Regarding large bureaucracies, Mother Theresa once said, “So many signatures for such a small heart.” The same could be said for the U.S. banks embroiled in the foreclosure scandal. Haven’t they learned anything since 2008’s financial cataclysm? Read more...

On an Internet community, a senior-market newbie requested feedback on a prospecting technique . . . sending marketing letters to the relatives of recently deceased people. (“Uh-oh,” I thought.) The agent had tried sending 100 letters to people mentioned in a newspaper obituary, but didn’t get any responses. Given the time investment required, the agent was wondering whether anyone else had achieved success with such letters. Read more...

For me, the month of June brings great memories. One of my fondest is listening to Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out.” Remember the lyrics?   Read more...

What’s not to like about social networking sites? They give you free access to millions of consumers. They give you a mechanism for building relationships with these consumers. And they facilitate easy publishing of your insights, making them the drip marketing system of your dreams. Read more...

It’s hard to distinguish social networking hype from reality. Should you prospect on Facebook? Reach out to referral sources on LinkedIn? “Tweet” on Twitter?   Read more...

Once they’ve closed a deal with a client, too many advisors will “kick the can” when it comes to providing service. They not only fail to stay in touch, but also ignore key privacy and data security guidelines.  Read more...