150) Success Formula

150) What is the Formula for Success?

Zig Ziglar said that Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation. 

However, there is another ingredient that will make it even better. Here is my new formula:

Preparation + Opportunity + Appropriate Action = Success.

Success begins when you are Prepared to seize the Opportunity and take Appropriate Action.

To achieve Success is a journey. It is a continuous process and the path to Success is never a straight and easy way. That's the fun part of life.

Preparation is the continuous Learning & Planning. 

You get experience in all the activities you get involved in. Activities with all your senses. Doing, watching, listening, discussing, thinking, feelings and reading. 

Improve your KASH. Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits.

  

 

Opportunity is result of your ability to see Possibilities. 

Dare to think and imagine the different outcomes. 

If the outcome is not good, think about possible solutions to turn it into better results.

Appropriate Action is the doing. 

Look at the situation and do the most Appropriate Action. Sometimes you need to take MASSIVE Actions. While sometimes, a small action will be good.

Sometimes doing nothing and waiting is the most appropriate action. 

Some things are best when left alone.

A chicken egg will grow itself into a baby chicken in 21 days. 

The baby chicken will die if you try to force the chicken out earlier.

You need all the 3 ingredients to be SUCCESSFUL.
If you have only 1 or 2, it will be harder to be Successful.

Let's say you are not prepared. An opportunity suddenly appears. You took the appropriate action to do something about the opportunity. Since, you are not prepared, your action could not produce the desired Success results.

Now, let's say you are prepared. You have learned and have the relevant experiences. However, no opportunity appears. You cannot do much if there is no opportunity.

On another scenario, you are prepared and an opportunity appears. But, you did not take the appropriate action. You just put a little effort, only tried once and gave up easily. You will not get the Success results.

In conclusion, all the 3 ingredients must be there, for you to start your journey to Success.  

149) Lower vs Higher Unit Price

149) Lower vs Higher Unit Price of the Unit Trust Funds

Which is Better?

There are ideas shared about the differences between lower priced vs higher priced Unit Trust funds.
There are some who believed that the higher priced units had already became expensive and it is time to sell them.

There may be some truth in that idea. Let us check out with real funds performance to test.

First of all, you need to understand how and why the unit price had gone up.
A fund Net Asset Value increased because of these reasons:
a) the stocks and bonds value had increased due to market uptrend.
b) the companies declared good dividends to the share holders.
c) the bonds gave high coupon payments.
d) the money market instruments gave high interests.

Here are few consideration for you to find out.

a) fund had increased in value over a short time. 
This means that the stocks in the fund had increased in value in a short time. It is possible that the market sentiment is very positive. The stocks can be considered as overvalued now. So, investors who practice "buy low, sell high" want to sell while the market is still high. This is a good strategy.

After selling the stocks, there are 3 possibilities there after:
a) if market goes lower, selling early was good.
b) if market remains same, selling early made no difference.
c) if market goes even higher, selling early was bad.

b) fund had increased in value over a long time.
This means that the stocks in the fund had slowly increased in value over a long time. The stocks grew in value as the companies made profits over the years. Investors who practice "buy and hold" will slowly see their investments grew in value.

So, which scenario happened that increased the Stock prices? When the stock prices increased, the equity funds will also increased in values. When you are familiar with the market directions, then the answer will be clearer.

Now, let's discuss on the idea whether it is better to invest into funds with lower or higher unit prices.

Let's do a Case Study.

You have $1,000. There are 5 funds choices to invest. All the funds are equity funds and have 5.5% initial service charge.  

Which fund will you invest? Fund A, B, C, D or E?

Please decide to invest into one of the funds before you read further.


Decided? Then read further.



After 1 year, your $1,000 had increased in value.

However, different funds gave you different returns. When you decide to redeem the investments, you will get the amount as per 2 Jan 2018 NAV value.

This clearly shows that you cannot predict which fund will be the BEST performer.

A fund with lower unit price may perform better or worse than other funds. In the same way, a fund with higher unit price may also perform better or worse than other funds.

