Article Library

9 cognitive biases that impede your sales — and how to overcome them
Article posted by Vanessa De La Rosa
I want to bring you face-to-face with the cognitive fallacies and biases undermining your sales success, on both sides of the conversation, and how to overcome them.

John Bogle predicts two 50 percent declines in the market over the next 10 years
Article posted by Roccy DeFrancesco
I’m sure many of you will want to use Mr. Bogle’s quotes when discussing the proper tools to help your clients grow and protect their wealth.

Long-term care is a women's issue — or is it?
Article posted by Stephen Forman
A calculated attempt to market LTCI to women has been an ongoing plotline for years. What's not so obvious is whether this is desirable or warranted.

Advisors matter
Article posted by Robert Kerzner
Throughout the world, legislators and regulators are banning commission-based advice. Even here is the U.S., there has been much discussion about instituting a universal fiduciary standard, which would effectively ban commission-based advice. The problem is, our research has shown that most people are willing to far less than the cost of providing that advice.

7 habits of effective insurance agents
Article posted by Justin Brown
Here are seven things the most effective insurance agents do on a regular basis. Try them and soon you, too, will be exceeding your sales goals.

Four things top producers do to sell cash value life insurance
Article posted by Lew Nason
Top producers who use these techniques are able to consistently attract more people, set more appointments, get more referrals and close 9 out of 10 sales calls.

A tangible storytelling example to help you sell complicated products
Article posted by Kevin Startt
Here’s one simple idea using a simple tool — the tape measure. This idea will cost you a whole two-dollar bill, but I've seen advisors use this to make $2 million in sales.

Bad bosses, Pt. 1: fight or flee from black hats?
Article posted by Steven McCarty
Black-hatters especially will have no qualms asking others to lie for them or to break the law as long as it advances their interests. Clearly, we can’t point to a single best answer because it will depend on the circumstances of each advisor. But here’s what we can recommend.

Dave Ramsey is making me a wealthy man
Article posted by Rodney Ballance
“Dave Ramsey is making me a wealthy man,” said the friend whom I thought I knew so well. I couldn’t believe my ears.

Scams, fraud, predatory sales tactics and smart decisions about money
Article posted by Karl Schilling
I want to make it very clear that professional salespeople are vital to our everyday lives and our overall financial well-being. The grave obstacles lie within the industries which promote predatory sales tactics and strive to make sales revenue at any cost.

Bridging the retirement gap with life insurance
Article posted by Jeff Reed
Our clients are not saving enough. Layer on top the increased tax rates and the possibility of higher rates in the future, and the stage is set for the one industry that can really step in and help them bridge the gap — the insurance industry.

Maximizing grandparents' gifts toward college financial planning
Article posted by Robert Link
Using life insurance and/or annuities, advisors can effectively assist in directing families toward accounts that provide no assessment of the grandparents' gift monies. This places the families in the best position to receive the maximum amount of college financial assistance possible.