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Founder, Thrivos Consulting, LLC Penny Phillips Founder, Thrivos Consulting, LLC After a decade of working with financial advisors and institutions on practice management, Penny launched Thrivos Consulting with a vision of building a firm that would transcend the traditional norms of industry consulting. Founded on the belief that in order to thrive one must successfully navigate change, Thrivos offers services designed to support professionals and institutions as they learn to turn industry challenges into opportunities. With a keen ability to connect with professionals across varying demographics, Penny has had success working with clients ranging from top independent advisors seeking support around building a multi-gen team to multi-billion-dollar enterprises looking to explore scale and growth opportunities. Penny has worked with countless advisory teams and broker dealers on issues ranging from the integration of next generation talent to succession planning to communication and behavior management. She previously ran a national business-building workshop series for financial advisors. She has authored multiple practice management programs, and has been featured as a keynote speaker at conferences and events for the following firms LPL, Investors Group, Guardian Life, Morgan Stanley, MassMutual, Northwestern Mutual, Prudential, New York Life, Signature Financial Solutions, Flexible Plan Investments, RBC, and Platinum Advisor Strategies. Previous Speaker Go back to Speaker Network Next Speaker

CEO, NYT Best Selling Author, Speaker Brian Moran CEO, NYT Best Selling Author, Speaker Brian Moran has over thirty years of expertise as a CEO, corporate executive, entrepreneur, consultant and coach. His background as a corporate executive combined with his experience as an entrepreneur positions him with a unique skill set to help individuals and organizations grow and prosper. Brian’s corporate experience includes management and executive positions with UPS, PepsiCo, and Northern Automotive. As an entrepreneur he has personally launched and led successful businesses and been instrumental in the success of many others. In addition, he has consulted for dozens of world-class companies including Coldwell Banker, Mass Mutual, Medtronic, New York Life, and Tiffany & Co. Brian is a recognized expert in the field of leadership and execution. His realization that most people don’t lack ideas but struggle with effective implementation led him to the development of The 12 Week Year. In addition to his books, Brian has been published in many of the leading business journals and magazines. He is a sought-after speaker, educating and inspiring thousands each year. He is a visionary with a passion for helping others go beyond what they think they are capable of and achieve more than they ever thought possible. His greatest strength might be his ability to take success principles and strategies and help others apply them in a way that is powerful and effective, and gets results. Previous Speaker Go back to Speaker Network Next Speaker

President of AdvisorCRAFT Jim Ruta President of AdvisorCRAFT Jim Ruta is president of AdvisorCRAFT and a life insurance industry analyst, advisor coach, speaker and media commentator. He appears regularly in international media and highlights some of the world’s top advisor programs including the Main Platform of the Million Dollar Round Table. Jim started as a life insurance agent at age 22 and led one of Canada’s largest insurance agencies by age 40. He is the author of several best-selling advisor business development books, writes for many top industry publications and hosts “Ruta’s Rules” every week on IE:TV. Jim is co-founder and Emcee of the “Canada Sales Congress” – the largest event of its kind in Canada. Jim is a shareholder and consultant with Austin, Texas-based InforcePRO™.com, a unique, online life policy service, sales and marketing system that helps professional life agents attract sell more life business through service. Previous Speaker Go back to Speaker Network Next Speaker

Next Item Previous Item Go back to White Papers List The past two years have shone a spotlight on digital learning. While some companies already had robust digital learning platforms in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, others struggled to engage a newly remote workforce in a fully virtual environment. In both cases, the digital learning experience — and its effectiveness — came under greater scrutiny than ever before. The debate over in-person versus online learning is not new. And now — as we begin to move out of the pandemic — some training organizations are breathing a collective sigh of relief about finally getting “back to normal.” But let’s be honest: Normal is a thing of the past, and consigning digital learning to second-class status is a mistake for several reasons. Many businesses will continue to support remote work, if not on a full-time basis, then in a hybrid work environment. And remote workers are often geographically dispersed, making digital learning options even more necessary. Gen Z, the incoming workforce, has grown up with digital learning. These self-directed digital natives look to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to learn new skills. And they expect the organizations they join to provide similar (or better) experiences. Finally, and perhaps most important, digital learning is cost-effective, efficient, and — when done well — as engaging as in-person, instructor-led training. The question every organization should be asking is not whether to continue providing digital learning options; the question is, does your digital learning platform achieve the results you expect? Creating an engaging digital learning experience requires a learner-focused design based on fundamental learning principles. As you evaluate digital learning platforms for your organization, consider these five essential elements required for an effective digital learning experience. Purposeful A fundamental principle of learning is that adults are motivated by learning that helps them achieve a goal or solve a problem. Whether they want to move into a management position, increase retention, or penetrate new markets, financial services professionals will be more motivated, will retain more, and are more likely to apply learning that serves a specific purpose. Through videos, case studies, assessments, and other media, an effective digital learning experience regularly reinforces the why behind the learning, not just the how. And since effective digital learning programs typically consist of brief, tightly focused microlearning modules, learners can select modules that have the most relevance for achieving their goals. Personalized Microlearning modules satisfy another fundamental principle — adult learners want the flexibility to control what, when, how, and where they learn. In today’s business environment, that often means mobile learning, something for which microlearning modules are especially well suited. And because microlearning is modularized, with discrete learning objectives, learners can personalize the experience based on their specific interests. A