In This Issue:
- Sales Idea
- The Latest From Washington
- Former Shuttle Astronaut Story Musgrave to Keynote July’s Financial Advisors Sales Symposium
- NAIFA-Florida President’s Message
- Three Local Associations to Sponsor Charity Golf Tournaments in April!
- NAIFA's Congressional Conference is May 19-20
- Interested in Serving on the Board?
- NAIFA's Leadership in Life Institute (LILI) Class Being Formed - To Begin This Fall
- Welcome New & Returning Members!
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Setting Appointments: Always ask for their time.
I know some of you might disagree with me on this. You think it gives prospects an opportunity to shut you down. Maybe, but bullying past someone doesn’t exactly set you up for long-term success. If a prospect says they’re busy, just ask for a good time. If they really aren’t interested, think of it like they’re doing you a favor – you don’t have to waste your time with them!
Being the nerd that I am, I always like to test things. This has been MY personal experience…. When I was making hundreds of cold calls per week, I decided to test these sentences against each other:
“Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Did I catch you at an okay time?”
“Did I reach you at a bad time?”
“Did I reach you at an okay time?”
“Is now an okay time to talk?”
“Is now a bad time to talk?”
I found that out of these six,
“Did I reach you at an okay time?” worked the best
. “Is now a bad time to talk?” was the least effective, with both of the “did I catch you” statements coming close behind. I’ve always felt that saying “catch you” is weird. It implies trapping and hunting, something that prospects don’t want to hear from you. That’s what originally gave me the idea to start saying “reach you”. Like I said, that has been my own personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt.
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The Economy and a New Tax Bill Dominates News from Washington
by Danea Kehoe, Counsel to NAIFA
Last week, after just two weeks of working on it and in an impressive show of nonpartisanship, Congress and the President agreed on an emergency funding bill to address the public health crisis caused by the coronavirus. That $8.3 billion measure (un-offset) is now law. Now, attention is turning to what/whether Congress and the Administration can do to help with the economic impact. Here’s what people are thinking/proposing.
The Economy: The volatile stock market, reports of canceled conventions and other large-group events, travel stoppages, and signs of the population “hunkering down” (i.e., stopping spending money) have Congress, and the President concerned about the economy. The public health funding was, it appears, but a first step in response. Now, there are other ideas percolating, including a tax bill (more on that below), and a proposal to require employers to provide 14 “extra” days of paid sick leave (including a rule that would allow them to be used by people who are self-quarantining due to having been exposed to someone who came down with COVID-19), along with a mandate that employers allow their workers to earn at least seven days of paid sick leave. No doubt, more proposals will emerge next week.
It's too soon to tell whether Congress will enact any of these proposals, but it is certain that debate on them will preoccupy lawmakers (and the Administration) at least until the economy shows signs of stabilizing. We’re keeping a very close watch as things develop.
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Veteran Space Shuttle astronaut Story Musgrave will keynote NAIFA-Florida’s Financial Advisors Sales Symposium, July 16-17 at the
Reunion Resort
in Orlando.
Musgrave’s inspiring and motivational message is well-suited for all financial advisors regardless of career path – highlighting success, leadership, and achievement!
Musgrave flew on six Space Shuttle missions and was the first to perform a shuttle spacewalk – on Challenger’s first flight – and was the lead spacewalker on the Hubble Telescope repair mission. His other flights included his role as pilot on an astronomy mission and he flew two classified Shuttle missions for the Department of Defense (DOD).
With seven graduate degrees in math, computers, chemistry, medicine, physiology, literature, and psychology, Story has been awarded 20 honorary doctorates. In addition, he was a part-time trauma surgeon during his 30-year astronaut career.
“Grow Your Business” with a full slate of motivational speakers, sales ideas, workshops, and professional development at the NAIFA-Florida Financial Advisors Sales Symposium, July 16-17 in Orlando!! Registration is now open at
www.naifa-florida.org.
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Local Visits Reap Great Rewards!
By Joseph Chalom, CLU, RICP, LUTCF, LACP
NAIFA-Florida CEO, Tom Ashley and I recently completed visiting each of our local chapter leadership teams. We had an opportunity to share updates from NAIFA and NAIFA-Florida. However, the primary reason for the tour was to listen to the local issues. We received great insight from local leaders of what is working and what is not working. Past NAIFA-Florida President Don Brown of NAIFA Miami-Dade suggested that having a paper application to distribute to attendees of group meetings would be very helpful. As a result of his suggestion NAIFA-Florida staff and the Membership Committee are working together to fine tune a paper application to fill this need. Kudos to Don Brown for his suggestion!
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Idea Incubator
NAIFA-Florida members are dedicated and passionate people who care about making a difference in the lives of our clients and future clients. NAIFA-Florida exists to advocate for you and your clients. You are our greatest asset. I know you have great ideas to share on how to make NAIFA-Florida even better. I look forward to reading your best idea. E-mail your idea to
[email protected]
.
I am proud to be in the financial services profession and even prouder for being a member of NAIFA-Florida. Together we make a difference!
