Originally posted in our financial blog: https://wfgconnects.com/sstevens/blog/new-financial-you The new year is best known for resolutions. The trouble is that many new year’s resolutions don’t survive past the first month or so. Why is that? You might suspect it’s because we set unrealistic goals or lack the proper motivation. If you’ve got some financial resolutions you want to stick to, the key is to set realistic goals and have the proper discipline to hang in there, esp

​​ It can't be said often enough. Listening is so important that there should be a training completely devoted to the topic (hint: this will be a topic in our upcoming CSP training class. Learn more.) Listening seems to be a major struggle for many agents. Call handling time metrics play a role in this, but having little patience may also play a part. Countless issues can be avoided if you take the time to listen to the customer without thinking about what you want to say nex

Originally published in our financial blog: https://wfgconnects.com/sstevens/blog/the-top-8-reasons Life will often seem to present signals about financial moves to make. Starting your first job babysitting or mowing lawns? Probably a good idea to begin saving some of those earnings. Need to pay for college? You’ll want to apply for scholarships. Have a friend who’s asking you to invest in his latest business scheme? Maybe you’ll pass. As for life insurance, there are certain

"Empathize." I've heard it so often that at times it has lost all meaning for me. It doesn't help that many companies don't make a focused effort to effectively teach their agents what it means to empathize and how to convey empathy. Empathy is so much more than "I apologize for your inconvenience." In fact, NEVER use that sentence. It is now dead and a sure sign that you're likely less concerned about the customer's issue and more concerned about just getting through the cal

Why the sad puppy picture? Because dogs seem to be the masters of envoking empathy in us humans. "Ok, so I apologize for your inconvenience. What else am I supposed to say?" Stop, don't do that. Empathy is so much more than "I apologize for your inconvenience." In fact, NEVER use that sentence. It is now dead and a sure sign that you're likely less concerned about the customer's issue and more concerned about just getting through the call. That mindset is counter productive a

Originally posted on our financial services site: https://wfgconnects.com/sstevens/blog It’s the new year so there are bound to be some new resolutions you want to stick to. If one of them is improving your budgeting skills – or maybe just creating a budget in the first place – read on for some guidelines that may help reduce some of your expenses (including what you might call the essentials). Start with debt and interest rates If you have any loans in your name, rest assur