My colleague and I were talking earlier today and we are intrigued by the number of people and companies peddling solutions for becoming a success. From people offering solutions through making millions by buying properties or others pushing you to buy a business and make your money that way. Is success really something anyone can achieve or is it really simply the luck of the draw?

The aspect of success that has intrigued me for a long time is, is what is success? Who defines what a success is? The establishment of marketing and advertising guru’s propagates the belief that to be a success you must have all the nice things in life like the LCD Television screen, BMW or Mercedes in the Garage, a Boat in the Front Yard and so forth but in reality can everyone achieve this. This is the question I and many of my team have been asking.

If you believe all of the advertising material on achieving success you would believe “Yes”. With books having been written in the 30’s during the time of the depression like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill you would think that we should all be living the good life and on easy street. So why is it that some people have it and some people do not?

The one core reason why some people succeed and others do not can be simply summed upto one thing – COMMITMENT!

I know I know, I here some people saying right now, “but I’ve been working hard for twenty years but I have not succeeded. Blah Blah Blah” Know the feeling, but really there are two things to consider, what have you achieved so far and what do you want to achieve. If you do not have a core goal of what you want to achieve then you can never achieve it so of course success will pass you by. Be aware of one thing though, sometimes on your path to success, you have to fail miserably before you can really succeed to achieve obscene riches. This is the part that none of the billionaires or millionaires tells you in all of their self-help books.

The path to wealth and success is never as smooth as some people will have you believe, often the people who sell their stories and their autobiographies will put the positive spin on how easy it was and how they rose to success. Absolute rubbish, the number of business people who I personally know who have a failed business after failed business before they got one that truly brought them to obscene wealth is truly staggering. In fact, I would put the number in the thousands.

Let give you one example, and I will say that I have never met this man in my life, I have simply followed him through the news, read his books and watched his television shows and that is Donald Trump. This man is what I consider the cover boy of the embodiment of the Think and Grow Rich Secrets to obscene wealth because what you may not know is that not to many years ago this man almost lost the entire Trump Empire. Now the single reason he has come through that is his commitment to success. He wanted his empire of building developments that badly that he learned, he committed to finding a way to move forward and to do what he wanted to do and if you truly want to succeed then this is the commitment you must make.

Success is a way of life, it is the way you think, the way you breathe, the way you eat and the way you conduct your life. Success strategies whether it be using the Think and Grow Rich 13 Secrets to wealth or the Master Key by Charles Haanel or any other program that is out there. To be a success you must make a commitment to yourself to keep going on regardless of what the world will throw at you.

Let me assure you, just like you will find out, I too have been through times, when self-doubt comes into play, when you think you are going to lose everything, when you think you are going to broke. The bottom line is this, to succeed you must leave no possible way of retreat, your psyche must be to win or perish!

Commit yourself to winning, it does not mean you are going to crush everyone in your path, it does not mean you are going to rip people off either or do anything that is unethical, it is about achieving what you need to for YOU and what is in the interest of your community. Have you noticed one key element to all billionaires, they have a passion for their community and making things better in their community. For example, Donald Trump is committed New York, in fact on many an occasion I have heard him call New York his town. Bill Gates the founder of Microsoft has invested billions in his own community in the US but also in other places like Africa.

Look the bottom line is this, and actually I was told this about 15 years ago, the key to success is to read and listen to everything, both good and bad, get every book you can find, every video and every internet site to learn about how you can move forward cause knowledge is power. You will very quickly learn what is good advice and what just does not work and the more you do this, the sooner you will achieve success. Then do not sit around put it into action, commit to actually doing something. To succeed you do have to fail, that is simply a fact of life.

Of all the material I have read and I have a library of over 10,000 books and I buy on average about 600 to 700 books a year which I read every single one of them, the one thing that has stuck with me is the thirteen secrets to success outlined in Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. He talks about a man from Colorado who owned one of the richest gold mines in that state. When the gold dried up and he could not find any more Gold he simply gave up and sold out. The bloke who bought it from him, did not give up, in fact he found one of the biggest reefs of gold in Colorado. The man who originally sold the mine was just 3 foot from that reef.

The one thing I keep reminding myself, I have programmed this into my mind so that every single time that I think about quitting and saying that it is all too hard, is that SUCCESS COULD BE JUST THREE FEET AWAY.

Have you ever wondered about those sales pages that promise $32,792.17 in sales or profits? Why not $30,000 or $32K or something else easier to read? There’s a method to the madness. Specifically, it’s called the pique technique.

