When asked, most sales managers in the financial services industry say that the one activity they want to be able to do better…or do at all…is to COACH and do it effectively.  As we have seen in the last two articles in this series, coaching cannot be accomplished efficiently or effectively without first establishing skill…

Okay, now we are at the point of discussing COACHING.  Most financial sales managers want to start there; however, as we have discussed, this cannot be accomplished effectively without the preceding steps of benchmarking skills against requisite levels and evaluating progress in these areas.  We have now injected teaching, which seems to be simply another…

One of the most serious problems financial planners encounter is clients who have no valid will.  If anyone dies without a valid will, then their estate is administered under the intestacy laws of their state.  In other words, their state has written a will for them. Why are state intestacy laws important to Financial Planners?…

Regardless of how good a Sales Manager you are, you can’t be everywhere at once.  You have administrative duties to fulfill.  Regardless of how insignificant you may think they are, they take time and emotional energy from your job of mentoring sales professionals. Historically, the basic forum for evaluation of a salesperson is the joint…

A key responsibility of Sales Managers is the skill development of a large number of producers, which must be accomplished while simultaneously meeting significant increases in production level.  When you add to that the fact that most Sales Managers are burdened by time-demanding administrative duties, it becomes clear that there is an ever present dilemma…

If you are the manager of a sales team, then you are probably involved in the process of setting sales goals.  This is the case whether you are managing financial advisors (FAs), certified financial planners (CFPs), trust representatives, or private bankers.  Set those goals properly and you can incent productivity; if not, your sales goals…

Much has been written about recent legislation that provides portability between spouses of the estate and gift tax exclusion amount (for deaths in 2011 and 2012).  This portability allows the unused portion of a deceased spouse’s tax exclusion amount to pass to the surviving spouse.  This portability allows both spouses’ exclusion amounts to be effectively…

The ability to COACH effectively is the ultimate aim of most sales managers…and it is a worthy, albeit elusive, goal.  Many abilities and tools are required to reach this status and we will discuss these in upcoming segments of this series.  The key component of these tools, without which coaching will be ineffective at best…

When asked, all Sales Managers say they want to be able to coach sales professionals.  However, they often fail to recognize a critical step that is necessary to be able to coach in this manner.  As a matter of fact, effective coaching is virtually impossible without it.  What is it?  Come back on Monday and…

I am often asked questions about the advisability of naming a corporate fiduciary as trustee or executor rather than naming a friend or family member, or even an individual who is a CPA or certified financial planner.  I confess up front that I have a strong bias in favor of corporate executors and trustees.  Years…