strong digital platform will also recommend custom learning paths, usually identified through online assessments, to ensure that the program addresses all skill gaps. Two new financial services managers, for example, may require different learning paths, based on their strengths and weaknesses, with the online assessment ensuring that all essential leadership areas are evaluated properly for both new leaders. Actionable A training module is only as good as the action it produces. Effective training includes actionable takeaways that learners can apply soon after completing the learning experience. A coaching module for new managers, for example, should provide a coaching model, script, or other guidelines so that managers can apply their new coaching skills immediately. It should also suggest activities for practicing the new skills after completing training, to transfer and reinforce learning. The Forgetting Curve Digital microlearning modules work well with spaced learning formats (learning that occurs over time). The cadence of this type of learning, learn-apply-review-reinforce, provides the repetition needed to overcome “the forgetting curve.” Introduced by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in the late 19th century, the forgetting curve shows that, on average, people forget 70 percent of what they learn within 24 hours of learning it and 90 percent within one week.1 The most effective way to overcome the forgetting curve is to use active recall and review activities and apply new learning early and often. Active recall activities often found in digital learning platforms include quizzes, flashcards, scenarios, and critical thinking questions. Practical Practical learning is related to, but not the same as, actionable learning. Actionable learning ensures learners have takeaways they can apply immediately. Practical learning takes into account different on-the-job situations to ensure learners have resources at a specific moment of need. A comprehensive digital learning platform includes resources to support five moments of need: new, more, apply, solve, and change. The Five Moments of Need The “five moments of need” approach, developed by Conrad Gottfredson and Bob Mosher, focuses on applying learning in the workflow.2 Learning a new skill or concept and then learning more as skills increase are the bread and- butter of traditional training programs. Effective learning platforms will also support learning that happens on the job: when learners apply new skills when they must solve problems because something did not happen as expected, and when they must relearn skills because systems, processes, or situations changed. Because of their modular design, accessibility, and the variety of delivery formats available, digital learning platforms are ideally suited for addressing these needs. Engaging Last, but by no means least, an effective digital learning platform actively engages participants in the learning experience. This element, perhaps more than any other, influences learner retention. And it is the one area where digital learning platforms often fail to perform. Quizzes are the most common engagement activities included in digital learning. Ideally, these knowledge checks also provide meaningful feedback to learners, reinforcing correct answers and reviewing material for incorrect answers. Some platforms award points or badges for activities completed. Some include leaderboards that show learners how their scores compare to others. The most sophisticated use simulation and virtual reality. Fortunately, you do not have to develop the next Minecraft game to engage most learners. Any activity that reviews and reinforces learning points and supports the on-the-job application of key concepts will encourage learner participation. In addition to quizzes, case studies, what-if scenarios, and criticalthinking questions can keep learners engaged. Varying the types of media used (balancing text, video, and infographics, for example) also helps to retain learner interest. Digital learning is here to stay, and it is a valuable tool when designed well. These five elements, when combined in a digital learning experience, can motivate team members to use your training platform, transform new skills into increased productivity, and provide you with the ROI you are looking for in a digital learning platform. Engaging Advisors with the Essentials of Digital Learning

Next Item Previous Item Go back to White Papers List Parents are a crucial part of their children’s financial education. Research has shown that parental modeling and teaching has more positive, impactful, and long-lasting influence on financial attitudes than academic-based programs. How, what, and when you teach your kids about money are personal decisions determined by your values and experience. Start Early It’s never too early to start teaching children about money. Otherwise, until they start earning a living, it’s easy for kids to think that money “grows on trees”! Parents magazine offers tips for ways to teach children about money from ages 2 through ages 16 and older. Beth Kobliner is one of the nation’s leading authorities on personal finance for young people. She is a commentator and journalist and the author of two New York Times bestsellers: Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties and a guide for parents titled Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even if You’re Not). She says that by age 3, kids can grasp basic money concepts. By age 7, many of their money habits are already set. Her advice is to begin as early as possible to “Start wringing money lessons out of everyday life.” Parents are a crucial part of their children’s financial education. Research has shown that parental modeling and teaching has more positive, impactful, and long-lasting influence on financial attitudes than academic-based programs. How, what, and when you teach your kids about money are personal decisions determined by your values and experience. Start Early It’s never too early to start teaching children about money. Otherwise, until they start earning a living, it’s easy for kids to think that money “grows on trees”! Parents magazine offers tips for ways to teach children about money from ages 2 through ages 16 and older. Beth Kobliner is one of the nation’s leading authorities on personal finance for young people. She is a commentator and journalist and the author of two New York Times bestsellers: Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties and a guide for parents titled Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even if You’re Not). She says that by age 3, kids can grasp basic money concepts. By age 7, many of their money habits are already set. Her advice is to begin as early as possible to “Start wringing money lessons out of everyday life.” Ignorance About Financial Management Is Stressful A 2018 PwC study revealed that just 24% of millennials demonstrated a basic understanding of financial concepts. And 54% of millennials are worried about paying back their student loans from college. Adults experience profound stress over moneyrelated issues, and part of the reason is that many adults were never taught money-management