Archive for the ‘Professional Women’ Category

Sometimes my job coaching female financial advisors makes me sad.  So many women I start working with are bright, very successful with great production but come to me as if they have been faking their success, as if they don’t deserve it.  Their confidence is low, they are often exhausted and have lost their drive and spunk. Yet In just my first hour of coaching I can already see their strength as an advisor, their uniqueness as a woman and the amazing value they bring to their clients, to me it’s clear as day.

These are the clients I enjoy the most, they have so much to work with they just need someone (me) to help them see who they are as a female financial advisor.  My role is to encourage them to embrace their difference and recognize it not as a deficit in a stodgy industry but a breath of fresh air in a business struggling with ethics and trust.

It’s so easy to focus on the things we are not doing always recognizing what didn’t work, what hasn’t been done, this is a recipe for disaster especially for a woman.  We women are different creatures and must recognize that we must manage ourselves as much as we manage our clients.  The tables often turn within the first few coaching calls while I would like to think I’m the solution it’s really the simple exercises I ask the women to start doing on a regular basis and it often starts with your vision.

Create Your Vision: You have heard this a million times but do you have one?  I mean a fun, lofty vision?  Vision boards are a great way to clarify and reinforce the life and business you want.  I have one and so should YOU.

1.        Purchase a foam board from Staples, I prefer poster size
2.       Gather together a pile of magazines that you can pull from
3.       Turn on some great motivational music and grab a glass of wine if you are so inclined. (This is always fun to do with other women)
4.       Begin by cutting out pictures that reflect the life you want (remember dream big).
5.       Paste your pictures on your board, be creative or not.
6.       Post this board where you will see it every day

If you’re looking to enhance your prospecting efforts, generate more referrals, and get new introductions from your existing clients – consistently and repeatedly – it’s time to consider a seminar program to grow your business.

In today’s environment, seminars have proven to be one of the most effective methods to build a successful practice.

There are many different kinds of seminars, or EVENTS as I prefer to call them, and each type serves a very specific business-building function:

·         Large events, marketed through a marketing company, are very effective in building brand recognition and a database full of prospects

·         Smaller, more interactive workshops are ideal for relationship building and closing business

·         Specialty events are tailored to enhance client loyalty, and generate new introductions and referrals

No matter what your business objective is, strategic events can help you accomplish it – as long as you:

1.      Know your objective:  Be clear and specific about your immediate objective – more specific than just, “I want to open accounts.” Do you want to close business, generate more introductions, enhance client loyalty, or just get your name out there and generate leads? The more specific your objective is, the more effective you can be.

2.      Have a plan:  Based on your objective, be clear on the steps it takes to achieve that goal. How will you  call people to action at the end of your event? How will you encourage your audience to actually do what you are recommending? How can you entice the audience to provide the information you need in order to follow up?

3.      Prepare, prepare, prepare:  Before your event, rehearse your presentation. Clarify the call to action. Determine the steps you will take immediately after the event to follow up with participants. Identify possible objections and challenges, and craft your responses before they arise. Do what it takes to make sure your event is a seamless experience for everyone there.

A little support goes a long way in creating a truly effective event, and you might be surprised at just how easy it can be to develop and deliver a program that fuels your business for years to come.

If you’d like to learn more about how to create and implement a seminar program that suits your objectives, raises your public profile, and delivers serious results, click here http://yourpinkoffice.com/Event.Detail.asp?id=1283098029

Last night my husband and I were talking about the principles we want our kids to focus on. They are now all young adults from ages 19 – 24 and all venturing into a new phase in their life. This was not an easy discussion as we constantly allowed our emotions to impact our thoughts but after about 2 hours our discussion became quite fruitful. We realized we want all our children living a Healthy independent life, being fiscally responsible while always growing and improving. I won’t bore you with the details, but what I love about having these principles is that it makes it easier for us to make decisions. If one of our children needs our help we can now consider how they are living these principles which will reinforce our decision.

Your business is no different, as a female financial advisor it’s so easy to get caught up in the emotions of your business, your minds can easily block out the realities in lieu of what you want to see or do. While you may not select principles to grow your business, having a vision driven by your Mission can provide that same structure and guidelines when making a business decision.