The BEST fund was Fund C, while the WORST fund was Fund D. Although fund A had the highest unit price, the fund performance was the Second Best.

For investment in equity, the market is unpredictable.You cannot be sure that the lowest fund price will perform the best. Or, the highest fund price will perform the worst.

It is more important that you diversify your investment into different equity, bond and money market funds.

Do contact your Unit Trust Consultants for more detail discussion on which funds are more suitable for your investment objectives.

148) Asking for Recruitment

148) Asking for Recruitment

Unit Trust Consultants usually want to expand their team and have more downlines. It is more fun when you do things together with friends or business associates. With more people, you will have a more dynamic team. There will be more strengths in different areas, experience and backgrounds. You are able to synergize the strengths of a diverse team.

Being a leader who trains others to be successful is a fulfilling experience that money cannot buy.

Therefore, it is very important to always look for more recruits.
Just start ASKING everyone.

I have met many Unit Trust Consultants (UTCs) that did not ask their clients, relatives, neighbours and friends to join his or her team. It ended up they joined somebody else. 

The reason most of the friends and relatives gave was that they did not know that the UTC was looking for people to join. So, they just joined the first person that asked them.

Even if they did not join you now, the message is already in their mind. They will remember you if they changed their mind later. Even they can be your extra referral source. Maybe somebody else is looking to be a Unit Trust Consultant or looking for something to do. Your name will be the first come to their mind.


You will not lose anything by asking. Okay, maybe just a few seconds of your life.
But the benefits are great and unlimited.

If you don't ask, someone else will ask.

If you always ask, you will get something;
If you never ask, you will get nothing.

An example of recruitment sentences you can use.

Mr Client, we are always looking for more people to join us and expand our team. We need more people to continue the work we do. Our main task is to share knowledge on how to plan and achieve everyone’s future financial goals.

 

We always have fun and associate ourselves with positive people. We meet regularly, learn together, help one another and motivate one another. Doing things together strengthen our relationships.

- Would you like to get to know my team members?

- Do you know of people who are looking for more income?

- Do you know of anyone who are looking to start a business with very low cost?

- Do you know of people who are looking for part-time work?

- Do you know of retirees and housewives who are looking for something to do?
- Do you know of fresh graduates who want to start a business?

 Do continue to add more questions for your recruitment work.

Link to an article on "Why Should You Consider Becoming a UTC?"
http://highlevelrules.blogspot.my/2017/07/why-should-you-consider-becoming-utc.html

147) Asking for Referrals

147) Asking for Referrals

Unit Trust Consultants need to make "Asking for Referrals" as one of the major activities. By asking for referrals from your clients, you are getting them to PROMOTE you and your services.

The trust level from a friend's recommendation is much higher compared to a total stranger.

As the saying goes,

"You Need Trust to Sell Unit Trust"

Examples can be used as below:

Mr Client. It has been an interesting discussion. Do you agree that the discussion is useful? I am always looking for more people to share this knowledge. Can you suggest a few of your contacts that can benefit from this knowledge?

- Can I have your brothers' and sisters' contact numbers?

- How about your colleagues' contact numbers?

- Do you have your neighbours' contact numbers?

- How about your ex-classmates' contact numbers?

- Who are your major office suppliers?

- Who you normally buy things from?

- Do you join any clubs or associations? Who are your main associates?

- Can you recommend your car mechanic to me?

- Which Doctors do you normally go to? Can I know them.

One good method to get the phone number is just to start the number sequence.

Just say, "Your friend's handphone number is 01..."

Most of the time, your client will continue the sequence and you will get the full phone number.

Note: It is important that you specify or give guidance on the type of referrals that you want. 

If you just ask for names, your client is not sure what to give. 

There are too many names that he doesn't know who to think about.

Examples of targeted clients:

- Which of you friends have young children? - Education planning

- Who are still young and not married? - New & young investors
- Do you know friends who have own business? - PRS contribution
- Any of your relatives age between 20 to 30 years old? - PRS Youth Incentive Scheme

- Which of your colleagues just got promoted? - Upgraded investor

 Do add more targeted questions into your list.

