Stretching Exercises for Your Financial Practice
Webster says this about the word “stretch”: “Stretch: To draw out to the full or fuller length, breadth, or extent”.
A few years ago, I had an index finger on my left hand that seemed to go numb quite often. It was beginning to get ridiculous and it was also beginning to travel up my arm. Now, some of you might quickly be thinking “heart attack”!!! Yikes! No … it wasn’t a heart attack, thank goodness. However, it turned out to be stress related.
After visiting a physical therapist and a battery of tests that focused on range of motion (mostly) she determined that my neck and shoulders on that left side were very tight … I mean really tight! She suspected it was contributing to the numbness. She gave me a series of stretching exercises that were isolated for the neck and shoulder area. Low and behold … after just a week or two … no more numbness! Gone. Soon after that I purchased an inversion table to stretch daily and I love it.
As it turns out, stretching is really good for you … in many aspects of your life, including your business life. Here are two stretching exercises for your financial practice that will help remove the numbness.
Exercises for Your Financial Practice
Network with people who are different from you.
Most people network with people just like themselves. They network with people in the same or similar industries. It’s not uncommon to find financial advisors networking with CPAs, Bankers, Attorneys, and even other financial advisors. In the same light, fitness instructors tend to network with chiropractors, physical therapists, and massage therapists. Why? Because it’s comfortable. You’re sharing the same language and it feels good to be understood. And, yes, you probably share a client or two as well. Stretching outside your networking comfort zone can be very beneficial when it comes to building your practice, and finding creative opportunities that you may not have ever considered before! You may find more profitable COIs who don’t already know five other financial advisors besides you. Networking with people who are not like you can open up a world of connections that you can’t yet imagine where they may lead. It may even expose you to a new network that you thought was unreachable.
Never eat lunch alone. (Yes, even now during COVID19)
Okay, maybe you can’t actually eat lunch with someone different every day, but you certainly can improve upon what you’re doing now. If you want to get referred more often, you must do three things really well … stay visible to those you want to refer you; build irreplaceable relationships with those you want to refer you; and bring incredible value to those you want to refer you. Lunch meetings (or meal meetings for that matter) can assist you with all three of these necessary activities that benefit your referral efforts. During the COVID19 restrictions, have lunch with people on ZOOM. I just had Easter breakfast with my mom and dad on ZOOM and it was actually fun! Stretch yourself to be creative. Meet your COI for a walk instead of a meal, wearing your mask and keeping your social distance in mind. When we get back to normal, get out of your office cave more often than you’re in it … especially when it comes to lunch.
The objective is to get rid of the numbness in your practice and stretch yourself in a healthy way to grow your business. Survival specialist Les Brown said, “If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness.”