Lloyd Williams

By Om Malik from On Business

Jobs on Solving Hard Problems

The best ideas win here at Apple. We have healthy debates in this company. We debate how to tie shoe laces and we even debate about what great is. We’re an engineering company, we think like engineers and scientists, and we think it’s the right way to solve real, hard problems. We try to have our cake and eat it too, we try to have great design and great performance. If you look at our products, that’s what we deliver. We are working really hard and we can’t run really faster. There are cars in the parking lots at all hours, people have cots in the office.

Lesson #1: Hard problems are solved by hard work and no compromises.

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A coaching client asked me this week to discuss my thoughts on social prospecting. This is a delicate subject because you do not want to be labeled a “networker” which is synonymous with “always selling” and becomes a fast track ticket to the “Black List.”

When asked about what you do for a living you should have an effective Elevator Script which results in the person saying “tell me more.” But what do you do when you are in a social setting and no one inquires about your job and you look around the room at all these great prospects.

First ask yourself, why are you there? Was the purpose to prospect, if not maybe you should stop trying to sell and just enjoy the company and conversation. If your purpose was to prospect, then you should ask yourself whether the other’s expectations are to be solicited. If not maybe you should amend your purpose.

Too many sales people join organizations solely to find prospects and they are soon identified by the group and “Black Listed.” If you join a group, be there for the purpose of the group. Be there because you believe in what they are trying to do, if not leave.

As I mentioned in an earlier post clients and advocated first need to like us before they trust us. If you want to work with your social contacts, be likable and participate in the activities because you believe in them. If they like you they will trust you. Then when they ask what you do, you are prepared with your Elevator Script.

Nobody wants to deal with the fact that many people who are investing have no way of achieving their retirement dreams. Every investor expects to retire. When they invested $25,000 into that mutual fund and the advisor collected their commission or fee, there existed the expectation of being retireable. The reality is very different.

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Did You Know? from Amybeth on Vimeo.

One important aspect of your ability to retire is the need for a clear vision of your desired future, a life dream. For most this is a faded, out of focus, black and white photography of the future. It needs to be a wide screen BlueRay movie with surround sound, clear, crisp, and with brilliant detail.

Since most couples do not have a clear vision of their future, their advisors should facilitate creating this dream by asking provocative questions. Because how can a couple hope to have the life they desire in the future if they do not know what it will look like? How can you invest for an unknown future?

The following questions may help create your dream future:

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In this rare video by Napoleon Hill, he shares one of the great secrets of creating a successful future.

No matter what business you are in, everyone wants to maintain and enhance their lifestyle throughout their lifetime. This basic desire is forgotten many times when clients visit their financial advisor. The products and services offered by the advisor are insignificant if this primary concern is overlooked. Why is the most important financial concept rarely discussed?
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Shirley Anderson sent me a link today to an article about Studs Terkel, Chicago author and commentator. He is the author of Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression and numerous other books. At age 96 he has a message for all of us. Read the article at:
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/money/fear_economy_studs_terkel.html

This is a great message to pass on to family, friends, and clients.

The press continues to encourage investors to watch what the institutional and hedge fund managers are doing as an indicator for what they should do. And because they are selling, so should the investor. This is foolish advice, because institutional managers, during the extremes of the market, are never doing what they personally want to do. Because of redemptions during crashes and infusions of new money during rallies they are forced to liquidate or invest against their own best judgment

Investing is counter intuitive. One of the great counter intuitive investors is Warren Buffett. Read his letter to the New York Times here.

Forwarding this letter to clients might be a good way to comfort them in these difficult times.

Wednesday, April 25th is Administrative Professionals Day. This is a great opportunity to say thank you to those team members who allow your processes to run smoothly, your brand to be delivered consistently, and your time to be focused on what is most important.

On page 167 of my book *[Attract Clients: A Financial Advisor’s Guide to Building and Running a Practice](http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F0978062442%2Fsr%3D1-1%2Fqid%3D1152791900%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks&tag=lloydwilliams-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325)* is an article titled *Nine Ways to Say Thank You*.

The worksheet can be downloaded [here](http://www.lloydwilliamsinc.com/wp-content/uploads/nine_ways_to_say_ty.pdf). In the comments below tell us how you say thank you to your administrative professionals.