How do you handle difficulties in your practice that come from generational disagreements? Or from clients whose behavior can be draining on you? In this episode, MDRT members share their challenges and strategies to handle them.

You’ll hear from:

Peter Jason Byrne

Danielle J. Genier, CFP, CLU

Jonathan Godshall Camacho, LUTCF, MBA

Randall D. Kaufmann

Episode breakdown:

0:34 – Reconciling generational challenges and client service moving forward

2:11 – Changing processes rather than changing individuals

4:25 – Adapting approaches when working with your spouse

6:32 – Handling clients who refuse to listen to your budget recommendations

10:02 – Maintaining calm when a client becomes overwhelming

Listen to the monthly series, MDRT Presents: @mdrtpresents

Do you know how to arrange your schedule to do what you want to do, not just what you need to do? During a conversation at MDRT headquarters before the pandemic, then-MDRT Foundation board members explained how they make their priorities an actual priority.

You’ll hear from:

Elaine Milne, Dip PFS

Ted Rusinoff, CFP

Episode breakdown:

0:31 – Making time for what’s important to you

1:48 – How to create that time in your schedule

4:09 – Focusing not on growing the flower but on the environment where it grows

7:34 – Becoming energized through work with the Foundation

Listen to the monthly series, MDRT Presents: @mdrtpresents

Not every client takes your advice or puts a plan in place when they need it. In this episode, MDRT members share difficult experiences and what they learned for next time.

You’ll hear from:

Yakov Baylis, CLU, ChFC

Edward M. Burnett, RICP

Russell L. Clousing, ChFC, CLU

Episode breakdown:

0:33 – When a client rejects or misuses your advice

3:21 – What I changed to prevent future recurrence of problems

4:08 – When tragedy follows inaction

6:25 – Learning not to respond to a challenging email so quickly

9:35 – How different forms of communication relate to documentation

Listen to the monthly series, MDRT Presents: @mdrtpresents

How do you make sure you are conducting yourself appropriately with clients and prospects at events? How do you adjust your approach between in-person and virtual events? In this episode, referral coach Bill Cates and MDRT member Tristan Karl Robert Hartey share how you can utilize a variety of events to expand your practice.

Episode breakdown:

0:32 – Benefiting from virtual events and developing business friendship

2:45 – Establishing comfort levels for an event

5:02 – Nuances involved in managing these relationships

8:20 – Remembering to have patience and build trust

11:32 – The benefit of small events vs. large events

15:48 – Learning from mistakes at past events

18:45 – Applying these lessons to virtual events

If you want a particular type of referrals, first you need to make sure your clients know who those people are. Then you need to follow through and take time to establish relationships. In this episode, referral coach Bill Cates and MDRT member Tristan Karl Robert Hartey share how you can meet and work with more clients in the high-net-worth space.

Episode breakdown:

0:27 – Being selective about who you ask for HNW referrals

3:50 – The importance of the phrase “The timing isn’t right”

5:05 – Refining the process of identifying your ideal client

6:32 – Adjusting your language as you gain experience

8:56 – A surprising experience with a referral

10:52 – Making sure valued clients don’t think you don’t want to work with them anymore

Listen to the monthly series, MDRT Presents: @mdrtpresents

How do you ensure that the right people are seeing what you post on social media? Should you be sharing information about your products, your team, or your family? In this episode, MDRT members share the digital changes that have helped connect with new clients.

You’ll hear from:

Carla Brown, FPFS

Matthew Richard Duffy, LUTCF, FSS

Episode breakdown:

0:27 – Adjusting strategy on Facebook to increase exposure

3:21 – Driving engagement through posts about your team

6:18 – How to evaluate what is and isn’t working

Listen to the monthly series, MDRT Presents: @mdrtpresents

How do you ensure your practice is running smoothly throughout the year? Do you gather feedback from clients, and what do you do with that information? In this episode, MDRT members share changes they have made to ensure consistency in their business.

You’ll hear from:

Carla Brown, FPFS

Matthew Richard Duffy, LUTCF, FSS

Episode breakdown:

0:27 – The benefits of bringing in an operations manager

2:16 – Avoiding inconsistency with an intake form and a survey

5:41 – The value of using a follow-up questionnaire

6:43 – Changes made to improve and learn from the survey

9:16 – Determining that the operations manager was helping establish consistency

Listen to the monthly series, MDRT Presents: @mdrtpresents

In the last year, many advisors have had to embrace virtual options that they never considered before. In this episode, MDRT members share how they adapt to continuing changes to ensure not just that their practice is running smoothly but that their team members are happy as well.

You’ll hear from:

Carla Brown, FPFS

Matthew Richard Duffy, LUTCF, FSS

Episode breakdown:

0:35 – Changing from all face-to-face to all virtual

1:50 – The benefits of asking staff "What do you like least about your job?"

3:51 – How to decide between standardized vs. customizable policies for clients and staff

5:20 – When something mandatory becomes merely encouraged

7:40 – Determining what is and isn't OK when someone works from home

9:27 – How hiring changes when it doesn't matter where staff is located

Listen to the monthly series, MDRT Presents: @mdrtpresents

In a different world, there are different ways to approach the way you communicate with clients about their coverage. In this episode, MDRT members share how they have adjusted discussions of unemployment, retirement and more.

You’ll hear from:

Lam Pui Ka

Brad J. Myers

Leena Parwani, MBA, Cert CII

Episode breakdown:

0:34 – A difficult lesson about non-disclosure cases

7:22 – Revising plans for older clients who have lost their jobs

13:44 – Reframing the pandemic as a preview of retirement

16:05 – Figuring out how to explain the benefits of insurance to someone who doesn’t believe in it

Find more resources to help you focus on the here and now: rz.mdrt.org/productivity-kit/

Listen to the monthly series, MDRT Presents: @mdrtpresents

You probably aren’t anticipating that clients will go out of their way to make sure that you are properly compensated. In this episode recorded before the pandemic, MDRT members share times when they have been taken aback by gratitude from clients.

You’ll hear from:

Leanne Barbara Bull, Dip FP, CFP

David Meszaros, CFP

Paresh B. Shah, CFP

Episode breakdown:

0:36 – When clients insist to pay even when you’ve offered them a free meeting

2:14 – Making a priority of clients who are invested in you

4:50 – The surprise of clients being concerned about your finances

7:48 – Receiving unexpected praise and engagement from new clients

9:54 – The importance of aligning your fees with the value you deliver

10:43 – The impact of video testimonials from appreciative clients

Listen to the monthly series, MDRT Presents: @mdrtpresents