My "Bersonal" View

After two decades as a football coach, Chip Kelly unearthed an in­­teresting insight about recruiting players for the NFL: The teams with the most college graduates tend to outperform their rivals.

You would have to live under a rock to have missed the remarkable phenomenon of the ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge.” It will soon exceed $100 million raised to further ALS awareness and research. Who would have guessed that watching people getting doused with buckets of ice water could be so much fun?

Beverly, Mass., resident Pete Frates, along with his family, helped to make the “Ice Bucket Challenge” go viral on the social sites Facebook and Twitter. Frates, 29, has lived with ALS since 2012, and has worked with The ALS Association’s Massachusetts Chapter. A former Division 1 college athlete with Boston College baseball, Frates tirelessly spreads awareness of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease according to the ALS website.

And speaking of Lou Gehrig, this year is the 75^th anniversary of Gehrig’s retirement from baseball. His premature retirement at age 36 was forced by the symptoms of this devastating disease. Many of us have forgotten the amazing details of Gehrig’s baseball career including:

• Batting an average of at least .300 in every year of his career except the one previous to retirement. A .340 lifetime batting average.
• Collecting more than 400 total bases in 5 different seasons, a major league record.
• Hitting 23 career grand slam home runs, a major league record.
• Earning recognition as the game’s greatest total runs producer in baseball’s history thanks to the combination of his RBIs and run scoring.
• Achieving the American League record of 184 RBIs in 1931, a mark still standing today.
• Playing every game for 13 seasons. X-rays taken late in his career showed 17 different fractures that had healed while he continued to play.

Lou Gehrig was dubbed The Iron Horse by the press based on his streak of playing 2,130 consecutive games, which ended when he asked his manager to take him out the lineup due to his fading abilities (and imminent disability diagnosis). Gehrig’s record stood for 62 years until it was broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995.

Iron Horse has morphed over the years to become Iron Man, an athlete of unusual physical endurance. And yet, this Iron Horse – Lou Gehrig, experienced a career ending diagnosis, disability and eventual death in his mid-thirties. Still feeling invincible?

Even highly-skilled athletes in the prime of life can become disabled. And no, those disabilities are not necessarily caused by the physical demands of their sport or an accident. Remember that when you have your next client meeting. And ask this question:

Have you taken time to protect your most valuable asset, your ability to earn an income?

Imagine this scene…you are standing in a room filled with qualified prospects. Every one of them is there to hear you talk about a topic vitally important to their financial future. You are prepared, you know your subject, but more importantly you know the secret of how to connect with each person in the room and why each person will want to have a face-to-face meeting with you. The perfect world you say? At ISN Network this scene is taking place every week at different cities across the country.

ISN Network-contracted associates have been conducting proprietary seminars in cities across the country for almost 15 years. These seminar producers have many characteristics in common. First, they are committed to providing financial solutions to their clients and seminar attendees in an easy to understand format. They are NOT product pushers; instead they are problem solvers with a vast array of financial products that can help their clients. They are prepared, well-trained and focused. And most importantly they have learned the secret of success in seminar selling from the network of experts who work with ISN Network.

The seminar systems available from ISN Network are varied and professional. We provide true mentorship throughout the process and can help you get started successfully in an arena with unlimited potential. Our programs incorporate all the best aspects of professional seminar planning and can be designed for your location and area of expertise. Seminars on Long Term Care, Annuities, Social Security, Charitable Programs, Estate Planning and Trusts can all be utilized successfully with the right ISN Network training. Our systems all include the best training, including how to fill the room with qualified prospects; what to say once the room is filled; how to turn prospects into face-to-face meetings; and how to create financial solutions from your clients goals and objectives.

At ISN Network the perfect world is just a phone call away. Take the first step in preparing an upcoming marketing programs. Call ISN Network and find out how you can be a part of the “ISN Network Seminar Systems” program today!

1-800-338-1892

As leaders in most any line of work will tell you, becoming a leader is mainly about what is in your head, not in your physical prowess or material advantages. In the book by Wayne Coffey – “The Closer: My Story” we learn from the greatest closer of all time, Mariano Rivera, that the key to his success was not just his physical skills, but his mental approach.

Rivera was from Panama and at first the Yankees saw him as a starting pitcher but arm troubles lead them to place him in the bullpen. It was there that Mariano transformed himself and his mentality and developed into the great player that he was. But was it just his physical skills?

In his own words Mariano said “Yes…I can do one thing better than just about anyone else. Put the ball exactly where I want. (But) I am convinced that being fully committed to the moment, without any worries about the past or projections into the future, is the best attribute that I had.”.

Translated into our world it can be a revelation. With each appointment, with each client, we need to be “in the moment” “without worries” of the outcome. If we do what is right for our clients, if we listen to their needs and concerns “without any worries of our past or future” – that is the best attribute we can bring to our clients.

So go out there and be a closer…like Mariano Rivera.