One area of research in the field of Social Psychology is the study of persuasion. John Cacioppo and Richard Petty theorized that there are two routes that one can take when trying to persuade another person. They suggested that there was a direct (“central”) route to persuasion and an indirect (“peripheral”) route, and it was the indirect route that they were most intrigued by.

The direct route uses facts and arguments to change a person’s opinion, or attitude. When a salesman tells you that his product will last longer than the other product, or is less expensive, that is using the “direct approach.” Any good salesman is going to hit you with facts and figures to distract you from his true aim.

Have you ever had a salesman use an annoying sales pitch, and then say something like, “I hate having to say that, but that’s what the company wants!” or something similar? What the salesman is trying to do is disassociate himself from the “powers-that-be” and show himself as a “common man.” By doing so, the salesman hopes to make you like him and associate with him. Once you’ve become an acquaintance of his, the salesman knows he has you on the hook. That is an example of an indirect approach to sales. Cacioppo and Petty’s studies suggested to them that this method is vastly superior to the direct approach to sales.

Which brings us to the “pique technique.” This concept was developed in a study involving public interactions with the homeless. You know the story. A homeless person asks for some spare change for food, or a woman needs “a couple dollars” for gas. What do you do when this happens? The vast majority of Americans either look away, or make a quick excuse before hustling off.

The study, published in 1994 by Anthony Pratkanis, showed that when a seemingly homeless person asked passers-by for “37 cents” a great many of them stopped and rummaged in their pockets for some loose change. In fact, 60% more often than when they were asked for “a quarter.” This was a fascinating breakthrough. It was then tested over and over. What scientists learned is that when we are given a specific number, we tend to believe more in the number. While “a couple of bucks” could buy gas or drugs, we assume that “$1.73” will accomplish the specific task for which we are told it is intended.

    “Excuse me, but I am 73 cents short of a Big Mac. Could you help me?”

    “Excuse me, I ran out of gas back there and could use a couple bucks. Can you help me?”

Which person is more likely to get your charity?

But has either of them given any real PROOF of their intentions? No. The “couple bucks” person really could be out of gas, and the “73 cents” person may be just short of a pint of whiskey. You don’t know, but you are led to believe that you do by the “pique technique.” Your interest was piqued by the odd, specific number, and the indirect route to persuasion began.

Now are you seeing why you can make $32,792.17 in your first month? With a number like that, it MUST be true, or so you are to believe. Most folks will quickly assume that the seller must have accomplished this task, otherwise he wouldn’t say it. Just by reading that number, the salesman has already made you believe something. Once has convinced you of one thing, the next beliefs come easier.

After engaging the pique technique to get you looking at the sales page, the writer can begin the task of converting your interest into action. As the sales letter progresses, many more persuasion techniques will be used, including:

• “plain folks”
• “glittering generalities”
• “commitment and consistency”
• “reciprocity”
• “liking”
• “scarcity”
• and of course… “testimonial”

There are numerous other techniques that can be, and are, used by salesman and copywriters to turn passers-by and web-surfers into conversions. In upcoming articles, I will delve deeper into each of these and expose the secrets of the top marketers. By doing so, I hope to take the Internet back from the behemoths and turn it over over to the people. That’s…

The Way of the Schwa!(TM)

Women branded with permanent flesh scars. People living in complete isolation with every aspect of their lives monitored and controlled. Fake religions where passing the collection plate actually means donating all personal assets. Are these examples of the darkness in the Middle Ages or behind the curtain of a totalitarian country? No, these situations are occurring in the USA in 2020.

How did we get here? There have always been con artists, who ignore the fundamental values of honesty, transparency, and consideration for others in the name of a quick buck and personal gain. Often, these charlatans are easy to notice, such as the smooth talking door-to-door salesman, who will not take no for an answer. Yet, there are many more that are much more difficult to see since they are disguised as self-help gurus or new age leaders seeking only to help someone find their human potential.

In the beginning, everything is glorious similar to a new love affair. At that point, the charlatan finds their mark or money source. Behind their ultra smiles and unlimited willingness to help, their carefully defined brainwashing techniques often begin. The compliments become cruel criticism, volunteer assistance leads to forced labor, and the financial fees or donations become much larger. Months turn into years or even decades and the brainwashing goes full circle.

When family, friends, or legal authorities question or inquire, the cult leaders go into defense mode with arguments of free enterprise, freedom of religion or simply the freedom to live as one chooses. Then, the process of attacking the attacker begins, such as Scientology’s Fair Game Policy of stalking and harassing any person who criticizes their phony religion or Synanon leaving a rattlesnake in the mailbox of an attorney, which happened to Paul Morantz.