Before you ask for referrals, you must also have a high trust level from your clients. They must believe and trust that you are good enough to service their contacts. 

If you can't get any referrals, then you should ask the for the reason.
You can start by asking "May I know Why you are NOT giving me any referrals?"

Use the 4 Questions method that I discussed in other articles.

https://highlevelrules.blogspot.my/2017/07/4-high-level-coaching-questions.html

 

 

146) Handling Objections on Initial Approach

146) Handling Objections on Initial Approach

Unit Trust Consultants will normally get "objections" when they try to ask people to discuss further on financial planning. Listed below are common "objections" and some ideas to handle them.

Few people don't like to use the word "objection". They prefer the word "concerns" or "holding back". The logic was that the prospect had other "concerns" and did not want to discuss. Or something is "holding back" the prospect from discussing.

Nobody likes to be given objections or being objected. Always remember that the Prospect objected or rejected the opportunity to discuss with the UTC. It is not the UTC (as a person) being objected or rejected, but just the discussion opportunity.

No matter which words you use, it is the concept that "further discussion is not going to happen."

The main objective of the initial approach is to get your prospect to agree to discuss further. Some people term it as:
 "To Sell the Appointment, NOT the Product".

The discussion is to find out their problems so that you can provide possible solutions. 

Below are some of the common "objections" or "reasons" and how the UTC can answer it politely.

Not Interested

Mr Prospect, I can understand why you are not interested in something you are have not had the opportunity to know yet. How about giving yourself an opportunity to know better. We just share the knowledge with each other. Once you know better, then you will be able to decide if you are interested or not.

Not Ready

Mr Prospect, I would be surprised if you had said you were ready and not doing something about it. How about we exchange knowledge and ideas that will be useful for you. Once you are ready, you will know better on what to do.

No Money

Mr Prospect, I understand that everyone is trying to reduce expenses and make more income. Let’s share ideas and knowledge. Maybe one of the ideas can help you to make more money.

No Need

Mr Prospect, you may not need it now. You will be the one who decide if the knowledge is useful and valuable to you. You can always share the knowledge with others who may need it.

Too Busy

Mr Prospect, everyone is busy nowadays. This sharing will take a short while only. I will summarize for you. You can decide if you want to discuss further.With the knowledge, you may be able to plan better. You will be less busy then.

Wasting Your Time

Mr Prospect, we are just sharing of knowledge. You may find some value in the ideas shared.  We can learn a lot from each other.

How it works?

Mr Prospect, it is good that you want to know how it works. Let’s discuss this further and I will answer all your questions.

Is it Unit Trust?

It is sharing knowledge on planning for your future goals. After we understand your goals, we can discuss what are suitable for you. There are more than just Unit Trusts.

Email to Me

I will be happy to send to you. However, there are many ideas and knowledge that cannot be answered in an email. Let us discuss on what you need and discuss how you can achieve your needs.

I have Pension/Savings

Good to know that. Let us discuss on how you can enhance your current savings you have.You may be able to implement steps to make your savings work harder for you.

Reluctant Objector

Mr Prospect, it is nice knowing you. I really would like to learn more from you. We will keep in touch and exchange more knowledge in the future.

Where you got my number?

Mr Prospect, what is more important is that we get to know each other. We can share and exchange knowledge with each other.

Once you have answered the "objections", request for a appointment to discuss further.

Notes to Approach Objections

If this is via Telephone call or Face to Face meeting, ask permission to have a short appointment with the prospect. It is to get to know each other and sharing of knowledge.  Suggest time and date that is convenient for both of you. You may suggest alternative time A or time B, to make it easier for the prospect to decide.

If you can, schedule a few appointments near to one another on the same day. This is to minimize traveling time, effort and cost. It also reduce the issues of traffic jam.

If the prospect have time, you may start the detail discussion on the spot. Be prepared to present and share your ideas all the time and at any time.

Do message me your own answers used. 

Do share your experience and we all learn from one another.