Parker Growth

The concept of "retirement" is something we accept as self-evident, but it's actually a much more recent invention than you might realize...?? The world's first public pension was created by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in 1889 to appease a growing socialist movement. The plan offered financial support to those over 70 considered "disabled from work by age". American Express created the world's first private pension in 1875 for employees over the age of 60 who had been with the company for at least 20 years. For nearly all of recorded history, people worked until they either died or were physically incapable. ? I've been looking online for any old-school advertising campaigns promoting the idea of retirement but can't find anything. If anyone's aware of an example of this I'd love to hear about it! #retirementplanning #financialadvisor #wealthmanagement #financialplanning #retirement

What's a good first meeting show-up rate for digital leads and how can you increase it? ?? The first meeting show-up rate I shoot for with clients is 70%. People are people, so don't expect a 100% show-up rate, but this is what I recommend doing to maximize it: ?? ? Add qualifying and disqualifying messaging in your ads, videos, landing pages, and booking form. Make sure whoever decides to meet with you knows what you offer, who you offer it to, and whether they fit the bill. ? Send an automated text and email confirmation with meeting info and an "add to calendar" button. Politely ask them to add the meeting to their calendar. ? Send an automated text and email reminder sequence leading up to the meeting. I recommend 2-3 depending on how far out the lead has booked. Use these reminders as an opportunity to reiterate your value proposition and validate the reason the lead scheduled this meeting in the first place. ? Utilize the principle of reciprocity. Send a casually worded text to the lead thanking them for scheduling. Tell them you've read and understand the reasons they listed for scheduling, and that you've already begun preparing. This tells the lead they're more than just a number to you and reminds them of the valuable time and energy you're investing in them. Most people will reciprocate this by showing up. ? Be genuine! All of the above can be automated, but the more personalized outreach and acknowledgement you and your team can provide prior to the meeting, the better.

I've been learning Spanish for 1.5 years now. Here's how learning a language is just like growing a business: ??? ? It's not glamorous - You will have some exciting breakthrough moments, but 90% of the time, learning a language feels like banging your head against a wall. The same is true of business. Success in both is a test of endurance to see how long you're willing to show up and bang your head against the wall for. Simple but not easy. ? It's humbling - People will laugh at you, roll their eyes, and look at you like an idiot. You will feel like a child who can't express themself again. Business also includes humbling experiences, but there's great value in these. The most transformative personal growth is often on the other side of humbling experiences. You will never grow in life or business if you insulate yourself from risk and failure. ? The goalpost is always moving - Eventually you will get to a level you could only dream of when you started. But by the time this happens, you already have a new level in mind. The same is true in business. You'll close your first big deal, hit a revenue goal, expand your service offerings, replace the income from your old job, but it will never feel like enough. This can be a useful and healthy mechanism of the mind with enough patience and self-awareness. ? It's empowering - You'll become so much better at navigating foreign places, understanding different cultures, and connecting with people. Just like when you succeed in business, you'll feel like you can do anything. ? It's rewarding - Normal things you might take for granted in your native language feel amazing when you're learning a new one. Making people laugh, making people think, falling in love, etc. A dollar made working for yourself is more rewarding than a dollar made working for someone else. Taking a vacation, working harder, or slowing down to pursue other interests feels better when you're doing it of your own volition. There's nothing easy about learning a language or growing a business, but they're both well-worth doing.

How does a digital sales process differ from your traditional sales process? ?? What works for leads you meet from a seminar event, personal connection, or existing client won't necessarily translate to leads you meet digitally. There's an initial barrier of trust you've already overcome with the former that makes everything that follows a downhill battle. Overcoming this barrier with digital leads is harder, but it is possible. This is how you can do it: ? Do your homework before the first meeting. Why are they seeking help? What other problems have they not thought about? This is information you can gather with a good booking form. ? Connect with them on a personal level. Before you jump into your pitch, prod a little for common interests, hobbies, and experiences. ? Send a personalized follow up outside of business hours. This can be business-related, but something non-business related is even better IMO. And don't worry, you can automate this! ? Create separate non-personalized SMS and email follow-up sequences based on recurring needs, pain points, and objections you notice. This can take time to refine but works much better than a one-size-fits-all sequence. It's tempting to prioritize quantity over quality when it comes to your interactions with digital leads, but they will pick up on this. Your leads will not work with you if you don't connect on a personal level! #financialadvisormarketing #digitalmarketing #advertising #wealthmanagement #sales #salesprocess #financialadvisor #financialplanning #cfp

You think our inflation is bad? ?? This is what one month of my rent looked like in Buenos Aires last year. The rate was quoted in USD, and every month I'd have to go to Western Union and fill up a draw string bag with the equivalent amount in pesos. Every month this amount got bigger and bigger... At over 275% year-over-year from February 2024, Argentina now has the world's highest inflation rate. It hasn't always been like this. In the early 20th century, Argentina was one of the world's top 10 richest countries with a stable gold-backed currency and a seemingly endless supply of exportable resources. Things started to go downhill when world war in Europe closed lucrative export markets and a military junta seized power in 1930, setting a precedent for the decades of political instability and corruption that followed. Since then, the country has developed a major debt problem and has defaulted 9 different times. It uses a non-independent central bank as an unlimited money printer to finance short-sighted spending, subsidies, entitlement programs, and a massive public sector workforce (about a third of the population). Buenos Aires today is a fallen angel. Opulent baroque-style palaces from a capitalist boom time contrast with the budget-friendly and functional brutalist-style buildings of a more left-leaning era. Argentinians are a famously proud people, and life goes on for them. I believe they're going in the right direction with Milei and swallowing some bitter pills that will pay off down the road. As an American, my time here has made me realize how easy it is to take things like a strong stable currency for granted. ???? #inflation #inflationcrisis #argentina #milei #wealthmanagement #financialadvisormarketing #financialplanning