The Center Foundation years ago featured a series of counseling groups that were ranked in order of performance. Yet, beyond expressing emotions in a supportive setting, leaders engaged in belittling people over their personal weight, physically assaulting members who were slow to accept the feedback, and telling other people where there could work, who they could date or whether they could keep unborn babies.

Law enforcement is often in a pickle. With pressure to keep the streets of our cities and towns free from more obvious thieves, they often ignore the danger of cults until the threat is overwhelming. When conflict between the local townspeople in rural Oregon escalated with the followers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, sheriffs determined that the cult group had more firepower at their ranch than law enforcement from the entire state of Oregon combined – so much for enlightenment.

In the USA, we often focus our attention on the supply side of misdeeds rather than the demand. Of course, we need to criminally prosecute and civilly sue the leaders of these cult groups for their crimes. However, charlatans will always exist since they originate within flaws of the human heart. What about the demand side? As long as there is a market for illegal drugs in the USA, there will always be suppliers ready to fill the consumer desire.

We need to stop looking for human fulfillment at the hands of con artists, who are only interested in a quick buck and power over a loyal and needy flock. Human growth comes from our family, friends, community, and religious connection in religions with a time-tested history of ethical behavior. There are certainly issues in mainstream religions. However, many of those problems are getting resolved.

Keith Raniere, David Miscavidge, and Richard Corriere are not prophets. Instead, they are enterprising men who trade the false promise of human growth for their own financial gain and power. Let’s start by looking close to home and see the glorious nuggets of personal fulfillment all around us. Isn’t the smile from serving food at a homeless shelter or taking a walk in nature worth more than turning your personal freedom over to a con artist? I think you know the answer.

Don Failla is an MLM guru made famous as the author of several successful books on MLM. He and his wife Nancy have travelled extensively, teaching their MLM methodology all over the world. Their I Own My Life pins can be found on the lapels of distributors in just about every MLM company.

Don Failla has made a fortune selling the MLM dream for more than 40 years, having sold more than 4.5 million copies of their books in 23 languages. Their most popular book, “The 45 Second Presentation that Will Change Your Life” has sold millions of copies the world over. It’s easy to understand why it’s so popular among networkers; the Faillas claim its the exact blueprint they used to create a downline of more than 750,000 people in less than 12 years.

But does Don Failla’s MLM methodology allow average people to build huge network marketing organizations, or has he made a fortune peddling out-dated tactics not fit for the 21st century?

Absolutely his methods work. I personally know one of the top income earners in my company swears by it, and sharing Don Failla’s books has brought him and his team a lot of success. Don has himself built a massive downline and has taught many people how to do the same. In The 45 Second Presentation he gives his “10 napkin presentations” which are designed to help even the greenest network marketers to easily convey the concept of MLM. The presentations as laid out in the book are astoundingly simple, and I personally recommend giving one to each of your new distributors when they first get started.

While the book is a simple way to explain network marketing, it falls short when it comes to prospecting. Who are you going to present the information to? Aunt Sue? Cousin Joe? Most serious network marketers will tell you they talk to 20 people a day… at that rate, most people will plow through their friends and family list in under 2 weeks. However there is no in-depth discussion of lead generation in his books, so you’re on your own as far as figuring out who to talk to.

In closing Don Failla is the real deal; his books provide value to network marketers all over the world, teaching them how to present the MLM business model. But since he doesn’t adequately address the issue of finding new people to talk to you’ll need to look elsewhere for that information.

Turnkey websites are hot sellers on the Internet. They’re so popular, in fact, that they’ve given rise to a whole new business genre: the turnkey website reseller. This form of virtual real estate selling can be a lucrative online business to run.

Turnkey sites are, essentially, pre-built websites. They are the virtual equivalent of the “modular home”. These sites are ready-made to be uploaded to the Internet within minutes. The purchaser need only input his own information and text into the designated areas within the site’s pages. These sites are so-named because the purchaser can simply “turn the key”, so to speak, to get the site up and running.

Turnkey websites are popular because most Internet entrepreneurs are not expert Web designers. Internet developers who create new sites don’t necessarily have the budget to hire a designer to create a custom website from scratch. Turnkey sites eliminate the need for an expensive designer and cut down considerably on the entrepreneur’s costs.

Ironically, the demand for turnkey sites has spawned a new kind of online retailer and entrepreneur: the turnkey website reseller. These entrepreneurs open up their own virtual stores and sell site templates, plus hosting and many other features associated with this type of business.