skills. According to a survey from the American Psychological Association, money is a leading cause of stress in the United States. APA has conducted the annual survey for more than a decade, and money and work have consistently topped the list of stressors. In the August 2017 survey, 62% of respondents said money was their biggest stressor, and 61% said work was their main source of stress. We certainly don’t want our children to experience this kind of stress. Knowledge is power, and when we teach young people how to be good stewards of their money, those lessons will benefit them for a lifetime— and their children and grandchildren, too. The key is to help children develop positive behaviors and habits from an early age. A 30-year study published in the Journal of American Medical Association Psychiatry in May 2019, makes a strong link between a specific behavior set and future income. The researchers followed the lives of 2,850 6-yearold children. They found participants who went on to make less annual income between the ages of 33 to 35 all had one common trait demonstrated at a young age: inattention. The researchers considered inattention to be a lack of sharing, poor focus, blaming others/ showing aggression, and high levels of anxiousness. If you can work with your children on these inattentive behaviors, you can have an impact on their earnings 3 decades later. The researchers recommend that you do 4 things to help children be more attentive to money when they are children so they can be more successful adults: encourage sharing, encourage them to focus on one thing at a time, teach them to get along with others and to feel empathy, and help your child manage anxiety by giving your child uninterrupted time in the day to express their worries and to brainstorm solutions with you. Here are additional tips for building good money management tips in your children. Teach Them the Basics Don’t wait until your kids are leaving for college to introduce them to the basics of financial life. Give them the latitude to make mistakes and learn from them. Let children see their money grow. This is where the age-old piggybank comes in. When children see their money accumulating, it increases their motivation to save. Also, when kids see you swipe a debit or credit card at a store, they don’t understand the correlation between your working long, hard hours in your job and having money to buy things. It appears like “magic” to them. Show them how it all works. When they reach what you consider an appropriate age, make your children responsible for sticking to a budget. Give them an allowance that’s enough to pay for their clothing and entertainment needs. If they overspend, don’t bail them out! At some point in high school, open a checking account for your children and fund it with their allowance. Teach them the basics about how to make deposits, keep track of their debit-card expenses, and balance the monthly statement. If they get the “opportunity” to learn firsthand about the stupidity of paying overdraft charges, it will be a valuable lesson! Teach financial discipline. Kids need boundaries. They need to learn that you can’t have everything you want when you want it. Setting and sticking to spending limits helps them learn this important lesson. • Show them how to save for big expenses. If your kids want a “big ticket” item, such as a nice car, help them realize that “money doesn’t grow on trees” by requiring that they contribute at least a portion of the purchase price, perhaps through an after-school or summer job. Introduce your children to debit and/or credit cards. Do so when they reach an age you feel is appropriate and in a way that’s consistent with your beliefs concerning the use of credit. It’s generally recommended that kids gain some experience with credit cards before graduating from high school. Consider beginning with a secured credit card (sometimes referred to as a “credit card with training wheels”) by requiring a cash collateral deposit that becomes the credit line for that account. If they use the secured card judiciously, you can consider moving on to an unsecured credit card. Make certain they understand that the use of credit is a privilege, not a right. A company called Greenlight offers a debit card for kids that parents manage from their phones with flexible parental controls. Greenlight’s mission is to help parents raise financially smart kids. The Greenlight debit card comes with a Greenlight app for both parents and kids. Parents can instantly send money to kids, turn the card off from the app if needed, and receive alerts whenever the card is used. They can automate allowance payments and manage chores so kids can learn to earn! These safe and secure experiences give parents the peace of mind they need to allow kids to manage their spending, saving, giving, and earning. Introduce high schoolers to investing, using real money. Start with money market accounts. From there, introduce them to fixed-interest investments, such as savings bonds and CDs. Then move on to the stock market via mutual funds. Check out the stock market games available on the Internet. They can be a fun, educational way to introduce teens to the stock market. Some families even set up investment clubs for their teenagers to teach them investment basics. Teach your kids the importance of having money saved in an “emergency fund.” When expenses arise that were not budgeted for, let them see how having money stashed away saves the day, as opposed to borrowing money for the emergency or paying for it with a high-interest credit card. Even young children can understand the concept of exchanging a sum of money for something they want. Teach them how to allocate money, such as 20 percent for savings, 10 percent for giving, and 70 percent for spending. Show them how to reach a savings goal. Let them see how saving X amount of their allowance each month will add up to the amount needed to buy a toy or new video game in a certain number of months. Be a good role model! While not a guarantee, children who grow up seeing you do the right things financially are more likely to follow your example as they mature. When planning a trip to the store, get your kids involved. Let them help you preparing a shopping list and/or spending budget. Help them understand how a list/budget helps avoid the expense and pitfall of impulse buying. Take your children shopping with you. Teach them about pricing, brand names, sales, comparison shopping, coupons, brand-loyalty programs, and how to evaluate at is the “best deal.” Involve your kids in the family budget. Show them the monthly bills for car payments, utilities, mortgage, insurance, and credit cards. Explain the portion of your budget that is allocated for savings. Teach them firsthand about your family’s cost of living and how you follow the process of making and sticking to a budget. Have an age-appropriate discussion about needs versus wants with your kids. When it comes to purchasing decisions, ask your children why they need the item…or if it’s simply something they want. Encourage them to use websites that will help them learn about money management. Today, kids are all about learning online. Here are some