E-Journal
(January 2019)
SALES IDEA

Use a CRM to Close More Business
One way to be seen as a credible financial advisor with a stable practice is to have a solid follow-up plan for warm leads. When potential clients visit your website and leave their names and numbers for you to reach out with additional information, make sure you have a CRM to keep their contact details organized. Freshsales ( https://app.fitsmallbusiness.com/goto/freshsales/ ) is a CRM that not only stores and organizes contact information, it automatically uploads it as a new lead. From there, you can follow up by sending an email or making a quick call, directly from the dashboard. Freshsales scores leads to show who is exhibiting buying behavior so you know which leads to nurture, automatically sets follow up reminders, schedules appointments, and has a visual pipeline for you to easily track the progress of your deals.
--- by Allison Potts, Editor, Fit Small Business ( fitsmallbusiness.com )
NAIFA-Florida’s Legislative Boot Camp – Two Locations Remaining: Orlando (Jan. 29), Jacksonville (Jan. 30)
Have you ever wondered how NAIFA-Florida goes about providing legislative advocacy for our members? What is our political agenda? Who makes the decisions in terms of contributions to candidates? Who in our association actually meets with legislators, in both the U.S. Congress and the Florida legislature? Ever thought of running for office??

You now have an opportunity – in one, short 3-hour session – to learn about NAIFA’s advocacy efforts. The first-ever NAIFA-Florida Legislative Boot Camp will be held in four locations around Florida and you’re invited !! There’s no charge and we think you’ll find it to be a fascinating experience. Here’s why: Our full Advocacy team will be on board at each Boot Camp to provide amazing insight about the political process, how we impact it, and how our members benefit – as well as plenty of time to interact and ask questions! You’ll hear from:

·         Tim Meenan, NAIFA-Florida Lobbyist
·        Terri Seefeldt, Chair of our Legislative Committee
·        Jeff Chernoff/Taylor Collins, Chairs of our Political Committee (PC)
·        Todd Keith, Chair of our Political Involvement Committee (PIC)

The Legislative Boot Camps are open to all NAIFA-Florida members, especially our local advocacy-related chairs and committee members. AND – you can get Florida DFS CE credit for attending!!

All locations --- (9:00 a.m. to Noon)
 
1) Orlando/Altamonte Springs -- Tuesday, Jan. 29
     Residence Inn Orlando/Altamonte Springs
     270 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs

2) Jacksonville -- Wed., Jan. 30
     Hampton Inn Jacksonville, I-295 East/Baymeadows
     8127 Point Meadows Dr., Jacksonville
 
Please let us know if you think you’ll be attending --  admin@naifa-florida.org – simply include your name and which location you’ll attend. We just want to have enough coffee for you!
 
See you there !!!
The Latest From Washington :
By Dani Kehoe, Counsel to NAIFA
The partial government shut-down—and the knots it’s tying Washington into—persists. But some of the federal government is funded (e.g., the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reg-writing function at the Treasury Department), and so there was some substantive activity last week – including finalization of the pass-through business income deduction regulations. Here’s a summary of what happened last week, and what we expect from the upcoming week. Read More
Lobbyist Tim Meenan Needs You at “Day on the Hill” March 19 in Tallahassee
Registration is now open for NAIFA-Florida's Legislative Day on the Hill, Tuesday, March 19, 2019 in Tallahassee! Early-bird deadline is Feb 15th.
           
Our Lobbyist Tim Meenan is asking for all members to attend, as he needs every legislator visited by NAIFA-Florida members to communicate our issues. Remember, you as members who attend Legislative Day on the Hill are vital to our advocacy efforts before the Florida Legislature, the DFS, and the Governor's office.
 
So makes plans now to attend! Full registration is $130. After Feb. 15, it's $145. Includes breakfast buffet, outdoor dinner buffet and open bar "under the oaks" (with live music and bonfire!), and ongoing shuttle transportation between our host hotel and the dinner venue Read More
Educational Foundation Offers Scholarships to Young Agents for “Day on the Hill” in Tallahassee – March 19
The NAIFA-Florida Foundation for Education (NFEF) is offering ten scholarships to YAT (Young Agent Team) members in the amount of $100 each - to attended NAIFA-Florida’s Legislative Day on the Hill - only for those who have not attended previously. A YAT is defined as someone under the age of 40 or someone with less than 5 years of experience in our industry.
 
Guidelines:
 
1.   Applicants must be a NAIFA-Florida member in good standing at the time of application and at the receipt of funds for the scholarship.

2.   To be considered for a scholarship, you must be one of the first ten to register for DOH.

3.   Scholarships are based only on reimbursement of actual expenses.

4.   Scholarship recipients must attend Day on the Hill and participate in at least one meeting with a legislator.

5.   Scholarship recipients must film a testimonial video and allow NFEF to utilize to promote the Foundation and NAIFA-Florida.

