W. Lloyd Williams

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What To Do NOW in Your Practice - Notes from Conference Call

The following notes from the conference call today is an expansion of what I have been discussing with my coaching clients over the past several months. Be positive. Clients do not need you to parrot the negativity of CNBC or the local paper. They need hope in a times of crisis, not someone to shout “the ship is sinking.” If the market is going down stating the obvious is of no value. Your job is to be a valued added strategic partner. You help them achieve their dreams. In difficult times clients are distracted from their dreams and you must first deal with the distraction before you can refocus them on their dreams.

Two Great Resources We are lucky today to have two great resources from knowledgeable experts to help in refocusing our clients.

Fed Chairman Bernanke’s Speech to the Economic Club of New York, NY on October 15

Click here for the speech.

  1. The speech is good, but the important information is in the answers he gave during the Q&A.
  2. This is not 1929-32 - we learned from our mistakes. Hover waited three years to respond and then tightened money. Fed acted immediately and loosened.
  3. Fed Reserve has doubled in size, giving it a greater ability to impact the economy positively.
  4. Everything hinges on the banks lending money again.
  5. Therefore the Fed’s money will be used to stimulate the economy, if a bank does not lend money they will not be given money. They will learn quickly to start lending.

What controls the market? What makes the Market go up? Cash flow. What makes the market go down? Lack of cash flow. Cash flow into the economy is cash into the market. The infusion of $800 billion into the economy will be a stimulus

See Mastery Habit - Never Follow Institutional Managers During Extremes in the Stock Market

SO WHAT DO YOU DO NOW IN YOUR PRACTICE? First, realize what is happening - you are surrounded by a crisis situation. People are panicking and need your help. Second, respond properly to the crisis - with a calm, clear head. Third, act quickly - great leaders do not delay. Rarely does delay improve a situation, it just postpones the problem. Be decisive.

See Mastery Habit - In Good Times Focus on Clients, In Bad Times Focus on Prospects

To review:

  1. Prepare yourself
  2. Settle clients' worries through a rational argument using mass communication
  3. Ask if they feel a need to reassess there risk and comfort level
  4. Offer an opportunity to help others they know who are not being communicated with properly
  5. Focus on prospects

How to Focus on Prospects

  1. Add paragraph mentioned earlier to the bottom of your mass communication.
  2. Contact every existing prospect, even those who told you to call them later. Offer them a “no cost, no obligation” analysis.
  3. Call your Top 25 and ask for an introduction to other they know are worried. This is the only time you can do this without risk.

Mastery Level Skills: Crisis Management

Every business must deal with crisis situations. For some businesses those situations are debilitating, but for others they are an opportunity to shine. Too often the inexperienced run into the crisis and flounder amidst all the problems and decisions. The Mastery Level Team attacks the crisis like a Fire Chief does a fire. 1. Stop - The first response is no response. Before attacking the fire, stop and stand back for a moment to observe what is happening. This is the most critical step and is often overlooked. Rushing into a blazing building will only get people killed. The Fire Chief must first see what they are dealing with, before moving.

2. Focus - Look at all the details of the crisis. Here the Fire Chief will look for entry and exit points. Hot spots and danger zones. Without this information lives may be lost. We do not deal with life and death situations but time and effort can be wasted, and wrong decisions at this stage can be costly.

3. Analyze - Assess the situation and determine the best manner of attack. The Fire Chief will analyze options, alternatives, and the best allocation of resources.

4. Perspective - See the crisis with new eyes. The information gathered from the steps above give the observer a new educated perspective. This leads to decisions about how to deal with the crisis.

5. Delegate - Leveraging your strengths. The Fire Chief does not run into the building. They issue orders to the team of skilled firemen to attack the fire in a systematic manner. You can leverage yourself through the actions of your team members. Many times the best person to do the job is not you. While the other person is working on one thing you can focus on another.

6. Act - Everyone now goes into action.

The first four steps only take a few moments to perform, though they are often overlooked. The value they add to your response is immeasurable. When the next crisis arises, stop first.