websites that can help your kids get excited about, and engaged in, learning about money online. Planet Orange is a fun, interactive website sponsored by ING Direct that teaches kids in grades 1 through 6 the basics of earning, spending, saving, and investing money. Kids start by creating a character astronaut who is assigned a mission that revolves around money. They then design their own spaceship and begin their mission. Practical Money Skills teaches kids about money by letting them play fun games. For example, the Road Trip game teaches kids that, to keep a car running, you have to pay for things like gas and insurance. Affording those things sometimes means sacrificing trips to the mall. The website also features football and soccer financial games, as well as Ed’s Bank, which teaches younger kids the importance of saving money and money values. Even the U.S. government is doing its part to help kids learn how to manage money. H.I.P. Pocket Change gets kids interested in money by focusing on its history. After logging on to the site and then clicking on the “Toons” section, your child will be taken through interactive cartoon presentations of how money is made, what it looks like in other countries, and the history of money. Plus, there are games and a collector’s club for kids who want to collect coins. And finally, a website you could share with your children’s teachers is Next Gen Personal Finance, or NGPF. It’s a nonprofit organization founded in 2014 to connect educators with free resources, professional development, and advocacy tools to equip students with the knowledge and skills to lead financially successful and fulfilling lives. The site offers free access to more than 100 online activities, videos, articles, and other resources. Teach Your Kids About the Power of Interest Children need to learn about “good” interest, such as interest paid by savings accounts, and the “bad” interest that accumulates when credit card bills are not paid in full and on time. Here are some tips for doing just that. Take your child to the bank or credit union and open a savings account. Let him or her calculate how much interest (“free” money!) the account will earn over time. Require that your kids save a certain percentage of their allowance and birthday/ holiday money. Review monthly statements with them, pointing out how interest has increased the value of their account. When children meet their savings goals, consider matching their savings. For example, at the end of each month, you could reward their savings with $1 for each $10 they’ve saved. Show your kids your credit card bills and explain how important it is to pay them on time. Illustrate for them the “bad” interest that will be charged if the balance isn’t paid in full when due. Most of all, teach your children the wise use of credit. Help them understand that credit card debt is the equivalent of financial handcuffs. If You Decide to Give Them an Allowance Some parents feel strongly that an allowance is the best way to teach children financial responsibility. Other parents feel just the opposite. Here are some suggestions for ground rules to set if you decide to give your kids an allowance. Don’t give children an allowance until they have some understanding of money and are old enough to count. An allowance given at a young age should be for the purpose of helping kids learn a spending/saving/sharing balance. Teach them how to split their “earnings” into three piggy banks or glass jars: savings, spending and sharing. Consider giving children an allowance beginning in elementary school. Set guidelines. Make it clear that a certain percentage of the allowance is for savings and another percentage is for giving. One school of thought says a kid’s allowance should not be tied to household responsibilities. Kids should be expected to perform certain household chores because they are family members…not because they’re paid to perform them. You might, however, want to pay children for performing bigger chores or additional chores that you would otherwise pay outsiders to perform, such as raking the yard or washing the car or the windows. Another approach is to develop a list of chores for your kids to complete around the house. Pay them a base allowance, whether they complete the chores, but pay a higher allowance when all chores are completed satisfactorily. Teach them the rewards of hard work! What happens when your kids hit you up for a raise in their allowance? The experts say this is a great opportunity to teach negotiating skills. Engage them in a discussion that includes questions such as when they received the last raise in their allowance, if the raise will cover new expenditures, and how much of the raise will they save. How much allowance should kids receive? Your answer will depend on your values, income and common sense. Don’t be swayed by what your kids’ friends are getting. Many parents give their kids the equivalent in today’s dollars of what they received at the same age. Whatever amount you decide on, consider increasing the allowance as your child’s age increases. Also increase the financial responsibilities that go with the allowance. For example, a gradeschooler’s allowance might cover just incidentals, but a teen’s allowance might be expected to pay for clothing, entertainment, gas, and auto insurance, as well as incidental purchases. Again, your objective is to teach financial responsibility. How often should you pay an allowance? The general recommendation is that younger kids should be paid every week. As they reach their teens, however, you might want to shift to twice a month or monthly. This more closely approximates the real world, where they’ll need to be able to budget between paychecks. Teach Them to Give Back Giving something back is an important value for children to learn at a young age. This is something they need to see you doing and practice doing themselves. Let them experience the joy of giving. Even young kids can learn giving by donating toys or clothes around the holidays. Teach by example. Encourage your children to participate in your tithing, charitable contributions, and/or community volunteer activities. Let your kids choose an organization that supports a cause they feel strongly about. Teach them how to evaluate whether a charitable organization is putting its funds to good use. Don’t assume that the causes you care about are the same ones they care about. Consider matching your children’s monetary charitable contributions. If you teach your children sound money habits when they are young, it will help them be good stewards of their money as adults. It’s our hope that some of the suggestions in this white paper will make your job just a bit easier. Plus, you might just learn some great tips yourself! Teaching Kids About Money