View Monthly Video by President Joe Chalom and NAIFA-Florida CEO Tom Ashley
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Three of NAIFA-Florida’s local associations have scheduled charity golf tournaments in the month of April. NAIFA members from the entire state and guests are invited to all three and are encouraged to support them as they each raise money for local charities.
The three golf tournaments are:
1)
NAIFA-Tampa Bay
. “32
nd
Annual Golf4Kids Charity Classic” – Monday, April 6. Registration/lunch at 11:30 a.m. Shotgun start at 1:00 p.m. Carrollwood Country Club, 13903 Clubhouse Dr., Tampa. $200 per golfer, or $700 per foursome. Includes lunch, two beverage tickets, golf shirt with logo, BBQ dinner. (Extra dinner tickets available for non-golfers -- $35 each.) Benefits the Epilepsy Services Foundation. To register, click
here
. For more info, contact Chris Bruser at
[email protected]
or 813-857-4565.
2)
NAIFA-Central Florida
(along with Central Florida Association of Health Underwriters) – “2020 Spring Swing Event” – Friday, April 24. Registration at 7:30 a.m., Shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Dubsdread Golf Course, 549 W. Par St., Orlando. $125 per golfer, or $425 per foursome. Includes breakfast and post-tournament buffet. Sponsorships available. Benefits The Russell Home for Atypical Children. Click
here
for registration form. Want more info? Contact Cal Thompson at
[email protected]
or 407-701-9916.
3)
North Suncoast
– an Affiliate of NAIFA. “29
th
Annual Charity Golf Classic” – Friday, April 24. Registration at 7:30 a.m., Shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Crescent Oaks Country Club, 3300 Crescent Oaks Blvd., Tarpon Springs. $150 per golfer, or $500 per foursome. Includes complimentary range balls, breakfast, awards luncheon. Sponsorships available. Benefits Southeastern Guide Dogs & other local charities. To register, contact Tiffany Drewes at
[email protected]
or 727-847-3838.
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Finalize your plans to join your fellow members at the May 19-20 NAIFA Congressional Conference in Washington, DC. It’s such an extraordinary opportunity to cement strong relationships with your own Members of the House of Representatives and Senators. The Conference program is shaping up to be a really good one: Ways & Means Committee members Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Tom Reed (R-NY) headline a program built around the importance of lawmaker-constituent relationships. NAIFA staff and lobbyists will update you on issues and politics and will share “how-to” lobbying tips. And there will be plenty of time for interaction with colleagues and friends.
The program begins at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19 and continues all day on Wednesday, May 20 with visits (in group fashion) to you members of Congress on Capitol Hill.
The first 400 registrants will receive a travel stipend of up to $300, subject to certain conditions. Details are in the frequently-asked questions on the Congressional Conference website (
https://advocacy.naifa.org/faq
). A few stipends are still available, so please register soon if you haven’t already, and encourage your colleagues and friends to attend as well.
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The NAIFA-Florida Governance Committee is accepting applications for service on the NAIFA-Florida Board of Directors. Are you ready to help the state chapter in a volunteer position? We’re looking to fill positions for the 2021 Board and Committees. If you would like to be considered, please contact Governance Chair and Immediate Past President Shelita Stuart by Tuesday, March 31. She can be reached at
[email protected],
727-534-5928.
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NAIFA-Florida is forming a LILI class in 2020 – to begin this fall, according to NAIFA-Florida LILI Chair Michele Wilkinson.
Developed by NAIFA, LILI is provided at the state level to benefit individual members. The institute was designed specifically to develop high-caliber leaders through personal growth and is built upon the conviction that leadership of others begins with leadership of oneself. LILI creates a culture - a unique learning environment - which encourages participants to bring out the best in themselves, and then apply what is learned across every aspect of their lives. The coursework is presented in six one-day sessions over a six-month period. Class size is limited to 12 students.
Wilkinson announced that the 2020 class will be moderated by Jeff Chernoff, from Tampa and who serves on the NAIFA-Florida Board of Directors.
"For years I put off applying for LILI because I wasn't sure what benefit I would receive by attending yet another " leadership" class! I was totally wrong in my skepticism and have been pleasantly surprised by the wealth of wisdom & opportunities afforded me after graduation! This class isn't just for growing your business. The skills you'll learn will help you in your everyday life, especially with challenging family dynamics that so many of us are facing." .........
Toni Stanaland, NAIFA-Tampa
(For more information, go to the NAIFA-Florida website at naifa-florida.org. Or contact LILI Chair Michele Wilkinson at
[email protected]
or at 813-724-3107. Or contact class Moderator Jeff Chernoff at
[email protected]
or at 813-933-7333.)
Complete your application now!
Click
here
for the 2020 LILI student application
.
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Welcome New and Returning Members!
NAIFA-Florida would like to welcome twelve new members and six returning members to the association – from Feb. 11 to March 11. Current members, please feel free to extend a personal welcome to these new and returning members! Click
here
for the complete list, to be found on the NAIFA-Florida website.
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