Welcome all MDRT friends and attendees.
It has always been my experience that much of the value from attending the MDRT Annual Meeting arises from discussions/conversations over coffee, drinks or dinner. And this year already looks to be no exception. I had not been in Philly for more than 3 hours before the learning began.
Mary Catherine Taylor, a long term MDRT Top of the Table member and I were discussing how important it is to get the "WHY" totally clear (why we do what we do, why clients may need us, why their financial plans are important, etc.) before moving on to "WHAT" we do and "HOW" we do it.
We will not get clients to their "WHY" without having the courage, confidence and capability to ask difficult questions. Mary says to clients: "It is my job to come into your life like a mini tornado. I will stir things up, probably make you feel uncomfortable, destroy some preconceptions and ask some difficult questions but when things settle down you will know whether your plans had firm foundations and whether you need to make changes to be sure you properly deal with today's lifestyle and lifetime planning needs rather than yesterday's".
I love this. It truly shows commitment, confidence and courage and engages the client in a fact finding process which will gather the soft facts as well as the, compliance essential, hard facts.
Thanks Mary. I may have butchered your words but hopefully I have captured the essence of your approach. And that's another lesson. Any good ideas you take home with you don't just copy them - adapt and amend them until they are truly and authentically yours.
Don't forget to add your email address to get blog updates as the meeting progresses and share this on Facebook, Twitter etc.
Richard Cook @ Philadelphia Marriott
www.advisersuccess.blogspot.com
www.theretirementteam.blogspot.com
Note: www.advisersuccess.co.uk is currently being updated. The new site will be availed soon
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