Keynote Speaker and Best-Selling Author Noah St. John PhD Keynote Speaker and Best-Selling Author Noah St. John is the inventor of Afformations® and bestselling author of The Secret Code of Success: 7 Hidden Steps to More Wealth and Happiness (HarperCollins). Noah is the world’s most-quoted expert on how to clear your head trash. He’s appeared in over 2,000 media outlets including CNN, ABC, NBC, The Washington Post and PARADE Magazine. Noah’s dynamic and down-to-earth speaking style always gets high marks from audiences. As the leading authority on how to eliminate limiting beliefs, Noah delivers live programs and online courses that have been called “the only training that FIXES every other training!” Noah also appears frequently in the news worldwide, including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, The Hallmark Channel, National Public Radio, Parade, Woman’s Day, Los Angeles Business Journal, The Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Selling Power, Forbes.com, and The Huffington Post. Previous Speaker Go back to Speaker Network Next Speaker

Next Item Previous Item Go back to White Papers List As business owners age without a plan for their business when they die, they risk years of hard work going down the drain because of their departure. Sometimes tragic accidents occur before a business owner can put a plan in place, but many times advanced planning gives business owners the opportunity to realize their business’s maximum value and develop a plan for those who succeed them. Advanced planning also helps avoid arguments, emotions, and feelings which can lead to family and business turmoil after the death of a loved one. This blog offers considerations for business owners who want to put an executable plan in place after they die, but those who have recently inherited a business from a loved one might also find some helpful guidance. Letting Your Vision Live On If you are in the process of succession planning for your business, it means you have created an organization successful enough that it is worth passing it on to a new owner after your death. Depending on the type of business, you have a vision, mission, and/or purpose for the product and the service you provide. When making choices about the succession of your business, you need to think about long-term goals for your business and the legacy which you want to leave. Specifically, think about how you would continue to expand, grow, and serve if you were to continue living well beyond your years. Let your desired legacy drive your decisions about who your successor will be and how you wish to transfer the business to them upon your death. Who Will You Choose as Your Successor(s)? When you create a succession plan for your business, and you don’t wish to liquidate upon your death, you have three main options for successors to keep the doors open. Family members. If you choose your family to succeed you, it’s important to think about the roles one or more family members might take in your organization. Specifically, you need to make a firm decision about who will own and manage the business. It’s also in your best interest to have this discussion with your family long before your death, especially if multiple family members are involved in the business or want to be upon your death. Managing expectations will curtail any hard feelings and emotions which sometimes accompany the mixture of family and business. If more than one family member will own the business, you also need to determine the split of ownership. What percentage of the business will each owner have? Co-owners. You might already have co-owners with whom you started and operated your company. A succession plan might include your estate selling your interest to non-family co-owners, who will carry on the vision you started together. In other cases, you might choose for a family member to take control of your interest and share the business with already existing owners. It’s crucial for you to discuss these plans with your current business partners to ensure they have no reservations about your succession plans. If disagreement and turmoil occurs as a result of your decisions, you risk damaging the longevity of your business. Third-party buyer. Selling to a third-party buyer upon your death is the riskiest move you can make if you want to see your business continue to thrive upon your departure. Yet, if you are the sole owner and you have no family to take over or monitor your interests, you might be forced to take the gamble and sell to a third-party buyer when you die. This doesn’t stop the buyer from eventually liquidating the business, but if you plan far enough ahead and find the right person, you have a good chance of finding someone who wants to carry on with your vision for the future. Transferring the Business After Death Once you decide on who will succeed you in your business after your death, you need to arrange how you wish to transfer the ownership of your business. Keep in mind that each option has different financial, legal and tax consequences for the new owner(s), your business, and your estate, so it’s imperative you discuss your plan with a trusted financial planner and attorney who has experience in this type of succession and estate planning. Leaving money and business to friends or non-family members in a “Will” is a risky endeavor, so you will need to make other arrangements. If your successor(s) are family members, you can leave your business to them via your “Will”, however, for many legal, financial and personal reasons a separate legal document can offer many advantages for transfers to family members as well. Regardless of the plans you make to transfer your business, you will need to ensure that the business and your estate has enough working capital to successfully go through the transition period and cover all of the interim expenses. Buy-Sell Arrangements A buy and sell agreement is a legally binding contract that stipulates how a business owner or partner’s share of a business may be sold or reassigned when they die. These arrangements are commonly used by sole proprietorships, partnerships, and closed corporations in an attempt to smooth the transition of the ownership when each partner dies, retires, or decides to exit the business. Typically, these agreements require that the business share be sold back to the company, to the remaining partners of the business, or to an key employee or competitor according to a predetermined formula. Unfortunately, for many small businesses, it is one of those things that is often pushed to the back burner, and never gets executed or funded. Buy and sell agreements are critically important not only the surviving business owner(s), but to the business’s employees and the deceased’s heirs. The transfer of an individual’s interest in a business can be either intentional or forced. Intentional transfers occur when an owner, partner, or stockholder decides that he or she no longer wants to be involved with the business or, for other reasons, decides that it is time to liquidate their business interest. These types of intentional transfers often occur when a business owner wants to retire or get out of the business to pursue other opportunities. Unfortunately, not all business liquidations are intentional. Unplanned or forced transfers can occur when a business owner, partner, or shareholder in a closely held corporation dies or becomes totally or permanently disabled. More often than not, death or disability forces a transfer under unfavorable conditions unless the owner or owners have planned ahead. The business owner who has not thought ahead