Letters

December 31, 2012 at 07:00 PM
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In response to "Wealth managers talk about the boomer demographic"
As a boomer on the edge of tomorrow (code for retirement) I see agents making huge mistakes in not communicating correctly with female boomer clients— who routinely terminate their male advisors for not acknowledging them when their husbands were alive and just talking past them. It's not that they particularly want a female advisor; they want to be listened to and educated, but not in a condescending way. Most male advisors pander to female clients, which comes off as pedantic.
-Steve Savant

In response to "Hurry up and slow down"
What a great reminder for all of us in sales. "Slow down to go fast" is a term I heard years ago. Relationships take time, but not necessarily a lot of time. Referrals come from trusted sales relationships. Build them, and your referral business will soar!
-Joanne Black

In response to "Have your cake…and eat it, too"

Excellent article! You did a wonderful job of explaining an EIA in simple, understandable terms. I will be able to pull some ideas from this to teach my agents as well as my clients, so thank you. The one thing in your arcticle I question is the fees. It's my understanding that there are no fees in an EIA unless you attach a rider, like an income rider. This being one of the selling points over variable annuities. Again, though, I love your article, thanks so much.
-John Simms

Overall, well written article, my only disagreement is the question he poses to clients. "If I could offer you a product that has the safety and security of certificates of deposit and the upside potential of the markets, would you be interested?" Yes, you have the principal guaranteed with FIAs, but to say you have the upside potential of the markets is misleading to me, because it is capped. If the market does 10 percent and your cap is 3 percent, guess which one your client gets….
-Bryan

In response to "Black Friday blues"

The original Black Friday was a stock market crash; now Black Friday is a cash crash. My wife just returned from a very costly shopping spree, earlier than I anticipated. On her way in the door I asked, "Are you home already?" She responded, "I ran out of money but I saved a lot of money before I ran out of money!" I immediately said, "Is that money we can save or invest?" With a big smile she said, "Don't be silly."

I was reminded of an evening a few years ago. My wife and some lady friends had planned a day for the casino. That evening I just had to fearfully ask, "How did you do today?" She responded, "You're not going to believe it. I hit a $500 jackpot." I said, "Are you kidding me. Are you telling me you came home a winner?" She said, "Oh, no, I put it all back in." She sounded as though it was the honorable thing to do.

When making purchases, especially unnecessary items, I ask myself this question: Would I rather have this item or would I prefer to have my money earning more money?

Personally I favor bonuses for saving not spending. For example, premium bonus annuities.
-Paul J. Cross/ANBC

For what it's worth, my wife went out on Friday and said the city was a ghost town. She said the roads were empty, the stores were empty…she had salesmen all to herself. We couldn't figure out why that would be, but we're guessing it was due to either—A: everyone being concentrated at the mall (she stayed away), or B: the masses had already deluged on Thursday evening and Friday morning before she arrived Friday afternoon. Maybe still, the lion's share of shoppers were waiting to shop online today (Cyber Monday).
-Stephen D. Forman, LTCA

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