An insurance company once did an analysis of its top-tier performers compared with the rest of their sales people. They were looking for “natural” competencies that were not trained skills. Managers were asked what personal characteristics these people possessed that were crucial to their success. The results might surprise you:

1. Competitive Spirit – The top-tier performers competed with themselves. They loved to win and hated not living up to their potential. They studied their competition and others who were successful. When they saw their weaknesses they develop that area to improve. They also have the mind-set that always asks, “What’s next?”
2. Teachability- The top-tier performers had an insatiable appetite for and a curiosity about learning. They took instruction well and were not defensive. The true top performer had a rare combination of a competitive spirit but was willing to listen too.
3. Wit – This was the surprising characteristic. By wit, we mean quick thinkers. Top-tier performers have an ability to think on their feet. It includes an ability to use humor to deflect tension and build rapport. The top-tier performers all had what customers called a “likeable demeanor.”

It is always hard to analyze our strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, when we do, and we look at opportunities to grow, we do find success. Keep these three characteristics in mind when you look at yourself and your successes.

Life Insurance as an asset class is a concept that is gaining traction and there is a very good reason why. Most investment portfolios are designed to help clients accumulate wealth. While accumulation is an important part of an investment strategy, if the client plans on transferring wealth to the next generation, they also need to consider ways to protect their assets. An untimely market loss can significantly impact an asset’s value and can result in a client leaving behind much less than intended. Life insurance, unlike any other asset, can add stability to your portfolio by providing a predictable amount of money that can be left for a client’s heirs.

Here is a snapshot of how the concept can work for you. Your client continues to maintain their current investment portfolio. In addition, that client takes money that is not earmarked for another purpose (ie a Legacy asset) and uses it to pay the premiums on a life insurance policy. At the time of your client’s death, the beneficiary receives the death benefit and can use the funds for any reason, including to catch up on market losses, compensate for lost income or to avoid having to sell off assets to pay estate settlement costs.

Advantages of the Concept

• Your client has peace of mind knowing that the life policy can provide their heirs with an expected benefit that does not fluctuate based on market performance.
• Because the value is predetermined, the proceeds can be easily divided among the heirs.
• A properly structured policy can avoid income and estate taxes.
• The internal rate of return on the death benefit can be significant, and is even greater when the tax advantages are factored in.

We have software that can help you explain the process. Life insurance can be the final piece of the planning puzzle. An asset that can be designed to provide guaranteed and predictable results. Life Insurance can allow your clients the peace of mind to invest in the market with the knowledge that market fluctuations will not effect their heirs.

The In’s and Out’s of Creating a Landing page

A landing page is exactly what it sounds like: the page within your website that internet users ‘land’ on when they traffic from any online source. It’s the next page an internet user will see after clicking on a link related to your business. This link could be a Facebook Ad, a Google search, a link on Twitter, a link within your blog, a link from your newsletter…the list goes on and on.

The goal of a landing page is to encourage conversion within your sales funnel. It’s that simple. We highly recommend a single Call to Action for landing pages. That action could be:

• One Concept that Creates Curiosity
• Starting a free trial
• Creating an account
• etc, etc, etc.

A landing page is what tells a visitor to your website how to act on their interest in your business. It’s what turns a common internet user, window-shopping the web, into a guy who comes to your office and fills out a financial fact finder.

There’s a number of elements to optimize when you’re designing your page:

• Headline – Your headline should be clear and compelling in order to grab your viewers’ attention immediately. If you’re using Google Ads you should be using your headline in your ad – so make it clickable!
• List of benefits – Show what the potential customer will gain by signing up for your webinar. Even if it’s free, it’s still your job to convince that person that they should 1) give you their email and 2) spend the time to participate with you.
• Call to Action – Make sure your  call to action is clearly defined within your design. It should be one of the first things your visitor sees when they click on your page
• Form Fields – To gain more conversions (and leads), keep your required form fields to a minimum. Ask for an email and a first name. You can ask progressively more information as your visitor continues to get to know you.
  

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Creating a landing page is a straightforward process. Get in touch with your business’ web developer (or, in WordPress, do it yourself!). Create a new page and start pushing web traffic towards it.

Allianz Life is trying to make it easier for us to explain FIUL to our clients. here is a link to their consumer video.

All life insurance policies provide a death benefit. But did you know that fixed index universal life insurance (FIUL) can help protect your family, provide the potential for indexed interest, offer flexibility, and more? This video helps explain how.

VIDEO LINK

Of all the affluent clients who fired their advisors, 87 percent did so because of the relationship or service. Only 13 percent did so because of investment performance. In fact, clients will leave even if investment performance is high if they feel the advisor has lost touch with them and their needs.

At ISN, we preach the idea of “touching” our clients on a regular basis and in multiple ways. In today’s environment, with technology as it is, it is not difficult or costly to implement a plan.  For this purpose the idea of an electronic drip marketing program is a good one. We have made it possible for all of our reps to have a low-cost type of plan with our partnership with Financial Safety Net.   The newsletter is professional, topical and includes analytics that help you discover what your clients are reading and what interests them.

Want to try it out for free? We can do that for you. Give us a call to check it out. Instead of getting fired…lets get fired up!