🛳️ Baby, Let's Cruise

Would you give up your home to live on a cruise ship full time? One adventurous couple did.

John and Melody Hennessee plan to spend the rest of their lives cruising around the globe. According to them, it'll cost half as much as living on land.

The Florida couple originally sold everything to live in a motorhome and travel around the U.S., but John got tired of driving.

Today, the two ocean lovers hop from one long-term sailing trip to another. They also have plans to board a new three-year cruise that chases warm weather.

The burning question: what's their address?

- Team Advisorist

In Today’s Issue 👇️ 

• Key questions to ask yourself in the new year

• 5 ways to automate your marketing

• Surprising stats on the average American debt

🪩 Let's Get Visionary

Ah yes, "new year, new me" season is upon us once again. 😁

If you're struggling to come up with a solid game plan, ask yourself these three simple questions to get the juices flowing:

🤔 How did I do?

While it's important to look at key statistics like AUM, client retention rate, and portfolio returns, go a little bit deeper.

• Think about the quality of your client relationships. How much new business did you bring in last year? 

• Look into how well your client referral system performed and make changes if needed.

• Don't forget about internal processes and systems. Could you bring in any new tech to make your days flow easier? 

• Lastly, think about your brand. Did it attract your ideal clients? Assess how well it performed in 2023 and let the answers drive the changes you make.

🚀 Where am I going?

Now that you've reviewed the past, it's time to look forward. 

Although it's old school, jotting down goals with a pen and paper is good for the brain. The action helps you solidify your intentions and call them into reality. 

Tack them up where you can see them and let them be your compass when you go off course.

Don't be afraid to dream big. If your vision scares you, that's a good thing. Keep your vision front and center and revisit it often. 

Reminding yourself of your big goals will spark new ways to hit them.

🤸 Is it time to make a change?

Take time to consider how your current firm helped or hindered your progress in 2023.

If you aren't happy with the results, switching to a new broker-dealer could be a game changer. 

Spend time researching options and add key contacts to your network. (Also, understand what negative implications could be in play.)

Even if you don't make a move right away, connecting with the right people sets you up for a smoother transition when you're ready.

Headline Roundup

🏠 Affecting Your Clients

• Issues with New FAFSA Launch Leave Millions in Limbo [CNBC]

• More EVs Lose US Tax Credits, Including Some Teslas [Y!]

• Unaffordable Housing Leaves Young People Out in the Cold [CNET]

📈 Markets & Economy 

• Analysis: IPO Market Set for Rebound in 2024 [Y!]

• Treasury Yields Rise as Investors Consider Economic Outlook [CNBC]

• Home Builders’ Stocks Soared in 2023. Brace for a Dip. [MW]

💼 Industry Roundup 

• New Annuity Products Don’t Have ‘Icky Feeling of Commission’ [IN]

• LPL Penalized $6 Million For Securities Violations [FA]

• DOL Denies Second Request for More Time on Fiduciary Rule Comments [TA]

✅ Set It and Forget It: 5 Easy Marketing Automations

Spending too much time following up with leads or sending out emails? The answer: automation. 🧑🏻‍💻

Although it'll take a bit of work up front, once marketing automations are in place, you'll get a big boost in efficiency.

Here are five tasks to automate if you want to take back your precious time:

1. Welcome emails: Did you know welcome emails have an 85% higher open rate than other emails? 

   If you're not already sending them out to new prospects, you should be. Load up email addresses from client events into an email marketing platform and use it to stay in touch.
   

2. Meeting reminders: Set up an automation to ping prospects and clients the day before a scheduled meeting. Getting that reminder will make them more likely to attend. Bonus: add in an agenda so they know what to expect.
   

3. No-show follow-ups: If your hot lead misses a meeting, there's still hope. Create an automation to send out a message every time a meeting is canceled. It'll help rein in those who missed the meeting, but are still genuinely interested.
   

4. Personalized events: Keeping track of client birthdays and other meaningful events can give you an edge. Consider setting up an automated message to go out on their special day to let them know you're thinking of them.
   

5. Feedback requests: Getting feedback directly from prospects and clients is the key to acquisition and retention. Create an automated survey to go out after each meeting or webinar. Keep it quick and to the point to encourage completion.

🗓️ Upcoming Industry Event Calendar

• 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

$59,580

That's the average debt per American. 

This includes mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, auto loans, credit card debt, student loan debt, and personal loans.

Research shows that debt typically reaches a peak between ages 40 and 49.

What's the largest debt for Americans? Mortgage debt, by a significant margin. After that comes student loans, then auto loans.

✌️Good Vibes

MRSA is a nasty infection. It's drug-resistant and known for being difficult to treat…until now.

Through the use of an AI deep-learning algorithm, MIT scientist James Collins and colleagues made a groundbreaking discovery: new compounds that could successfully fight MRSA. 

Researchers handed their findings over to Phare Bio, a non-profit organization tied to the Antibiotics-AI Project. They'll continue to analyze the results. 

If all goes to plan, a new MRSA-killing antibiotic will eventually hit the market, saving as many as 35,000 people a year. 🧪😌

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.