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One North Carolina advisor scaled from $24k to $150k in recurring annual revenue by making one small shift in his practice.

He discovered a secret SWEET SPOT search parameter for finding high-value prospects on LInkedIn and turned it into a quick 7-step method that any advisor can replicate.

👉 Now you can learn his same approach!

Horsing Around 🐴 

A transatlantic journey took an unexpected turn when a horse pulled a "great escape" mid-flight.

A Boeing 747 en route from New York to Belgium had to make a U-turn after a stallion broke free from its enclosure.

With the horse galloping wild, the pilot radioed air traffic control, confessing his team was unable to secure the horse.

Hey, pal, I don’t think anyone is going to blame you for not corralling a 1,000-pound beast who decided he ain’t flying coach.

– Team Advisorist

In Today’s Issue 👇️ 

• Why the 4% rule might be…dead?

• The power of echos for high-close ratios

• One advisors secret to 625% growth

And all of the week’s biggest headlines to make you the smartest advisor in the room. Let’s dig in!

🤷 Is the 4% Rule Archaic? Why 6% is More Like it

Retirement planning has long been anchored to the 4% rule.

But could this rule be a little…archaic?  

The 4% rule has always been predicated on a balanced mix of stocks, bonds, and cash.

However, a shifting landscape means retirees might actually be able to take out 6% per year and still live comfortably.

What’s going on? 

Well, it’s really quite simple…

Recent volatility in the bond market has sparked a surge in payout rates for lifetime annuities, particularly single premium lifetime annuities.

The quick rise in annuity rates has relegated traditional 4% withdrawal strategies to obsolescence – even for annuities offering annual income adjustments to combat inflation.

Let's break down the math 👇

• Consider a 65-year-old man purchasing a single-premium immediate annuity today, securing a substantial 7.7% annual payout rate. With $1 million, that translates to a guaranteed $77,000 yearly income for life.

• Similarly, a 65-year-old woman can lock in a 7.3% payout rate. The difference? Not gender bias, but longer life expectancy.

• Additionally, our male retiree could opt for an annuity that begins at a 5.9% initial payout, rising by 3% annually. For a $1 million investment, that's $59,000 in year one, nudging close to $60,800 in year two, and continuing the upward trend.

Now, of course, there are caveats.

First off, most annuities drain your nest egg upon death. 

Attractive rates are partly fueled by mortality credits, which subsidize the income for centenarians with funds from people who passed away early.

Plus, annuities entail a trade-off: liquidity. While monthly checks flow in, capital remains locked, hindering large lump-sum withdrawals for ventures like property investments.

That said, individual circumstances vary. 

And for clients who want less stress and more certainty, now is a great time to integrate annuities given the current historically high rates.

Annuities: The Key to the 6% Rule

Critics argue against annuities due to perceived limitations. 

However, the standard 4% rule is similarly restrictive, limiting withdrawals and leaving you more exposed to market fluctuations.

Addressing concerns about estate planning, the 4% rule minimizes the risk of fund depletion, but doesn't guarantee substantial inheritance. 

Plus, with people living longer than ever, there's also a chance of outliving the money.

An annuity may not leave an inheritance, but it eliminates any inheritance disputes.

It's a clean break – let the lawyers rest 😉

Meanwhile, if an annuity ramps up retirement income by 50%, it leaves retirees better poised to bestow gifts to heirs while they're still present.

I’m not telling you that you need to immediately pivot every client to a 6% strategy, but it’s certainly something to consider in specific situations.

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When you enter this industry, you always hear that the sky's the limit.

But if you aren’t careful, it’s easy to become cynical after a few years in the business.

Your revenue stalls, growth plateaus, and you stop believing you can have true breakthroughs.

However, you aren’t as far away as you think you are.

All it takes is one or two “wins” and your entire outlook can change.

I think about one North Carolina advisor who scaled from $24k to $150k in recurring annual revenue by making one small shift in his practice.

This guy discovered a secret SWEET SPOT search parameter for finding high-value prospects on LInkedIn and turned it into a quick 7-step method that any advisor can replicate.

I also think about a group of everyday advisors who immediately put themselves in the top 10% of advisors on Linkedin using 2 connection request strategies that are working right now.

