How Successful Financial Advisors Think – James Pollard

Forget everything you think you know about why financial advisors succeed… 

Self-help gurus and motivational speakers will have you believe traits such persistence, discipline, and curiosity separate those who succeed from those who don’t.

Can these traits help? Absolutely. But they don’t tell the whole story. That’s why…

My name is James Pollard and I have had the distinct pleasure of working with a wide range of financial advisors over the years.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been featured in media outlets ranging from Forbes to Financial Advisor Magazine and The Journal of Financial Planning for my thoughts on marketing.

I’ve written hundreds of articles about the topic…

I’ve hosted two podcasts (my now-defunct “The Advisor Coach” podcast and my current “Financial Advisor Marketing” podcast) with 100+ episodes…

I’ve consulted with everyone from brand-new advisors to people who manage billions of dollars…

And I’ve written a paid newsletter for years (“The James Pollard Inner Circle”) that financial advisors gleefully pay $99 per month to receive. ​

This means I’ve seen the best of the best and the worst of the worst. In fact, I don’t think there’s another person in the world with my level of access and unique vantage point.

Now, I’ll be 100% transparent with you: I don’t think it’s possible to create a magical success formula that works every time because there will always be exceptions and lucky coincidences. However, I think I’ve come pretty darn close.

​Here are some of the shocking things I’ve found…

Please understand that my results are not typical. I’m not implying you’ll duplicate them (or do anything for that matter).  My references are used for example purposes only.

I’ve had years of experience helping financial advisors and my personal results should be considered exceptional.

Your results will vary and depend on many factors… including but not limited to your background, experience, and work ethic.

All business entails risk as well as massive and consistent effort and action. If you’re not willing to accept, please DO NOT GET THIS.

With that said… let me show you… ​

I’ve identified 25 specific beliefs which separate successful financial advisors from everyone else. I’ve compiled these beliefs into a six-part video training, along with detailed explanations of how to use each belief.

Altogether, these videos add up to 214 minutes of content and contain some of the most valuable information ever made public for financial advisors. 

The goal of “How Successful Financial Advisors Think” is to give you a clearer, more definitive blueprint than you’ve ever possessed before.

​Here’s why it’s possible for you…

Imagine a room filled with 1,000 of the world’s most successful financial advisors…

If you eavesdropped on them… watched them through a one-way mirror… and even had psychologists do evaluations on them… you would be amazed to discover how little they have in common. That’s why it’s so difficult to accurately identify the smattering of things that matter.

They look, act, and talk differently from one another. They have different ages, religions, and backgrounds. Some are shy introverts, while others are flamboyant extroverts. Some enjoy outdoor activities like fly fishing and golf, while others would rather curl up with a book. Some have doctorates and others barely made it out of high school.

My point is this: while these advisors have little in common, the few commonalities they DO share are critical.

My aim with this video series is to shine a spotlight on these rare similarities.

The good news is, even if you only use a fraction of the information it contains, I believe you can easily recoup your investment many times over. And to prove it, here’s a small sample of what’s inside…

• The “99/1” rule for wealth accumulation nearly all financial advisors ignore. (Many financial advisors have been brainwashed by books about “millionaires next door” and hamstring their ability to pile up oodles of cash.)
• Walt Disney’s unorthodox method for unearthing his biggest money-making ideas. (And how financial advisors can use this method to set more appointments and convert a higher percentage of them into clients.)
• 9 really dumb things financial advisors do that sabotage their business-building efforts, along with real-life examples of what you should do instead. (This one section could pay for the entire program in full, if applied.)
• The one thing you can do to separate yourself from the bottom 83% of all financial advisors. (Here’s a hint: you’re ALREADY doing this for your clients.)
• Rookie mistakes you’re likely making which could get your social media accounts shut down without notice. (This was inspired by a horror story from a fairly well-known financial advisor from New York who was building his business with LinkedIn, only to wake up one morning to find his account permanently banned.)
• 3 simple tweaks to your prospecting sequence that can lead to a 40% increase in clients. (This is no hype and no exaggeration – in fact, it’s been accused of being TOO simple.)
• What to do if you intend to sell your business one day. (This is critical information: 77% of Americans say not doing this is their #1 money-related regret.)
• How you can make more money by getting a LOWER ROI in your business. (This applies double for advisors at companies such as Merrill Lynch, Edward Jones, Raymond James, Wells Fargo, etc.) ​

• The #1 most critical success element missing from popular self-improvement books. (Even the legendary “Think And Grow Rich” left out this trait.)
• Why positive thinking is often counterproductive. (This is confirmed by research from New York University and will shock you if you’ve been duped into believing that affirmations and visualization can help you achieve your goals.)
• One uncomplicated change that got an astonishing 19% higher response from a direct mail piece. (Including the exact word-for-word language used to achieve such dramatic results.)
• How successful financial advisors approach decision-making. (I was pleasantly surprised to find out people such as Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, uses a similar decision-making process, which has helped him become the world’s richest man.)
• The one thing you should NEVER outsource when trying to grow your business. (Sadly, this is often the first thing many financial advisors outsource, and it often cripples their businesses beyond repair.)
• The single biggest predictor of work-related success in life. (Research from Harvard, Princeton, and even the University of Minnesota have all concluded that nothing else comes close to this one thing, so ignore it at your own peril.)