to the day he or she will want to sell the business and retire may find it difficult to realize the full value of the business when the time for retirement finally comes. Even worse, business owners who have not planned to protect themselves, their families, and their business associates from the uncertain probabilities of disability and death, risk everything they have worked to build in the business, as well as the financial security of their loved ones. Planning for the orderly transfer of their business interests by exchanging the uncertainty that comes with a failure to plan with the certainty of a planned solution is one of the most critical action a business owner can take. These actions are referred to as planned intentional transfers. Because they are planned, the owner is in a position to make the most favorable arrangements possible in advance. Let’s consider a worst-case scenario: the death of one of the business owners. What will happen to their business if the key owner dies? Many small-business owners take out loans to help grow their businesses, and often have secured these loans with personal assets. If death occurs before the loans were paid off, one might think that the business owner’s family could just sell or liquidate the business in order to cover those debts and provide financial security to the survivors. In reality, this rarely happens. When the family is forced to sell the business quickly, it may have to be sold at a discount or during market conditions that make the business less attractive. In other cases, the business may be worth very little without the key proprietor or partner. Buy-Sell Agreements can protect the surviving family members by providing funds to cover those business debts, as well as ongoing living expenses, and funds for future plans. Ok, a reasonable question here is, if the new owners are not family members, where will the money come from to purchase the business interest? There is no one perfect answer but let me share a few of the common methods. Unfortunately, most businesspeople do not keep large sums of liquid assets which could be used to purchase the deceased owner’s business interest. Most of their available assets are normally reinvested into their business. It could may make sense to create a Sinking Fund to accumulate the needed cash. However, the premature death of an owner may not give the business time needed to accumulate enough funds to meet the financial obligation of the purchase price. They could always borrow the funds. Unfortunately, a bank may not be willing to lend money to a business that has recently lost an owner, and even if they were, the cost of loan including the interest may be excessive. The owner may agree to make Installment Payments to the deceased owner heirs. The heirs may not get the sum of money needed to meet their financial obligations in this manner, and there are no guarantee future payments will be received if the business fails. Finally, there is Life Insurance. There are many advantages life insurance offers that the other alternatives do not, such as: Life insurance annual premiums are often only a small fraction of the death benefit. The proceeds from the death benefits are available whenever needed, regardless of when the owner dies. And of course, properly established death benefits are generally federal income tax-free. Working with the business owner’s financial advisor and attorney well before the day comes to sell the business, whether intentional or not, you will be able save many dollars, headaches and maximize your legacy. Contact Hoopis Performance Network to Learn More About Buy Sell Arrangements HPN provides knowledge and skills training for management, producers, and staff in the financial services industry. We aim to help you succeed and grow your business by offering exceptional resources for you to share with your clients. Educating your clients increases their financial literacy and allows you to help them with life events they care about, such as planning for the future of their business after death. Contact us today for your training and education needs and to learn more about how you can guide your clients on the right actions to take to make sure their business stays open after they die. Keeping the Business Open After Owner’s Death

Principal and founder of KeyeStrategies, LLC Julie Keyes CEPA Principal and founder of KeyeStrategies, LLC KeyeStrategies is a professional services firm based in Minneapolis specializing in Exit and Transition Planning education and advisory for business owners. Julie Keyes is the principal and founder of KeyeStrategies, LLC. She has founded and operated several companies over the course of her adult career and understands what keeps owners up at night, having lived so many of their experiences herself over the years. Julie is a Certified Exit Planning Adviser (CEPA) and is a national speaker and instructor on Exit Planning for audiences of professional advisers and business owners in both live and online platforms. She is also the President of the Exit Planning Institute Twin Cities Metro Area Chapter, faculty member for EPI’s CEPA Program and their 2017 “Leader of Year”. Along with a variety of speaking and teaching engagements, Julie’s consulting practices focuses on strategic growth and exit planning for business owners from various industries whose companies range in size from $5-50MM in revenue. On a personal note, Julie and her husband, Shaun have 8 children and 7 grandchildren, so when she’s not traveling for work, she’s traveling to spend time with family. Previous Speaker Go back to Speaker Network Next Speaker

Next Item Previous Item Go back to White Papers List Most people have at least one person in their past who inspired them to greatness they’d never imagined. A grade-school music teacher who saw a savant when teaching Beginner Recorder. A coach who spotted a potential future pro in the kid who showed up early and stayed late for every practice. A college professor who pulled the gifted math student aside to challenge her chess skills. What all these scenarios have in common is an influential leader who inspired someone to do more than they’d ever dreamed they could. A successful sales manager is that kind of leader. So let me ask you this: Are you a successful sales manager, or do you aspire to be? With this white paper, I want to inspire you to be the best sales manager possible. I want to challenge you to become the kind of leader who inspires a sales force to great success. First, let’s define the role of the sales manager. There are differing opinions on this topic. I’m often asked if a sales manager can also be a sales rep. While there are many examples of sales managers successfully carrying out the dual role of sales rep, for purposes of this paper, we are going to focus on dedicated sales managers with no direct sales responsibilities. A Forbes article a few years back went so far as to say that successful sales reps often make lousy sales managers. I concur. This is because I believe the No. 1 role of a successful sales manager is to focus on the sales team, not on the customer. Successful Sales Managers Are Strong Leaders If you have thought your most successful