Being a financial advisor or insurance producer is a demanding career. But the most successful professionals make the work more efficient, more rewarding—and more profitable.
Here are 10 proven practices I’ve observed among Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Top of the Table qualifiers and other top-tier producers:
Best Practice #1: Prioritize frequent personal conversations.
Top advisors maintain consistent, personalized contact with every client household—at a frequency that clients prefer.
Why do most clients leave their advisor? It’s rarely about price or performance. It’s poor service and lack of communication.
You don’t need to make every call yourself—your assistant can check in and ask simple questions:
- “Any life changes we should know about?”
- “Anything in the news that has you concerned?”
These conversations deepen engagement—and engaged clients make introductions.
Best Practice #2: Be Relentless with CRM Updates.
Top advisors don’t allow a single client interaction to go unrecorded. Every call, email, or meeting gets documented immediately.
This practice not only protects you from client disputes—it demonstrates professionalism and reminds your clients you’re always on top of their needs.
Best Practice #3: Commit to Monthly Drip Marketing.
At least monthly, most top advisors are sending some kind of message to their clients, prospects, and strategic partners. It helps keep the recipients engaged and keeps you top of mind.
The form of the message varies among producers. For some it’s a slick, branded e-letter. For others, it’s a less formal and more personal update letter, and still others use physical mail.
One agent I’ve worked with sends a daily motivational quote by email. Clients almost never ask him to stop sending them.
Best Practice #4: Help the people they care about.
Some experts tell advisors not to ask for referrals, because, they say, it can damage relationships. They advise a more passive promotion of referrals, by saying things like, “I wish I had a hundred more clients like you” or “If anyone you know has expressed the need for [financial or insurance] advice, please think of me.”
While I agree that the passive approach can always be used, top advisors I’ve worked with have conversations about being introduced to friends and family members who might need their help and then ask if anyone comes to mind their clients would want to talk about.
This approach—making it about the clients helping the people they care about, rather than about building the advisors’ business—is always successful.
Best Practice #5: Invest in your “Top 20”.
The more households you have, the harder it is to treat them all the same. Top advisors segment their database, and put all but their A+ platinum clients on some kind of plan that can be automated—Holiday cards, birthdays, etc.
Automating these for all clients saves time. It allows them to invest a larger portion of their time, money, and energy on their top clients and strategic partners—serving them in every way possible and surprising and delighting them with meaningful gifts, social get-togethers, and invitations to events.
This invariably results in more business from their best connections and unsolicited introductions.
Nothing works better than when a friend or family member hears a top client say, “Do you know what my [insurance agent/advisor] did yesterday?” followed by something about which the client expresses delight.
The usual response is something like, “Your advisor did that? I can’t even get mine to return my phone call. Tell me more about yours.”
Best Practice #6: Choose a Target Niche—and Dominate It.
Marketing to “everyone” is a recipe for obscurity. Top advisors focus on the smallest viable market, as marketing expert Seth Godin recommends.
When you know exactly who you serve best and how, everything becomes easier:
- Your messaging improves
- Prospecting becomes more effective
- Strategic partnerships multiply
Whether it's women business owners, physicians, or contractors, the narrower your niche, the faster your momentum.
Top advisors know they can work with anyone they choose to, but they market to only one type of client with one message. They also know that targeting in this way is not a turn off for people who aren’t in their niche.
Best Practice #7: Ask—don’t TELL.
That’s not what selling is about. Top of the Table legend, Van Mueller, tells producers that he never tells clients anything. He asks them questions that get them to conclude for themselves that they need what he’s offering.
It takes three skills to be a great advisor, and none of them are about using clever closes:
- Ask great, compelling questions
- Listen to the answers
- Share engaging, emotional stories (including metaphors and illustrations)
Of these, the most important is asking questions. When I did sales training, I would tell my advisors, “Anything you can tell a client or prospect you can get them to tell you if you ask the right questions. And if they tell it to you, they own it. When you tell them something, it’s a pitch, and you own it. It’s less effective and may even backfire on you.
Best Practice #8: Know How to Talk About What You Do.
With all the competition out there, top advisors know that they need to position themselves as the only choice for someone in their niche with the problem they solve. (See Best Practice #6).
Beyond a tag line and the outdated concept of the elevator speech, top advisors have a compelling Explanation of Services (EOS) that includes:
- What they believe about their niche
- Why they believe it
- How they solve their clients’ problems around it
- Stories and results from real clients
- A simple, non-salesy invitation to meet if they feel the same way
Best Practice #9: Ruthlessly Protect Their Time.
Top producers don’t spend time on admin. They supervise it—but they don’t do it.
Their day is clearly mapped out: appointments, marketing, follow-ups. Every hour has a purpose. Time is their most valuable asset—and they guard it fiercely.
Best Practice #10: Be a Doer, not a Feeler.
Most advisors take action when they feel like it. Top advisors take action whether they feel great or not.
They have bad days too—but they stay on schedule. They stay focused. They follow through.
Distractions don’t derail them. Their results are consistent because their habits are consistent.
Final Thought
Any one of these can help your production without increasing your hours. But the more you implement, the closer you will get to the top of your profession.
If you’re having difficulty putting them into practice—Don’t do it alone. The best never do.