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Headline Roundup

🏠 Affecting Your Clients

• Welcome News: Prices on Consumer Goods Are Dropping [CNBC]

• Jobless Claims Climb to 3-Month High of 231K [MW]

• New FAFSA Rollout to Give 1.5M Students Max Pell Grant Eligibility [CNBC]

📈 Markets & Economy 

• Builder-Confidence Index Falls for 4th Month in a Row [MW]

• 10-Yr Treasury Yield Falls Below 4.5% With Fed Hikes Unlikely [MW]

• Bitcoin Bounces Back to an 18-Month High [BAR]

💼 Industry Roundup 

• Nasdaq Making Moves to Become FinTech Company [BRG]

• Fee-for-Service Set to Shift Advisor Business Models [IN]

• Advisors Need to Consider How Bitcoin ETF Fits Into Portfolios [ETF]

🙌 How to Echo Your Way to Better Close Rates

You and I both know how much work goes into booking appointments.

The amount of dancing around and back-and-forth tag it takes to get someone to book onto your calendar and actually show up is kind of ridiculous. 😆

And whether it’s a lead that you generated via email, LinkedIn, a webinar, or a referral network, the last thing you want to do is squander the opportunity.

You must show up prepared.

📣 The Power of Echoing

Today, with the majority of meetings happening via Zoom, it’s more important than ever that you find ways to build quick rapport and trust with the person on your screen.

One simple way to do this is by leveraging a psychological principle known as echoing.

(Fancy researchers like to call it verbal mimicry 🤓 )

Echoing – which is very similar to the concept of mirroring – is where you listen for metaphors, analogies, and other phrases that the prospect uses in their conversation with you.

Then, you repeat those words back to them later on in the conversation.

For example, you might have a prospect who talks about his financial plan in automotive terms…saying things like “I feel like I have a good engine here, I just need to add the right mixture of fuel.”

Later on in the conversation, you could say something like, “You can think of this system like a major upgrade that’s going to allow you to hit the cruise control button for a few years and just relax.”

Do you see how that might work?

You’re not necessarily echoing the exact same words, but you’re using the metaphors that already make sense in the prospect’s mind. 

That’s much more effective than coming up with your own analogy, where you risk confusing the person on the other side of the table.

🤓 Tech Tip of the Day

Researchers just released a comprehensive list of the 200 most common passwords used in 2023.

Maybe you can find some of yours on the list?

Headlines include:

• 123456

• Admin

• 12345678

• 123456789

• password

• admin123

Of the world’s 20 most common passwords, 17 can be cracked by a hacker in less than one second.

Even if your business account passwords aren’t on this list, you may want to think about strengthening them.

Here’s how:

1. Avoid common words

2. Use a combination of numbers, letters, uppercase, lowercase, and symbols

3. Never repeat a password from one account to another

4. Memorize a sentence – perhaps lyrics to your favorite song – and use the first letter of each word as the password. For example, “It's the eye of the tiger! It's the thrill of the fight!” becomes Iteott!Ittotf!

🗓️ Upcoming Industry Event Calendar

Nov. 28-30: Investments & Wealth Strategy Forum

Nov. 29 - Dec 1: Barron's Advisor Women Summit

Dec. 4-7: Market Council Summit

✌️Good Vibes

At the age of 17, Sebbie Hall committed himself to a life of helping others. 

He wasn’t trying to start a massive movement or get a bunch of attention – he was just doing his part

Three years later, he’s been hailed the kindest person in the UK.

During the pandemic, Sebbie donated coats, blankets, and toys to those in need.

He also regularly uses his own pocket money to buy strangers coffee. 

At one point last year, he noticed that many of his classmates lacked computers.

So he raised funds to supply each one with a laptop.

When KIND Snacks went looking for their 2023 Kind Hero, Sebbie’s reputation preceded him. 

Now he has his very own statue near London's Tower Bridge which has an inscription that reads: “Kindness is my superpower.”

Sharing looks good on you.

When you copy that link at the bottom and share it with a few financial planning colleagues, you look like the smartest advisor in the room by keeping them informed.

Plus, you earn rewards. Sweet.