sales rep might make a good sales manager — or that your stellar sales record qualifies you for management — think again. The greatest numbers-driven, customer-centric, goal-busting sales rep isn’t necessarily a good leader. And when it comes to sales management, good leadership is a non-negotiable requirement. Some people have a natural gift for leadership. Others can learn it. Like every other skill, leadership requires practice. Being a great manager doesn’t make you a great leader. Leadership is a skill unto itself. It must be studied and practiced. The internet offers all kinds of opinions on the characteristics and habits of good leaders. When I’m working with sales managers (or aspiring sales managers), I look for the following 10 characteristics: Vision — Successful sales managers are always looking ahead and around. They’re paying attention to the organization and the competition, thinking about constantly growing and improving, and fully open to healthy change. Strategy — They have analytical interests and abilities. They know how to use data to find flaws and how to fan the flames of success. They seek out problems early and focus on solutions. Humility — They are never haughty, always open to constructive criticism, and readily accessible and honest. Honor — They act with integrity, dignity and honor. Their reputation is above repute. They tell the truth while being kind and respectful. Focus — They are not easily distracted by the latest and greatest trend or the shiny new idea floating around. They plan patiently and execute with discipline. Boldness — They are brave and willing to take action, even if that action may make them unpopular. Attractiveness — I’m not talking about being good-looking, though that is never a negative. I’m talking about the kind of person other people admire and seek to be like. Their dress, posture, gait, communication style, reputation and relationships represent the ideal, and in doing so, motivates others to improve themselves. Accessibility — They are clear in their message and open to dialogue. Their team can access them by appointment or “open door” and know they will be heard. Clients know how to reach them, and know they can if a relationship with a sales professional goes sideways. Company leaders also know they can access them when needed. Organization — They prepare agendas before every meeting. They set goals and create a plan to achieve them. Their desk, car, clothes and life are tidy. Positive attitude — Successful sales managers have positive attitudes. They practice good habits, including self-care, and they approach even the worst problems with a positive outlook. They inspire others to be positive as well. Successful Sales Managers Nurture Their Teams What is the responsibility of a sales manager? Is it to drive numbers? Ensure customer satisfaction or retention? Hire and fire a sales team? Report to the home office? Yes, a sales manager is responsible for all those things, but there’s another, less easily defined, responsibility of a sales manager: to nurture—to further the development of, or foster, others. While it’s critical to hire wisely, fire when needed, keep an eye on customer relations and achieve or exceed revenue goals, it’s equally critical to nurture the sales force. You can nurture the growth of your team members by recognizing when they are bored, leading them to grow professionally, working with them to set and achieve goals, and asking for their input on decisions, when appropriate . Nurturing others involves many responsibilities: Communication — Clearly communicating with your team means conveying your message clearly, ensuring understanding and listening to feedback. The proverbial open-door policy is a hallmark of any strong manager. This is not to say that a sales manager’s office should be a safe haven for complainers and trouble-makers. It shouldn’t. But it should be a place where members of the team can speak with you, ask questions, seek guidance, get your help in solving problems and receive mentoring that brings out their best selves. Team building — Hiring and firing strategically is an important role of a sales manager. I’m not sure who first said, “Hire slowly and fire quickly,” but that person was right. Poor performers — or worse, those with poor attitudes — are a cancer to an organization. For one, their lackluster performance requires more of the manager’s attention. For another, their weak numbers can have a negative impact on the overall sales force, dragging everyone’s numbers down. Most damaging of all are the underachievers who make excuses for their performance or actively engage in a negative whisper campaign among colleagues. A successful sales manager invests the time in strategic networking to attract, engage, interview, research and negotiate with top sales professionals. If you haven’t seen my blog on using LinkedIn for recruiting. Other social networks, both online and in-person, are outstanding resources as well. Effective recruiting of top performers means the sales manager needs to be known everywhere those top performers are active, whether that’s around town, throughout the country or all over the world. Managing the business — Sales management isn’t about numbers alone, though that’s an important component. It’s about managing the entire business. That includes forecasting and measuring results; setting goals; establishing quotas; defining territories; communicating with organizational leaders and customers; coaching employees; designing and overseeing training, technique, messages and public relations; and of course, the functions discussed earlier. When you consider the time and attention all that requires, it becomes increasingly clear why trying to wear the dual hats of sales manager and sales rep doesn’t make much sense. Would you think of raising a child without interacting with her? Could you maintain a strong marriage without listening to your spouse or spending quality time together? Could you keep a long-lasting friendship without listening to your friend in good times and bad? Of course not. Successful sales managers actively nurture their sales teams. They spend time with the team, both collectively and individually. They care what’s going on in their sales reps’ lives and customer relationships. They are sensitive to the dreams, desires, likes and dislikes of their sales force. Let me try to make this point with two real-world examples. Sales Manager Amy loves golf. She golfed in college and was captain of her team. She belongs to a popular country club and has created a strong social network there. She speaks about golf and leadership at local businesses, clubs and schools. Many of the professionals on her sales team love to golf. All but Tyler. Tyler does not know how to golf and doesn’t particularly enjoy it. Tyler is a high-octane kind of athlete. He climbs rocks, kayaks in rapids and takes a HIIT class every morning before work. His sales performance is good, he meets and exceeds goals, and his customers like him. There’s just one problem: Amy is accessible when she’s in the office, but she spends a lot of time on the golf course. If Tyler wants one-on-one time with Amy, he knows he can have it with her over 18 