that might be true for some things in your business, but if you find yourself stressed out much of the time, it’s most likely because you are doing too many things yourself and that’s a recipe for burnout!  Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t master the art of delegation! They don’t take the time to look at it as a way to decrease stress and increase enjoyment in their business. As a result, they don’t have a process for what to delegate and how much they are willing to delegate so they can get their time back. Remember, the key to advancing in your business is not always doing more but doing the right things. By understanding what to delegate and how to delegate, you can scale your business without overburdening yourself. The secret to success is not working longer hours but working smarter and focusing on the tasks you love!   This episode shares practical strategies that successful advisors and agents have used to create various levels of delegation depending on the task and the team members' competencies. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Have you ever heard the saying, “I do my work at the same time each day, unfortunately, it’s always at the last minute.” When it comes to prospecting, do you find this is your motto? There will always be a reason to procrastinate when it comes to prospecting until you eventually feel like you don’t have any more time to put it off. Can you relate to this? If so, know that you are not alone!   Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t understand what it takes to continue taking action regarding prospecting! They don’t know because they have never viewed the topic of “prospecting procrastination” as a learned behavior or a series of myths they buy into to avoid prospecting, which they think will be painful.  Your mind will tell you whatever it needs to avoid a painful situation. The problem is that if you avoid prospecting long enough, you will soon find that you don’t have a sales pipeline, and that’s even more painful in the long run. Also, prospecting only seems painful because you are buying into all of those myths or things you tell yourself that are not valid! This episode shares practical strategies that successful advisors and agents have used to break through prospecting procrastination myths to be more motivated to prospect. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Do you have a positive attitude about prospecting? Are you excited about bringing the next prospect into your pipeline, or do you dread the entire process? If you relate to the latter, know you are not alone! Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t understand what it takes to be successful at prospecting, a positive attitude. Creating a positive prospecting attitude allows you to be fully engaged and enjoy prospecting to the point where you can’t wait to add another prospect through the pipeline. You see, everything begins between your ears. I can teach you all the tools, techniques, strategies, and solutions to put people into and move through the pipeline, but if you don’t have any desire to prospect, you simply won’t. And that desire comes from having a positive attitude about prospecting. This episode shares practical strategies that successful advisors and agents have used to create a positive prospecting attitude and build mental strength. These are not just theoretical concepts but actionable steps you can implement in your practice.

Do you ever think about your business as a journey of experiences? From the day you started your business to today, you have been on a journey to build, grow, maintain, and run your business. Each part of the journey has been an experience—whether it’s prospecting, client servicing, managing staff, managing upper management, or even managing yourself, you’ve created different experiences. The big question is, have you created the ultimate experience for prospects, clients, staff, management, and yourself? Or are you busy in your business and haven’t given the journey, and the experience you and other people are having any thought? Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t take the time to enjoy the journey, much less create positive experiences for themselves or others! They don’t understand the process of making their business, their lives, and the lives of everyone around them better. As a result, they keep doing the same things and having experiences that are not fulfilling. This episode shares how successful advisors and agents learn how to identify experiences to make your business more enjoyable!

Do you want to get to the next level with your business, but you are unsure how? The answer might lie in finding your business's red flags. You probably have a number of red flags or clear warning signs of danger in your business that are holding you back from reaching the next level of success. But, if you don’t know what they are, then you will never be able to overcome them. Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t take the time to unearth their business red flags! They don’t have a way to identify what is holding them back much less a way to overcome it. As a result, they keep doing the same things and they just think that it’s normal that they are supposed to have these challenges. This episode shares how successful advisors and agents learn strategies to identify and overcome red flags.

Do you want to work harder or work smarter in your business? I think we all want to work smarter! The bigger question is, do you know how to work smarter? Do you have proven strategies that have worked for successful advisors and agents that work for you?  Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t have specific strategies for working smarter in their businesses. They are so busy working “IN” their business that they don’t take the time to work “ON” their business. As a result, they keep doing the same things that they have always done. In order to get to the next level, they feel like they have to just keep doing more of what they are doing. The problem with this type of mentality is that it just means working harder and not smarter! This episode shares how successful advisors and agents learn strategies to work smarter in their businesses.

Do you ever feel like you have too much to do? You know that you want to grow your business, but you don’t know how to scale it as it grows. Most financial advisors, insurance agents, wholesalers, branch managers, and even agency managers don’t have a method for scaling their businesses. They have never realized that specific strategies can create scalability. To effectively scale your business, you need the right people, products, technology, and systems in place to create the growth you want without chaos or overwhelm. Your scalability is your ability to maintain a good performance as your business grows. You want to be scalable because it means you have the ability to attract the right talent, clients, and eventually buyer(s) for your business when you decide to retire.