In my business, Your Pink Office, my mission is to inspire female financial advisors to better leverage their strengths to accomplish more. To help them recognize their unique differences and have the courage to trust their instincts and follow their heart. With this in mind every decision I make, every investment I make into my business must fit within my mission. I can even look backwards and ask myself in 2011 how did I accomplish my mission? What are the measurable achievements that inspired women?

Whether you are trying to raise responsible productive children or building a highly profitable business having a clearly defined vision and mission is a critical component to staying focused, objective and more successful in both your business and personal life.

Ready to start 2012 with a new vision but you don’t know where to start? Breakthrough Coaching designed to jump-start your business with a personalized, high-intensity, one-hour session that gets you out of your rut and back onto the road to success.

Click here to schedule.

What is it about women that make us so masochistic, especially female financial advisors and other successful business women?  I woke up this morning really dragging, I felt it yesterday but just kept on going, and here it is today and I’m still feeling it.  The worst part was I wasn’t listening to my own advice.

I can’t tell you how often I am coaching female advisors about the importance of slowing down, and practicing self care. Most of these women (I include myself in this crowd) think slowing down is going to Hot Yoga (not exactly relaxing) or getting a pedicure while talking on the phone (not exactly the down time I was thinking about).  That’s not slowing down that’s just trying to fool our bodies in thinking we are rejuvenating.

The reality is some day’s life just catches up to you.  You know those days when you are just dragging, can’t find that boost of adrenaline that usually props you up all day.  You think “Why am I so tired, there must be a reason?” You reflect back on the past few days and because you can’t find a logical reason why you are tired you figure you will just work through until you start to feel better.

I did the same thing today until I had a BIG conversation with myself.  While I kept thinking about things I needed to do, wanted to get done my other brain the one that speaks from my soul said “Adri, your tired, stop doing and rest.” So for once I actually listened, I finished what I was doing and crawled back into bed in the MIDDLE of the day.

Later after resting I headed off to the movie theatre to watch a movie my husband would never want to see and eat a big bucket of popcorn that my husband would insist on sharing.  In fact after the movie in fact after the movie I went to one of our favorite restaurants and had a glass of wine all by myself, why?  Because I can.

Do something totally out of character this week, treat your self and let me know what you did, I’d LOVE to hear about it. Leave a comment below to share!

While I have spent years teaching both Male and Female Financial Advisors how to help women who have lost a spouse this month I experienced it for real.  My Dad, after 86 fabulous years died peacefully leaving behind a sizeable estate. My Dad was very proactive in planning for the future; his desire to avoid handing his hard earned money to Uncle Sam motivated him to take all the necessary steps to protect his and my Mothers wealth.  I suppose that is why it somewhat surprised me to see my Mom experiencing the same feelings that other women experience.

Will I have to go on a budget? This is typically the first and most pressing issue for most all women who lose a spouse.  Helping my Mom understand where her income would be coming from and how much income would be generated each month from her investments immediately gave her more confidence in her ability to maintain her lifestyle. Providing her with a simple monthly summary of income and expenses will help her become more comfortable with the numbers and more aware of what she can and can’t afford.  Becoming more aware is probably the most critical factor in becoming more confident.

Will I end up a Bag Lady? There is no doubt that my Mothers tolerance for risk differs greatly from my Dad.  Even my Brothers recognized the difference suggesting my Mom reduce her risk and focus on preservation and income.   While my Dad was all about growth, we want to make sure that my Mom NEVER runs out of money.  With newly established cost basis going to cash was a viable option while immediately reducing unnecessary risk until other options can be considered.

Keeping it Simple; Lastly we want to make it simple for my Mom to manage by consolidating accounts.  While my Dad was comfortable having accounts in multiple institutions, combining all my Moms assets with her advisor who treats her with respect and makes her feel comfortable is and continues to be an important factor.

While my father did a great job accumulating assets without long term care insurance his stay in an assisted living facility could have overtime put my mother’s financial future at risk.  Fortunately, given my Fathers acumen for building wealth my Mother was able to move him to a beautiful facility overlooking the Pacific Ocean making the move a more palatable process.  While his time remaining was short I quickly recognized the devastating impact our health can have on eating away a sizeable estate.

My Father left a great legacy, plan and prepare for the future so that you can life a wonderful life.