The turnkey website reseller doesn’t need his own server in order to make money this way. Instead, he purchases server space at wholesale prices from a hosting company. He then resells that space at retail prices.

This kind of business is similar to the idea of buying a franchise business. The purchaser does not have to start a business from scratch. Instead, he purchases not only the business, but all of the equipment needed to run the business, including the product to sell.

The purchaser owns the business outright and is completely independent from the parent company. However, he has access to all of the products, equipment and support needed to run his business.

Turnkey website reselling works similarly. Resellers pay for a specified amount of server space. They also receive a certain number of turnkey website templates, which they can also resell to the public for a profit.

Depending on the parent company, the reseller may also be able to offer other features and services to its customers. Some of these include:

* Domain names

* Commissions on parked domains

* Bonuses, like Google AdWords gift certificates/credits

* Supplemental software and/or templates

* Ongoing access to new templates

Most turnkey website resellers also have access to ongoing support from the parent company.

A purchaser can set up his own website with his own domain name for his business. He is then free to market his turnkey websites in his own way. His customers need not even know that they are purchasing hosting from a secondary source.

The cost for running a turnkey website reseller business varies and depends on the kinds of features desired. Packages are available from as little as one hundred dollars per year to 50 dollars or more per month. The more features an owner wants to offer or have access to, the more he will pay.

You’re at a party surrounded by black-clad arts admin types. You blurt out that art and advertising are the same thing. For the rest of the evening you’re treated like a Frenchman at a Greenpeace weenie roast. But not before being accosted with this argument:

“Successful” art and advertising may share, as a characteristic, the achievement of human contact, but it is here that the similarities between the two end.

The difference is in fact so profound that I’ll have to recruit some important thinkers to my argument. You probably haven’t heard of them, but still…

Essentially what drives the sharpest wedge between art and advertising is motivation. Art moves mind and soul; ads, using many of the same techniques, move product. “Real” art doesn’t sully itself with material concerns. Rather it unites us with a transcendent emotion.

James Joyce argued in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man that pity and terror are important components of this transcendent or aesthetic emotion.

Pity he says, is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human suffering and unites it with the human sufferer. Terror is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human suffering and unites it with the secret cause.

By using the word arrest, Joyce means that this kind of emotion is “static”: the mind is arrested and raised above desire and loathing. Desire urges us to possess, to go to something; loathing urges us to abandon, or go from something. The arts which excite these “kinetic” emotions (the pornographic or didactic, as he puts it), are therefore improper arts. Advertising is then improper art!

Marshall McLuhan, although claiming that advertisements are the single most rewarding source of information about a society, and are “the greatest art form in human history,” clearly supports my sharp distinction between true art, which, he says, enhances human perception and reveals the essential features of the contemporary environment, and advertising, which merely merges “individual and environment to intensify and repeat the hypnotic of that environment.” In other words, advertising is great only in the resourcefulness with which it induces certain states of mind.

And another thing, advertising is conventional. While true art rejects, or at least lives outside, all convention, advertising writ large is the quintessential expression of capitalist convention. While advertisements, relative to each other, do of course strive for unconventionality, no matter how clutter-cutting they may be, they’re still within the “kinetic” emotional envelop.

So there! Go sit in the corner you uni-dimensional philistine.’

***

What to say, aside from “oh yea?” Try this:

Not content with inspiring simply one “emotion,” today’s leading advertisers are this century’s true artists. They are the true experimenters, the true envelop pushers. They’ve come closest to wedding the “un-wedable”: eliciting a bona fide, isolated, static emotional response, while at the same time setting off long-fused kinetic fireworks. Benetton’s work offers a great example.

It’s full of energy, contradiction and confusion. It mixes sullied and unsullied motives; suffering and commerce; journalism, art and advertising; reportage and fashion; and static and kinetic emotions; Now that’s exciting, creative and unconventional. So what if it makes money for its “patron”. True artists don’t have to be like you, mired in misery, poverty, and self-absorption.

Of course advertising is art. One can gaze as literary historian Leo Spitzer observed, “with disinterested enjoyment” at an ad, without believing a word it says. In fact, many ads are more successful aesthetically than they are commercially.

And by the way, guess what Leopold Bloom (who, no less of an authority than biographer Richard Ellmann claims, is a depiction of James Joyce himself) the protagonist in Ulysses, does for a living? He’s an advertising salesman.

