A big thank you to our sponsors who keep this newsletter free to advisors:

With over 29 videos, several copy-and-paste email templates, and 8 power strategies, The Advisor’s Playbook to Collecting World Class Testimonials is one of the best-kept secrets to building authority.

👉 Access here for a major discount during today’s limited-time flash sale!

🎩 Topping It Off

Hold onto your hats! 

A 12-foot bronze sculpture of Abraham Lincoln in Louisville, Kentucky is missing its top hat. 

No thief has been found yet, but officials are looking through video recordings in hopes to catch the crook – who the sculptor said “had to be pretty strong to rip it from the base.”

Police should check local gyms to see if anyone's pumping bronze instead of iron!

- Team Advisorist

In Today’s Issue 👇️ 

• Strategic ways to use AI in your practice

• The power of silence in sales calls

• Powerball stats and info

🧑🏻‍💻 AI Is For Advisors

If you haven't tried ChatGPT yet, it might be time to give it a whirl. 🤖

According to a recent survey, eight out of ten financial advisors say they've used generative AI for at least one business-related task. 

Additionally, male advisors and advisors between the ages of 18 and 44 are more likely to use generative AI than female advisors and advisors aged 45 and up. 

Out of the 82.5% of advisors who use generative AI in their practice, the most popular uses were employee onboarding (46.5%), processing employee and/or client data (41.4%) and client communications (40.4%).

Wondering how you can make AI work for you? Here are a few ways to test it out:

• Keep up with industry changes: A standard Google search on tax changes or market trends will likely get you what you need, but generative AI takes things a step further. Ask AI to search for the information and produce a draft of a communication you're working on. It'll save you a ton of time.

• Communicate with clients: Generative AI allows you to tailor your communications to specific demographics you may struggle with. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to generate a message in a way Gen Z would best understand. 

• Hiring new staff: Growing your team? AI can help you write job descriptions and interview questions. It can also assist with evaluating interviewee responses, creating an onboarding or training schedule, and identifying key learning objectives.

If you're an AI rookie, there's no shame in being a beginner. 

Why not take it for a test run? It could make your days run a lot more smoothly. 😎

Click here to access ChatGPT for free!

Headline Roundup

🏠 Affecting Your Clients

• Millions of Student Loan Borrowers Still Aren't Making Payments [FA]

• 59% of Gen Z Women Say They’ll Be Financially Ready for Retirement [CNBC]

• Homebuyers Optimistic about Falling Mortgage Rates [CNN]

📈 Markets & Economy 

• European Markets Lower After Fifth Straight Week of Gains [CNBC]

• Researchers Expect Deep Fed Rate Cuts Amidst Rising Unemployment [Y!]

• Stocks Close Higher as S&P 500 Edges Closer to Record [BAR]

💼 Industry Roundup 

• Anti-Money-Laundering Rules In Works For Advisors [FA]

• Fixed Income, Foreign Stocks Offer Big Opportunities in 2024 [IN]

• BlackRock Sued by Tennessee Over ‘Misleading’ ESG Strategy [TA]

Sponsored

📕 Your Marketing Rulebook Got Rewritten: How to Gain an Edge

Can I tell you the truth?

One of the things that’s always frustrated me about our industry is how SLOW it is to evolve.

When you compare financial services – and especially advisory – to other industries, we’re years behind.

It’s not that we’re incapable. (Some of the smartest folks I know are advisors.)

It’s that we’ve been handcuffed for soooo long by strict regulations and rules.

So when I heard that the SEC was FINALLY giving advisors the green light to start collecting and using testimonials in marketing…

…we couldn’t contain our excitement.

Within HOURS we designed an entire playbook with 29 videos, email templates, and ideas for how advisors can start leveraging testimonials to build social proof.

(Seriously…we almost pulled a couple of all-nighters doing this.)

Here’s some of what’s included:

• 2 “Foolproof” Questions To Generate Testimonials At Scale

• Two Powerful Copy-and-paste Email Templates that Get Lay Down Testimonials

• Sample Presentation Slides That Make Your Testimonials LOUD

• 8 Testimonial Power Strategies That We’ve Used To Help Advisors Generate Millions In AUM

I’m offering a flash sale where you can get my entire playbook at a heavily discounted price.

👉 Click here to get the lowest price!

🤐 The Sound of Silence

Silence during a conversation is awkward, but it can also be super powerful. 🤫

When you intentionally incorporate silence into your sales calls, you'll get your prospect to lean in and actively engage. 

However, it's all about balance. 

Awkward silence is uncomfortable. The discomfort often triggers fear or avoidance, and we may fall into the trap of babbling just to fill the empty space. 

When the silence hits, let it hang for a bit. 

1. Resist the urge to talk first

2. Sit back

3. Listen 

The moment you get intentional about allowing the silence to exist is when the magic happens. 💫

Here are some tips to help you harness the power of silence:

• During your meeting, have a cup of coffee or a bottle of water with you. After asking a question, take a sip of your drink. This buys you some time and gives your prospect the space to answer.

• If they don't respond and things get uncomfortable, consider reframing your original question. Feel free to take another sip of your drink to signal you're looking for a response.

• A good rule of thumb is to wait four seconds after a response to ask another question. This helps your prospect feel heard and can trigger positive emotions and a deeper connection.

• Prospects are used to the typical sales meeting where they're getting talked “at” and rushed through a presentation. Break up the pattern by pausing throughout (take some sips) and ask thought-provoking questions. In other words, create some real conversation.

Adding a healthy dose of silence to your meetings could go a long way. 

Test it out on your next call! ☎️

🗓️ Upcoming Industry Event Calendar

• Today @12pm EST: The Virtual Advisor Power Hour

• Jan. 8-12: 58th Annual Heckerling Institute On Estate Planning

• Jan. 13-15: Global Financial Planning Institute’s CONNECT 24

• Jan. 15-18: AICPA PFP Summit

🧮 By the Numbers

$535 million 

That's the current Powerball jackpot.

So far in 2023, there were five Powerball winners. Three took home grand prizes among the game's biggest payouts ever. 

The next Powerball drawing is Saturday at 10:59 pm EST. The winner can choose from two payment options: an annuity worth $535 million or a lump sum valued at $268.2 million.

✌️Good Vibes

Sydney Moore and her four-month-old son, Lord, were inside her mobile home in Tennessee when a tornado tore the roof off of the dwelling and snatched the baby.

Moore jumped on top of her other one-year-old son to protect him. Once the storm passed, she frantically searched for Lord. 

In what was nothing short of a miracle, Moore discovered baby Lord nestled asleep in the crook of a fallen tree “as if an angel placed him there.” 

A GoFundMe to help the family recover from storm damages is currently at $68,000. 

A baby surviving a tornado ride? Priceless. 😌😇

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.