A bit about that last tip…

Many people assume IQ to be the biggest predictor of success in life.

It’s not. Far from it, actually.

In fact, Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman conducted exhaustive research on how big of a role innate intelligence has in financial success. He found that innate intelligence plays – at best – a 1 to 2 percent role.

So, what DOES determine who accumulates money in buckets while everyone else slugs it out with thimbles?

It’s something much more surprising than IQ. Yet, once it’s revealed to you, it will make all the sense in the world. It’s one of those things you can’t “unsee”.

The “personal beliefs” section of this program contains some of my most “heretical” and “against the grain” material.

Some of the topics discussed may be difficult to accept at first, but they’re backed up with research. Your only limitation is whether or not you will make them a part of your life.

• How to harness the “dark side” of human emotion to fuel your drive for success. (If you’ve ever been criticized by teachers, exes, in-laws, etc. there is a specific way to channel your natural desire to prove them wrong in a healthy, financially rewarding way.)
• Why being nice is overrated. (Disclaimer: I am NOT saying to be a jerk, but it’s true that “nice guys finish last”, and I’ll reveal why nice financial advisors typically don’t make as much money as their peers.)
• Why experience and certifications don’t matter as much as some financial advisors think they do. (As well as what clients would rather have from their advisors.)
• 5 of my most-opened email subject lines, and what they reveal about getting clients. (If I polled financial advisors and asked them if they thought these subject lines would work, they would have told me no. Yet, they work and work well because they tap into a misunderstood part of human psychology.)
• Warren Buffett’s three-step goal-setting formula that can help financial advisors take more time off. (This can be applied whether you’ve been in business for twenty minutes or twenty years.)
• Two huge mistakes financial advisors make which keep them stuck in the low-to-mid six figures. (Believe it or not, these two things are often touted as GOOD things by “gurus” and “experts”.) ​

• How to avoid being a victim in your business. (I’ve heard spine-chilling stories about partnerships spoiling, accountants stealing, and marketing agencies going rogue… this can help you avoid all three and much more.)
• How to identify prospective clients who aren’t worth your time. (Knowing this can help you spot time-wasters and headache-causers to avoid the countless hassles that come from them.)
• The daily habit successful advisors have which makes them more effective in client meetings. (I reckon less than 5% of the population does this, even though research from Temple University found it to directly correlate to an increase in psychological and physical well-being.)
• The #1 trait found amongst the world’s most exceptional executives and entrepreneurs. (A study tracked 3,500 high performers and found that this unorthodox attribute made them far more prosperous than their peers.)
• Why copying other financial advisors often backfires. (Sometimes advisors will look at what other financial advisors are doing and try to replicate their tactics. This is a terrible idea, and I’ll explain why.)
• Amazing business-building secrets of a desperate nerd from Ohio. (Including a look at a marketing campaign that built a company which employed more than 700 people.)
• The drop-dead obvious change I made to my webinar signup page which led to 30% more registrations. (If you’re running any type of webinar or online marketing campaign, this one tip makes the entire program worth it.)
• ​The trait that 95% of millionaires have in common. (More than 10,000 millionaires were surveyed and nearly every one of them had this attribute, which means if you don’t have it, the odds of financial success are not in your favor.) ​

This video is perhaps the most necessary one because, even though financial advisors work with money for a living, many advisors are missing several key money beliefs.

Make no bones about it: this entire program is about MONEY. About making it quicker, easier, and in larger quantities to achieve wealth, security, and independence. Yet, this specific video examines the distinct ideas successful financial advisors embrace about money that few others do.

