FPP-Forward

Annuities as income, not investments By Robert Powell You probably aren’t even aware that you’re doing it, but you are. You are “optimizing imperfectly” when it comes to taking money from your defined benefit, 401(k), and other retirement plans . Instead of putting some of your money earmarked for retirement in a life annuity, a product that would give you guaranteed income for life, you’re taking a lump sum. And that, according to a just-published paper from the National Bureau of Economics, may not be in your best interest . “ Guaranteed lifetime income, such as in the form of annuities, is incredibly valuable for retirees ,” said Jeffrey Brown, a professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a co-author of the paper, Framing Lifetime Income. “It is the single best way on a risk-adjusted basis to maximize one’s ability to spend in retirement without concerns about running out of resources. Every other strategy either exposes the individual to more ris...

Hi there Great to see you again via this FPP-Forward blog {;-) Today I would like share with you an imperative and noteworthy web-link to facilitate you in your quest for continuous learning and appreciating Private Retirement Scheme (PRS). Optimistically to certain degree of benefit, I hope today’s posting may be off help to you if you have a mind boggling question like ’WHAT NEXT ? & NOW WHAT ? after attending   the PRS Familiarization Program. If you have attended the PRS Familiarization Program conducted by me, I have been frequently and objectively bringing to you an attention to learn and to know about Private Pension Administrator (PPA) web-link . This PPA web link turned out to be more apparent during my class (particularly since 1 st quarter of year 2013), when PPA web-link has the latest and up-to date relevant information that may be of great value to us. So, what can we discover and learn about PRS from this Private Pension Administrator (PPA) web-lin...

6 things you should know about every prospect By Geoffrey James It's always a big mistake to "show up and throw up" a bunch of slides . That's just asking for trouble, because the prospect will know that you're not really prepared to talk about the prospect's real issues . Therefore, before you present to a prospect, there are six key perspectives that you absolutely MUST have (if you want a fast sale). Here they are: The prospect's history. Where are they coming from? How did they get here? What do they know about your and your firm? What dealings have taken place in the past? Frames of reference. What ideologies and situations might affect their decision-making? Do they have a certain way of viewing your offering? How do they feel about their own firm? Needs and desires . Where do they want to go? How do they expect to feel when they get there? How do they think they're going to get there? What do they thi...

8 crucial sales skills By Geoffrey James A while back, I posted a list of five critical sales skills based on a conversation Duane Sparks, author of the bestseller "Sales Strategy From The Inside Out: How Complex Selling Really Works." I then asked readers if they felt that there were some additional skills that ought to have been on the list. They identified three, and I identified one. Here's the complete list (with Duane's original skills marked with an asterisk *): Skill #1: Building the buyer-seller relationship *. Salespeople need to develop a better understanding of the buying process that customers actually follow-the real decisions they make, and when they are made. Then salespeople need to match their sales process with the customer's buying process . When this is done, salespeople begin to walk arm-in-arm with the customer as they arrive at the best possible solution. Skill #2: Planning the sales call*. Most companies today lack ...

6 tips for better customer conversations By Geoffrey James Communicating effectively with your customers and prospects can help you improve your business relationships and boost your sales. These six quick tips can lead to more productive conversations: Connection before content. Clients don't want you to sell to them . Clients want you to genuinely care about them . Take the time to build a personal connection, before talking business. Focus on individuals not companies. You may be selling to an organization, but you're doing it through an individual . Remember: ABC Inc. did not buy our offering, JOE did. Slow the conversation down. Your goal is to earn your client's trust by connecting with them, thereby creating a sense of safety . You can't do that if you're yakking away. Be willing to play "little league." Even if you know there's a huge (i.e. big league) opportunity, shove your agenda aside and focus on wh...

Turn rejection into success By Geoffrey James The fear of rejection is the bane of success . If rejections scare you, you'll avoid making the difficult calls and taking the right risks to advance your career. And once the fear of rejection gets its insidious claws into you, it gets worse, creating more failure. To be really successful (at sales or any other career), you must not just learn to cope with occasional (and even frequent) rejections . You must also learn to turn rejection into a goad that drives you towards ultimate success. This post provides five simple steps to accomplish this. Differentiate between invalid and valid rejection   There are two types of rejections. Valid rejections are when a person doesn't do what you want because of something that you can change. Invalid rejections are when that "failure" took place because of something completely arbitrary that's outside of your control. Here's an example of an i...