When I need a product I really like to be “sold” on it. Whether it’s doing a little research in advance or talking to a knowledgeable salesperson, I like to be an educated consumer. If you have a relationship with a sales professional, it is unlikely you will be led astray. Very few businesses can get by without some type of sales.

We have strong feelings about salespeople. Everyone has a story about the one that “came on too strong” or “I couldn’t get her off the phone” or “didn’t know or misrepresented their product.” However, in our efforts to get away from salespeople we might be missing advice that can help us. By not understanding the motivations and challenges of a sales job, we will not get the best out of the selling/buyer relationship.

So how do people get into sales anyway? I believe that people who are good at sales can sell almost anything. The appropriate amount of charisma and intelligence will give most people the edge in a sales career. Other people get into sales because their love and knowledge of a particular product or industry. Companies recognize that these folks have more value in sales than in production or administration. Some people get into sales as commission-based, entry level jobs that allow them to learn-as-they-go, thus giving them an employment opportunity and presenting less financial risk to the employer.

Regardless of how our salespeople got into the business, we still often undervalue or disregard the role they can play in our purchasing decision. Sometimes we even treat them as second-class citizens, not worthy of respect for the training and expertise they bring to the consumer process. Next time you find yourself in a sales negotiation, consider the following:

Sales is a job and people have to make money at it. I’m always surprised when people are suspicious of commissioned salespeople. There are only a few ways to make money in sales: salary, commission or some combination of both. Commissions in many industries are shockingly low and the sales environment is quite competitive. Understand how your salesperson is paid and make sure your sale is attributed to the right person. There’s nothing more frustrating than to help someone all day, just to have them return the next to buy from someone else. Learn the scope of his or her influence over the process. The salesperson cannot control every part of the negotiation. Sometimes products have issues and while it might not be their fault, the salesperson ends up taking most of the blame.

Sales is a service the company offers you. When you purchase something, instead of buying blind from the internet, the company is providing you a person, often highly trained and certified, to guide you through the process. If the company and salesperson are established in the community and you like them, then you will have a good experience. If you do not feel you have a good rapport with this person right away it is OK to request to talk to someone else. Best of all, the relationship should last beyond the purchase, assisting you with product issues or a future acquisition.

But most of all, your salesperson is a person. Shockingly, salespeople have feelings just like everyone else. Treat a salesperson exactly how you want to be treated. While understanding you are in a negotiation, be truthful, respectful and kind. Make appointments, don’t leave when they aren’t looking without saying goodbye, don’t avoid their calls or make excuses for not buying. If you aren’t purchasing or will buy somewhere else, let them know so they can go on to another interested customer.

Overall, most of the best salespeople will come from recommendations from happy customers. Ask around and seek the salesperson that gives you the support you need.

There are a number of replacement windows salesman questions that you can ask before you hire a contractor. Below I will highlight some of the most important ones. In fact I will start with the one I have been receiving lately i.e. the one concerning the $1500 tax credit. I opened my email the other day to find one of my newsletter readers asking the question,

What are some of the questions to ask when purchasing home replacement windows fro the $1500 tax credit? Well here is a short list,

· Do the Replacement Windows have a 0.30 U-Factor(Value) or less AND a 0.30 SHGC?

· Do you offer the Tax Credit, which is 30% of cost to replace windows up to $1500.

· Will the windows improve the energy efficiency of the home?

The answer to these 3 questions should be a “yes”. If not then you will probably not qualify.

There are more replacement window salesman questions to ask. Let me provide some of the other factors or issues to consider.

The longevity of the business: You need to ask about the age of the business and also about its track record. You can do this by approaching the contractor directly or find some of their previous clients and ask for an honest opinion.

Find out about the collective experience of the employees and management. This is one of the important things you should ask your window contractor.

All in all never be afraid to come up with replacement windows salesman questions and never sign anything unless you are totally pleased with the answers. Simply populate a list of a few companies and start your questioning right away.

The Greatest Salesman In The World- 10 Network marketing Principles.

As people we appear to be becoming more hard nosed and distrusting every day and it is actually a terrific privilege to find a person who can break right through the outer layer of crust and communicate immediately with our hearts.

Certainly Og Mandino is one of these infrequent people, and his signature essay “The Greatest Salesman in the World” is one of the best selling books in history.

In reality the central theme of the article, is that as individuals we must repeatedly strive to surmount the negative and self defeating self images we hold and rather than let our knowledge habits develop our life, instil new preferred habits that will create the lifestyle we want.

