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Beware of opinions presented as facts.
…

Because sometimes they’re not facts. We have access to a lot of information published by industry specialists whom I have a lot of respect for, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that every time they write something, it needs to be absorbed as fact.

I read an article two weeks ago talking about how referral marketing and asking for referrals and expecting to receive them is basically as good as dead. And that’s just not true. I was talking with an advisor yesterday who is struggling to keep up with the amount of referrals he’s receiving from existing clients (and this is during this phase that we’re going through of this pandemic). He can’t keep up with the amount of referrals he’s receiving.

I read an article by Financial Advisor Magazine who surveyed a load of people and found that 65% of them aren’t even working with a financial advisor. Now, that’s not great news for our industry, but for you, as an advisor, it’s phenomenal news, because the chances are, some of their friends are working with you, and you have the chance to receive them as referrals from clients you’re already working with.

We have put out some great information about language to use when asking for referrals, and if you connect with our Retirement Income Consultants through Ash Brokerage, they’ll make that available to you. [Or call our Retirement Sales Desk at (800) 589-3000 to request a copy.]

So when you are seeing all this information coming at you:

1. Be discerning. Keep it at arm’s length, filtering what might be great ideas to adopt right now; what might be good ideas but can be done later; or what, for you and how you’re running your business, is just not really helpful.


2. Yes, you do need to be aware of how our industry is changing. Rules and regulation changes are important to stay abreast of — things like RegBI and other rules, you do have to keep abreast of.


3. But most importantly, keep going. Get back on track to what it is you do best — providing your clients with that financial peace of mind and that plan in place to help them get to where it is they need to get to.

I look forward to bringing you another Distraction-Proof Advisor idea next week.