Diana Shipley on the NAIFA-Florida staff is tracking registrations and qualifiers for the scholarships. Check with her for availability. Her e-mail address is:  diana.shipley@naifa-florida.org .
Will Robo Advisors Replace Financial Advisors?
by Kaplan Financial Education
The Kaplan team recently attended the think2perform Evolution of the Financial Advisory Practice conference in Minneapolis to learn more about key issues in financial advising. One major topic of focus was the place of robo advisors in the future of the industry. Will robo advisors replace financial advisors? ActFi’s Spencer Siegel enthusiastically argued that they will never replace financial advisors, but they can absolutely help an advisor create a better client experience. We wholeheartedly agree.

The rise of companies like Amazon and Uber has completely evolved the customer experience in recent years. As a result, the expectation that anyone can get anything they need right away in a couple of clicks on their phone or computer has expanded well beyond the retail market. Clients now expect their financial advisors to do things faster and provide a more convenient experience for them. Read More
"NOW is THE Greatest Time Ever for Financial Services Professionals"
Sponsored by “NAIFA-Ocala, An Affiliate of NAIFA”
Thursday January 31, 2019
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Ocala
RSVP is required by Monday January 28 th  
 
Guest Speaker:
Van Mueller
LUTCF, Registered Representative


January 23, 2018, marks Van's 45th year as an insurance agent. He is an active member of MDRT having qualified for Court of the Table in 1990 and Top of the Table for the last 28 years.

Van Mueller has served as a LUTC moderator in the past and is looking forward to doing so again. He also served as President of the Milwaukee Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors for the 1998-99 year. In the past, Van has served as Membership Chairman for both Milwaukee and the State of Wisconsin. Van also served on the Annuity Advisory Panel, the Middle Income Task Force, the Sales Idea Committee, and the Program Development Committee for MDRT. Van has served two 2-year terms on the Top of the Table board. He served as an appointed NAIFA trustee. Read More
NAIFA-Florida’s Howard Rosenblatt to Receive Pro Bono Award in Supreme Court Ceremony Feb. 7
NAIFA-Florida’s Howard Rosenblatt, JD, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, JD of Gainesville, is one of 22 lawyers who will be recognized for their work on behalf of low-income and disadvantaged clients at a February 7 ceremony at the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee.

Established in 1981, The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Awards are intended to encourage lawyers to volunteer free legal services to the poor by recognizing those who make public service commitments and to raise public awareness of the substantial volunteer services provided by Florida lawyers to those who cannot afford legal fees. Florida Bar President Michelle R. Suskauer will present the 2019 awards. Read More
EPCOT’s Dolphin Resort to Host the 2019 NAIFA-Florida Conference / Sales Symposium – Sept. 10-11
The 2019 NAIFA-Florida Annual Conference and Financial Advisors Sales Symposium will be held at EPCOT’s Dolphin Resort, Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 10 and 11.

In a first-of-its-kind partnership, NAIFA-Florida and NAIFA have coordinated their premier annual events to be held adjoining each other -- with the NAIFA-Florida event being held Sept. 10-11 and then the 2019 NAIFA Performance + Purpose Annual Conference beginning Sept. 12.

Because of the partnership arrangement, members attending both events will be able to take advantage of reduced combo registration packages and a reduced per night rate at the Dolphin Resort of just $229 (plus $20 resort fee).

Watch for complete registration details coming soon.
MEET:  NAIFA-Florida 2019 Committee Chairs
This Month:  Legislative Chair Terri Seefeldt, RHU
Terri was elected as Chair of NAIFA-Florida’s Legislative Committee at the association’s Annual Meeting in July. As such, she oversees NAIFA-Florida’s legislative agenda and works very closely with our Lobbyist, Tim Meenan.

A member of NAIFA-Central Florida, Terri has served in leadership positions in both her local chapter, and at the state level as Secretary/Treasurer. She was President of NAIFA-Central Florida, President of Women in Insurance & Financial Services—Central Florida, 4 th VP of Central Florida Association of Health Underwriters, Governmental Affairs Director of the Financial Planning Association of Central Florida, and Director of the Central Florida Society of Financial Service Professionals.

Terri is a Sales Manager for Rogers Benefit Group, a National General Agency, and is celebrating her 31st year in the Insurance and Financial Services Industry. Often referred to as an “expert” on the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare", she has given over 100 speeches throughout the State of Florida. Terri’s articles have been published in industry magazines and she has taught Continuing Education on healthcare reform to Insurance Professionals, CPA’s, CFP’s as well as the Medical Coding Society.

She has also testified on behalf of the insurance industry before a Joint House and Senate PPACA Special Sub-Committee hearing. Terri followed her love of politics and was once a Candidate for the Florida House, District 31. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of her son, Zachary, a Mechanical Engineer in the defense industry.