For the majority of individuals the combination of the academic pattern and cultural rearing has caused a poor self- image and low self-esteem; as the sub-conscious mind will obtain precisely what we ask for ( by means of manifesting our most prevalent thoughts) is it any wander we obtain only a fragment of what we are capable?

Discovering himself an alcoholic, and on the threshold of suicide, Mandino discovered self-help and motivational books. After an extensive and detailed examination of the frame of mind he committed his views to paper and in so doing undoubtedly impacted the lives of millions, his books having sold upwards of 50 million copies, and been translated in 25+ languages.

We directly burden ourselves with our own limiting thoughts and in an endeavor to undo the damage, Mandino explains the distilled wisdom of the ages into 10 laws (scrolls).

He recommends studying each scroll, three times a day for 30 continuous days, the logic being to by-pass the conscious mind, supersede our bad habits with beneficial ones and in so doing enhance our low estimation of ourselves (self-esteem).

Yes this appears simple enough, but it is a 10 month commitment, and by holding fast to the task a further useful habit is developed: self discipline.

These 10 laws in essence are basic and common sense, but if read aloud (as suggested for the 3rd reading of the day) they resonate, deep within, and an intuitive knowledge of the point is known.

As an overview of the essential meaning in each scroll:

Scroll I: Today I begin a new life

Scroll II: I will greet this day with love in my heart

Scroll III: I will persist until I succeed

Scroll IV: I am Natures’ greatest miracle

Scroll V: I will live this day as if it is my last.

Scroll VI: Today I will be master of my emotions

Scroll VII: I will laugh at the world

ScrollVIII: Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.

Scroll IX: My dreams are worthless; my plans are dust (unless)…I act now.

Scroll X: I will pray for guidance.

For the person who is faithful in their quest for advancement, the employment of Mandino’s 10 month plan may appear painful, but it is a liability which will repay manyfold the endeavor and control required to finish the task.

If, in the bedlam of life you miss a day, don’t beat your self up just start the complete approach again.

Many consumers are unable to determine whether their advisor is doing the right thing for them. There are a number of ways to objectively look at your financial plan and portfolio to realize whether you are working with a Salesman or a Fiduciary.

Here are a couple of examples that serve as RED FLAGS distinguishing between a Salesman and Fiduciary. When you notice one of the following items it would be in your best interest to begin the search for a new advisor.

First we can look at compensation. An advisor with a fiduciary responsibility will be open and up front regarding how they will be compensated while assisting you obtain your goals. This will either come in the form of a flat, hourly, or percentage of assets under management fee. If your advisor is not mentioning compensation without being provoked then most likely they are working solely off commission and wanting to place you in the product that benefits their wallet first and foremost.

The next piece of the puzzle includes looking at your investment portfolio. Many individuals own a portfolio of mutual funds and while this alone is not a RED FLAG we can determine if the advisor is doing the best thing for you or again just fattening their wallet and/or validating their broker contract. The quickest way to find a RED FLAG will be inputting the fund ticker symbol into Google Finance. For an example type in “OEGAX” and scroll down the page to “Key Statistics” in the right column you will see a Front Load of 5.75% and Expense Ratio of 1.62%. This means if you invest $10,000 into this fund you will be charge a fee of 5.75% or $575 dollars (now your initial investment is $9,425) with a reoccurring annual expense of 1.62% of your investment. If this investment goes up or down the advisor still gets paid and paid up front for selling you this fund! Does this formula give an advisor any incentive to make sure your investments are making money? NO! Now what breaks the camels back is if they “determine” down the road there is a better mutual fund for you they will make the trade and again receive commissions of any Loads. In my eyes an advisor should only get paid when they are making you money not moving money around. Now, if you are paying this advisor 1-2% of assets under management they will receive this fee along with any commissions generated (talk about a conflict of interest).

The final example (for this article) we will continue to look at your investment portfolio. If you are invested in mutual funds with no “Sales Loads” and paying your advisor a percentage of assets under management here is how to determine if they are acting in your best interest. There are many people out there that call themselves advisors but truly have no active knowledge of the financial markets; consider this to back up my statement. If you were an advisor with great knowledge of the financial markets while charging your clients a 1.5% fee and had a choice to either place them into mutual funds with extra expenses or buying individual stocks or ETFs to build a portfolio that puts you in control over expenses (and hopefully capture better results) which would you choose?

I truly hope the information above will give you better insight regarding your investments and advisor. There are many other ways to evaluate your investments and relationship, if you would like to discuss further please feel free to contact me directly at nhriczo@lanierfinancialgroup.com to set up a phone conference or video conference via Skype.