holes but probably not over lunch, and certainly not on the rocks or in the rapids. The rest of the team doesn’t mind that Amy is consumed by golf. After all, they like golf. But Tyler considers Amy’s approach to be untenable and insensitive. For that reason, Tyler probably won’t stick around long if Amy remains his sales manager. Her lack of nurturing or consideration for his interests (and disinterest in golf) is probably going to cost her a top-performing sales rep. Only time will tell, but my money says Tyler will be looking for a new sales job soon. David is another sales manager with a looming problem on his hands: he does not like to be interrupted. That is understandable under many circumstances, but in his case, it’s a bit extreme. He works with his door closed, holds meetings with everyone standing up (to discourage lingering and idle chatter, he says) and to ensure that there are no unplanned interruptions to his day. David gets a lot of work done and impresses higher-ups with detailed reports, always submitted early. He keeps a busy schedule of community networking and has amassed an impressive social media following. What David doesn’t know is how this makes his sales team feel. They feel alienated, unheard and undervalued. So while David might be plowing through reports without interruption, more than a few people on his sales team are looking online for a more nurturing place to work. Successful Sales Managers Inspire the Best from the Sales Team The fact is, the most successful sales managers are those who bring out the best in their sales teams — the best production, the best morale, the best reputation in the community and the best overall retention. If you’re a sales manager, one way to know how you’re doing is to measure yourself in those areas. If you’re falling short of projections, finding yourself in conflict with more than one sales associate (or finding conflict among sales associates in general), having trouble attracting top talent to your team or losing new hires, you might need to take a hard look at where you can improve. Remember, your key performance indicators (KPIs) are about your team’s performance and your management performance. KPIs can vary from one organization to another. For example, if you’re managing a global sales operation, your KPIs will be different from those of a strictly local sales organization. In general, I recommend taking a good, hard and honest look at your performance in these five core areas: Activity — This includes prospecting, appointments, presentations, promotions, time to close and new closes. You know the types of activity you need from your sales force to get the numbers you want. How well your team is doing in these areas tells you how well you’re managing your team. Team morale — How’s everyone getting along? Are those on your team friendly to one another, generally upbeat and supportive? Or are they bringing petty problems to you, complaining about a colleague or undermining one another’s client relationships? Employee attrition — This can be directly tied to morale, but it can also be tied to your hiring decisions. If you’re experiencing too much employee churn, you need to find out why. It can be the result of a flawed hiring process. Client attrition — Every sales manager knows how expensive it is to acquire a new client. Losing a client is even more expensive. Are your sales professionals attracting your ideal clients or swinging for the low-hanging fruit? A lost client is bad for business. Too many lost clients can indicate poor sales management. Growth — Are most or all of your sales professionals growing their business, quarter over quarter and year over year? Are they improving their ratios? Are they taking the time to continue their education and training, such as pursuing industry designations? Are they participating in team and organizational events, growing their social media following, and attending and perhaps leading social and business networking events? If your people aren’t growing, you need to find out what you can do differently to help them grow. Successful Sales Managers Resist the Urge to Micromanage Because sales managers’ compensation is tied to how many sales their teams make, they are highly motivated to ensure that their salespeople produce at high levels. That’s great, but it often leads to a scenario where they micromanage the sales team, hanging over their shoulders and constantly asking for updates. This is especially common with former top-producing salespeople. They want to feel like they’re in control of every situation, especially when it comes to their own salaries. But most salespeople are self-motivated and don’t respond well to this type of oversight. Their performance will probably suffer if they are micromanaged. This can lead to a vicious cycle where the sales manager becomes more and more frantic as the team fails to meet quotas. Sales management is a balancing act between providing guidance and direction without taking personal involvement to extremes. People tend to work best when they are provided with their marching orders but then are left to execute their jobs on their own. Achieving Next-Level Sales Management Success Not everyone is cut out for sales management, just as not everyone is cut out for sales. And being a stellar sales rep certainly doesn’t guarantee you’ll be a successful sales manager. Successful sales managers are strong leaders. They’re inspirational, they’re focused on their team and they’re focused on the business. If you’re a sales manager or looking to make the leap to sales management, your secret to achieving sales management success comes down to you. Can you lead your team to becoming its best, individually and collectively? Are you committed to ongoing education and training, open-door communication, leaderly oversight, faithful mentoring, maintaining a pristine reputation and diligently tracking metrics? If your answers to those questions are yes, then you just might have what it takes to achieve next-level sales management success. Helping sales managers and sales teams achieve next-level success is what we do best at Hoopis Performance Network. If you think we can help you step into a sales management role or step up your sales management results, give us a call or contact us here to schedule a free consultation. We’ll do everything we can to help you reach next-level sales management success. Leading Your Team to Success: Secrets to Next-Level Sales Management

Coaching, Consulting and Author Sabine Robinson CLU, M.S. Coaching, Consulting and Author As a Development Specialist for the financial services industry, Sabine Robinson, CLU has coached hundreds of new agents and advisors since she started her financial services career in 1988. She spent 12 years with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network before launching her own coaching and consulting business in July 2000. Sabine focuses primarily on the development of new agents and advisors with less than 5 years of industry experience. She believes that helping this group build solid activity habits early in their career will have maximum impact on long-term retention. Previous Speaker Go back to Speaker Network Next Speaker