• Why so many financial advisors get stuck in the low-to-mid six-figure income range. (If you’re making between $100,000 and $500,000 per year, this is MUST-HAVE information for you.)
• The “kung fu” secret to building an emergency fund within your business. (It turns out that most of the typical advice about emergency funds do NOT apply to businesses and can do more harm than good.)
• How you can extract more money per unit of time from your business. (This is the secret of the world’s biggest earners: all they’re really doing is getting more dollars-per-hour than everyone else.)
• Why common “success traits” – such as being optimistic, considering alternatives, etc. – are DEAD WRONG when it comes to sheer financial success. (There are actually five “anti-success traits” financial advisors need to have if they’re interested in joining the top 1% of net-worth households.)
• Why some financial advisors are swamped with new clients and interested prospects, while others have to beg for appointments. (The answer is revealed in belief #19, which I encourage you to bookmark for future reference.) ​

I debated with myself about whether to include this video in the program. For quite some time, I considered offering it as a separate product for $400 or so. After all, I am known as the “Financial Advisor Marketing” guy. This is my specialty.

I regret not keeping track over the years, but if I had to guess, I would estimate that I have created tens of millions of dollars of wealth for financial advisors and their families.

Because of this, I am likely the only person who can give you the material contained in this video. I am not telling you this to brag (okay, maybe a little). I’m telling you this so you understand that this is information you won’t find anywhere else because nobody else has the unique vantage point that I have.

• The “monopoly” strategy financial advisors use to dominate their local and niche markets. (Billionaires and business tycoons like John D. Rockefeller have used this strategy for centuries, and it’s directly applicable to financial services marketing.)
• How financial advisors can handle a prospective client’s common objections before meeting them. (This is one of my most powerful marketing secrets and I’ve selfishly used it to get a waiting list of consulting clients over the years.)
• Common ways marketing agencies and “experts” prey on financial advisors to the tune of thousands of dollars. (If you’re even thinking about hiring a third-party marketing service, this can save your hide.)
• The most effortless way for financial advisors to justify fee increases. (If you do this properly, your clients will happily pay more for your services and may even send you referrals along the way.)
• How my personal accountant can charge twice as much as his nearest competitor and still have people beating down his door. (Most financial advisors don’t understand how people REALLY choose financial advisors… those who do understand can charge much higher prices than everyone else.)
• Hush-hush marketing secrets from the world’s most successful insurance agent. (This man started his career in 1942 and averaged $30 million PER YEAR in production for nearly fifty years… and if that’s not enough, he did it all working out of a town with less than 20,000 people.)

And finally… the “mack daddy” of this entire video series. It’s difficult to describe without revealing it, but it’s the reason why the top quartile of financial advisors makes 77% more money than the median.  ​

In many ways, successful financial advisors are a “secret society”.

I’m not talking about some formal, institutionalized organization with its own handshake and blood oath. What I’m talking about is a group of people who make large incomes and create wealth in opposition to nearly everything you’ve been taught about how to build your business. 

In other words, these people use a radically different blueprint.

Even more astonishing is the fact that most of what they do goes unnoticed by those around them. They’ve learned – often the hard way – that there’s no benefit from attempting to enlighten their peers. Unfortunately, doing so is futile at best and dangerous at worst. After all, telling people why you’re successful and they’re not is a surefire way to stir up jealousy and resentment.

As a result, they stay quiet.

Also, many of them have – through deliberate strategy and preference – kept their businesses small. “Small” in terms of number of employees and overall business infrastructure… NOT in terms of net profit.

However, don’t think these people are somehow different than you. Because one of the biggest barriers to rapid achievement is believing that successful people are somehow “gifted” or possess powers denied to mere mortals.

Perhaps inherent advantages DO exist elsewhere. For example, being seven feet tall CAN give you an upper hand in basketball. But I’ve yet to find such an advantage among financial advisors.

Furthermore, if you spent as much time with them as I have and do, you would be shocked at how “screwed up” they are and how little of it matters.  ​

“How Successful Financial Advisors Think” is a collection of six videos that gets delivered to your inbox immediately after you order. 

It costs $499, and it comes with a 100% money-back guarantee, which is explained below.

(It’s important to note that it may be tax-deductible for you anyway…)

I am deliberately pricing it this expensively for two reasons:

1. To discourage the do-nothing financial advisors who are addicted to the dopamine drip that comes from buying low-priced products and never doing anything with them.

2. To encourage implementation from the advisors who invest in themselves. There are numerous studies which demonstrate that putting some skin in the game can help you get off your butt and implement. Investing money is a psychological trigger that you take something seriously and, trust me, you want to take this material seriously.

Which one are you? I’ll let you decide.

Remember, you’re getting instant access so you can download everything right away and watch as many times as you please.

But wait, I’m not done because…

To truly synthesize this information, I recommend that you go through it several times. To make this as easy as possible for you, I’m including the MP3 audio version of all six videos in the series.

This will also be instantly available as a download link.

There’s no charge for it. I want you to have it so you can get the most out of this training. Plus, I know some people have different preferences for absorbing material. If you’re someone who prefers listening to audio, this is specifically for you.