The September issue of Senior Market Advisor will be our 10th Anniversary Issue. I know it's only July, but our editorial team is already piecing together a really cool retrospective of the last decade. You'll have a chance to take a jog down memory lane to see what was going on in the industry, what predictions were made, which ones hit the nail on the head and which ones fell flat.
The following are selected highlights from 2010. As we get closer to the release of the September issue, look for more tidbits to roll out. Let us know about your own highlights from the past decade or email me at dwilliams@sbmedia.com. Whether it's success stories, funny anecdotes or photos, it makes no difference, we'd love to hear about your career from 2001-2010.
Selected 2010 highlights:
Stop cold calling. "It's a total waste of time. Your time. The prospect's time. Research shows it takes 9-12 touches to reach a prospect with a cold call campaign, and you get voicemail 80 percent of the time. In addition, you convert less than 10 percent into clients. Why bother?" Joanne S. Black, "50 Best Ways to Generate Leads," January 2010
Communicate. "The prospect is completely left out of the picture because of a lack of communication. The first rule of making a decision relative to your financial future is to know what and why you are doing something." T.J. Pool, "The Ethical Advisor," February 2010
What keeps you up at night? "Qualified leads are harder and harder to come by nowadays, as many people are bombarded by information that oftentimes doesn't even relate to their personal situation. On top of unscrupulous sales practices and with the huge economic downturn, people are wary of trusting anyone, and rightfully so." Reader Christopher Richter, first annual Advisor Survey, March 2010
Sales focus. "A successful, talented salesperson takes complicated matters and makes them very simple for clients to understand." Honey Leveen, "Trends 2010: The Science of Sales and Marketing," April 2010
On Boomers. "There's such a large number of boomers retiring and that really means a tidal wave of change for all of us." Barbara Walker, "The Boomer Expert," May 2010
