90% of financial advisors fail at being financial advisors. Why? Because advisors, brokers, reps, and agents need to see more people to make more sales appointments. And nobody in their firm, agency, branch, or shop trains them how! Knockout Networking for Financial Advisors is the only book written for sales producers in the financial services industry focused on making more connections through networking In the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, networking, developing relationships, generating referrals, and making important connections are as important as ever. The ideas and approaches in Knock Out Networking for Financial Advisors can be applied immediately to virtual meetings, online networking groups, social media, podcasts, and of course, phone calls. The problem is, most advisors and sales producers are not born networkers; they develop the skills and confidence through education, training, practice, and having a positive attitude. Knockout Networking for Financial Advisors covers everything you need to know about going to the right places (virtual or not!), saying the right things, and meeting the right people-essential skills for a financial advisor or sales producer that's serious about making more and better connections! The result? More prospects, more referrals, and more business. Author Michael Goldberg is a networking specialist, speaker, trainer, author (and boxer!) focused on helping financial advisors, brokers, agents, reps, wholesalers, and other sales producers grow their business or practice through networking. In this ?must read if you?re a financial advisor? book, you will learn how to: Confidently meet and greet new people in business settings Further define your Target Market to establish more and better connections Deliver a ?knockout? elevator speech (not a script!) Generate more prospects and referrals from current client base Establish important relationships generating more business opportunities Bottom line, networking is the most effective way to attract more prospects, more referrals, and more business to your corner. Remember?keep the left up!

Table of Contents:
Preface xi Part 1 Opening Rounds 1 Chapter 1 Networking is the Key to a Successful Career (Especially in Financial Services) 3 Why Financial Advisors Should Network 3 Top Producers Should Network Too 6 Why Financial Advisors Don’t Network 8 Chapter 2 What is Networking? Having a Networking Mindset 17 Six Reasons for Networking 18 Why Understanding the Six Reasons for Networking is Important 23 What is Networking Anyway? 28 Chapter 3 Why You Won’t Connect with Everyone: The One-Thirder Dynamic 37 One-Thirder Dynamic 39 Two-Thirder Dynamic 42 Focus on the One-Thirders! 43 Zero-Thirder Dynamic 44 Mirror Image 46 Sometimes You Can Reduce the Fraction 47 Part 2 The Rules of Networking™ 49 Chapter 4 No Selling Ever: Keep Bobbing and Weaving 51 The Cost of Selling at a Networking Event 54 Trade Shows: An Exception to the Rule 60 Chapter 5 Everyone is Not a Prospect: Don’t Waste Your Punches 63 What is a Prospect Anyway? 65 True and Probable Referral Sources 69 Natural Market 71 Prospecting is Important! 73 Chapter 6 Focus on a Target Market: Hit Those Focus Mitts 75 How I Discovered My Target Market 76 Do You Have the Right Formula? 81 How to Discover, Establish, and Develop Your Target Market 84 Why Advisors Resist Having a Target Market 90 Remember, Stay Focused! 92 Chapter 7 Create (and Use!) Your Elevator Speech: The PEEC Statement™ 93 Profession 96 Expertise 99 Environments 101 Call to Action 103 The Rules of the PEEC Statement 106 Sample PEEC Statements 112 Chapter 8 Business Cards Breed Business: And Other Rules of Networking™ 115 Have Your Business Cards and Other Tools of the Trade 116 It is Never About You 119 Always Be Positive, Professional, and Respectful 120 Look the Part 121 Know about Contacts, Leads, and Referrals 122 Count Your Chickens and Eggs 124 Eat and Drink Strategically 124 Initiate Conversations by Introducing Yourself and Asking Questions 125 Have a Goal and a Plan 126 Listen More, Talk Less 127 Keep Your Eyes Focused on Your Conversation 127 Introduce Others with Passion 128 Implement a Time Limit 129 Intend to Follow Up 130 Terminate Conversations Politely 131 It’s a We Thing, Not a Me Thing 132 Get to Know: The Know, Like, and Trust Factor 133 Have Fun! 133 Part 3 Where to Go, What to Say, and Who to Meet 135 Chapter 9 Where to Go? Chambers, Associations, and Other High-Potential Events 137 Not All Events are Created Equal 138 Hard Contact Meetings 140 Soft Contact Meetings 142 You Can’t Just Show Up 153 Chapter 10 What to Say? How to Start a Conversation, Ask Good Questions, and Connect 155 What Prevents Us from Listening? 156 Four-Step Process for Active Listening 157 Initiate Conversations by Introducing Yourself and Asking Questions 159 Chapter 11 Who Will You Meet? The Faces of Networking 167 The Faces of Networking 168 People Seldom Change 175 Part 4 Special Topics 177 Chapter 12 How to Handle Awkward Situations: Forgetting Names and Other Weird Moments 179 How Do I Introduce Myself? 180 How Do I Introduce Others in a Conversation Without Being Rude? 182 How Do I Introduce Others and Walk Away? 182 What Should I Do If I Forget Someone’s Name? 183 How Do I Ask Someone for a Business Card? 185 How Do I Take Notes on Someone’s Business Card? 186 How Do I Know When to End a Conversation? 187 What If I’ve Done Something Embarrassing or Stupid? 189 Chapter 13 Knockout LinkedIn Strategies: Boom! 191 Step 1: Define Your LinkedIn Marketing Goals 194 Step 2: Pick Your Target Market on LinkedIn 195 Step 3: Create the Right Messaging for Social Media 196 Step 4: Tell Your Story to Engage People 197 Step 5: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile to Five Stars 197 Step 6: Set Up the Right Networking Dashboards to Track LinkedIn Success 198 Step 7: Post Something of Value Each Day on LinkedIn 199 Step 8: Engage with Your First- and Second-Degree LinkedIn Network 200 Step 9: Reach Out Via Direct Message to Your LinkedIn Connections 200 The Bottom Line 201 Chapter 14 Generating More Referrals: Why Don’t You Get More? 203 Reasons You’re Not Getting Referrals 204 Knockout Ways to Generate More Referrals 210 Chapter 15 One-on-One Networking Meetings: How to PUNCH Up Your Time Over Coffee 219 Best Practices 221 Your PUNCH Card 222 Important Points to Keep in Mind 227 One-on-One Meeting PUNCH Card 230 Part 5 Developing and Implementing Your Networking System 231 Chapter 16 The Four Phases of Networking: Preparation, Presentation, Follow-up, Maintenance 233 Preparation 234 Presentation 240 Follow-up 247 Maintenance (OOSIOOM) 250 Chapter 17 What Now? 90-Day Goals: Putting Your “Daily Fight Plan” into Action! 255 Goals 258 Objectives or Tasks 262 Business and Networking Examples 263 Daily Fight Plan (DFP) 264 Daily Fight PlanTM 267 Final Round 268 Acknowledgments 271 About the Author 273 Index 275