Julie Genjac, managing director, Hartford Funds Applied Insights Team discusses why lack of team roles and responsibilities causes many teams to struggle. She also shares why most teams need a finder, minder, and grinder.

Movie scripts tell actors how to play their role in a film. Money scripts determine the role your clients play in their own financial lives. However, these kind of scripts sometimes have a negative influence on financial behavior.

Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, wealth psychology expert and founder of KBK Wealth Connection, explains the concept of money scripts and how to change them if they’ve become problematic.

Many of us were taught that managing money and investing are strictly rational, intellectual activities. Just by having the right knowledge and skills, we’d automatically make good financial decisions. But is it really that simple?

Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, wealth psychology expert and founder of KBK Wealth Connection, explains the concept of a personal money story and how it can influence clients’ financial health and wellbeing in ways they don’t even realize.

Prospecting often has its challenges, and some financial professionals may find it even more difficult in a socially-distanced environment. Not only is virtual a great alternative, it’s a strategy that can be useful at any time. Bill McManus, managing director of Hartford Funds Applied Insights, explains how financial professionals can actually expand their prospecting reach using social and professional online networks.

Partnerships with local financial professionals can be a great source of new prospects. And if you co-hosted events with well-connected financial professionals before the pandemic, you’ve likely seen the value of this strategy firsthand.

Unfortunately, social-distancing may restrict in-person events—but virtual prospecting is a convenient and cost-effective alternative. Mike Lynch, managing director of Hartford Funds Applied Insights, explains how to partner with professionals to co-host an online event and gives real-life examples to show their unique advantages.

Living longer is one of the major factors raising clients’ expectations of advice. How can financial professionals help educate clients and prospects about needs that go beyond the realm of investing? Instead of simply telling clients what they should anticipate in older age, connect them to relevant resources. Hartford Funds regional vice president and advisor consultant Curtis Ranta explains that, by collaborating with professionals outside of your natural network, you can host client events featuring a longevity-specialist panel. Learn why these events have been successful and the steps to coordinating one.

The idea of asking for referrals can make even the most seasoned financial professional squirm. What many financial professionals may not realize is that satisfied clients are already naturally inclined to share your services, and by not asking for a referral you’re likely passing up a great opportunity. Dave Ingram, Hartford Funds regional vice president and advisor consultant, shares a simple, proven strategy for increasing your consistency and effectiveness in asking for referrals, and why periods of volatility can be the most practical and important time to do it.

We’re starting to think about life after the pandemic. Will your practice change a little or a lot? And how will you figure that out? Julie Genjac, managing director of Hartford Funds Applied Insights, discusses how to evaluate your team’s performance during the pandemic and how to apply what you learn.

Julie Genjac, managing director of Hartford Funds Applied Insights, conveys how small adjustments to your team can lead to significant results.

Affluent investors used to start their search for a financial professional by getting recommendations from friends or family. But now affluent investors under 45 are starting that search differently. Find out how this trend has changed and what you can do to increase your chances to be found by affluent prospects when they start their search. The Oechsli Institute’s 2019 affluent consumer research uncovered digital strategies that can help you prospect and connect with them.

Many financial professionals have no idea if their online presence is helping or hurting their affluent prospecting efforts. And how would they? They aren’t out there studying the digital trends of affluent consumers. That’s how we can help. The Oechsli Institute’s 2019 affluent consumer research uncovered digital strategies that can help you prospect and connect with them.

Couples nearing a transitional period later in life—including those retiring or becoming empty nesters—tend to anticipate a stress-free life, enjoying all their favorite things. For many, the transition to the next phase of life is everything they’d hoped for. But for others, the next chapter can be a rude awakening. Why? Because all along, each person had a different idea of what this phase would be like—but they never talked about it.

Couples nearing a transitional period later in life—including those retiring or becoming empty nesters—tend to anticipate a stress-free life, enjoying all their favorite things. For many, the transition to the next phase of life is everything they’d hoped for. But for others, the next chapter can be a rude awakening. Why? Because all along, each person had a different idea of what this phase would be like—but they never talked about it.

Personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi and Professor David Laibson of the Harvard University Economics Department talk about how financial professionals can use the science of choice architecture to structure the way their clients make choices, helping them arrive at better outcomes./span>

In a world of swift and constant change, your clients are searching for answers to a myriad of pressing questions in their lives.

Think of people in your life who have given you vital insights or solutions to nagging problems, or mentoring that grew your career equity—you think of them as true partners you can’t live without. No one wants to lose their fountain of knowledge.

In this podcast John Diehl interviews Tim Sanders, New York Times bestselling author and sales innovation expert, about how a financial professional can become a fountain of knowledge.

Many financial professionals realize the potential of LinkedIn for client acquisition. But few have mastered it. That’s because LinkedIn is complex, and it doesn’t come with an instruction manual for financial professionals. Our host, John Diehl, asked Stephen Boswell, president of The Oechsli Institute about their LinkedIn research. You’ll hear best practices and action steps used by financial professionals who successfully acquired clients using LinkedIn and how you can too.

Our host, John Diehl, asked Dr. Joe Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, “What in the world does financial advice have to do with caregiving?” Dr. Joe shared that 1 in 4 American families now provide upwards of 21 hours a week providing care to a loved one. Dr. Coughlin explains how financial professionals can serve as a resource for clients who are in a caregiving role.

Recognizing your talents and promoting them doesn’t always come easily. The first step in building your personal brand is defining what makes your services appealing and distinguishes you from others. This includes identifying your strengths, areas of improvement, goals, motivations, and values. Assessing them will lay the foundation for establishing your brand and marketing yourself.

We all face the challenges of having more things to do than time to do them. So why do some financial professionals stay busy all day without moving the needle, while others seem to make leaps and bounds in their practice without breaking a sweat? In this episode, you’ll find out why. You’ll learn why greater success may only require you to focus on one or two activities that you're already good at.

We all know that brands are important for companies, but they’re also important for you. Branding expert, Jill Slomski, shares how personal branding leads to powerful outcomes, how it helps you promote yourself and makes a lasting impression in the minds of others. It’s what people say about you when you leave the room. The result is a signature image, a unique voice, as well as standards and expectations that others can grow to recognize.

John Diehl and Dr. Coughlin discuss the critical role of women in the economy, as consumers, and as decision-makers for their families. They also share MIT AgeLab’s research about the characteristics women value most when choosing and working with a financial professional.

For the next generation of retirees, one question will trump all others: How do you add life to longer lives? With smartphones and constant connectedness, a new peer-to-peer, on-demand economy has emerged. With a simple swipe or tap of an app, information and services are available at our fingertips. Financial professionals can learn five ways the MIT AgeLab says technology will change how we age.

John Diehl and Dr. Joe Coughlin, Director of the MIT AgeLab, discuss the evolution of financial advice and the continuum of financial professional value, including transaction-based value (3:06), planning-based value (4:48), and longevity-solutions value (6:08). Dr. Coughlin also shares three resources financial professionals can draw upon to meet clients’ longevity expectations.

John Diehl and Dr. Joe Coughlin, Director of the MIT AgeLab discuss how financial professionals can create a new story for 8000 days of retirement. Topics covered include helping clients manage ambiguity (9:28), big decisions (11:17), complexity (14:07), and living solo (17:57).