Another fantastic day on Wednesday with the DOW and TSX getting slaughtered two days in a row.
It is ugly trying to find the bottom of a black hole because you just don’t where the bottom is and all you can see is the darkness while your imagination continues to create monsters by the score.
It is kind of like one of those dreams when you were a kid when you were falling, falling, falling and then just before you hit the ground you woke up.
It is anybodies guess where the bottom is going to be in this latest financial mess but rest assured there will be a bottom.
When you find the bottom then you will say this is it, this is the bottom, now I know where my feet are and where the foundation is because I can see it. Now I can take action and move onward and upward. I can see the light.
The key to staying in the light and out of the darkness is to stay awake and out of the dream of the negative emotions and the negative beliefs that come with it.
Remind yourself of your long term vision and give thanks every day for all the blessings that you have in your life. Remind yourself of all the knowledge, skill and training that you have available to you and remember that same knowledge, skill and training is available to you for the future for this too shall pass. The best way to remind yourself and get into a positive state of mind is by using a journal to write it, see it and even hear it as you talk to yourself while you write.
The light can show up in some of the most unusual places. Laura was reading her latest yoga mag over the weekend and I saw the coolest Ad from Lululemon on the back cover and to read it click Lululemon Yoga Magazine Ad.
I can empathize with financial advisors that they are feeling uncomfortable with their clients looking to them for the answers.
Thinking that your client is looking to you for the answers can be causing you to look even further into the darkness because there are no answers, at least not right now.
Remember, just like everyone else, your clients have a basic human need to be heard and if they are trying to contact you, make yourself available and allow your clients to be heard. Better yet, contact your clients and let them know that while you may not have the answers, you are there for them. This strategy will keep you in the light and out of the darkness.
They know that this latest debacle is not your fault.
Whose fault will it be if you don’t make yourself available to allow your clients to be heard?
YOURS!
Use that old objection handling method. Listen to your clients and feedback to your clients what you are hearing from your clients so that they get that you are listening.
Practice non-violent communication by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg;
• when you are hearing bad news about the economy
• you are feeling afraid, nervous and worried
• because you believe that your investment plan isn’t working
• and you would like me to review the principals that we first talked about that your plan is based on
The point is it is about listening and it may not be about doing anything because there may not be a lot that you can do except listen, stay in touch and keep your clients and yourself out of the dark.
On our end, I believe that I delivered one of the best How To Thrive In A Recession Speaking Presentations ever to Pro-Seminars in Edmonton 8am Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 and click How To Thrive In A Recession Results. It is all about staying in touch and filling the marketing funnel.
International Values and Behavioral Analyst, Business Coach, Speaker and Author
Executive Coaching Tips for Financial Advisors
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