“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.”
Hey Sunday Brewers!
We’ve got some absolute GOLD in store for you today, including…
✅ The 2-minute exercise to instantly destroy stress upon arrival
✅ A simple script for reaching out to clients to show you care
✅ Weekly market updates and 30-second recap
But first…a heartwarming story about loving your neighbor as yourself.
The First Sip
A man in Prineville, Oregon walked 33 miles to work last week to make sure he didn’t miss his shift.
That’s not a typo…33 miles.
The journey started after Eric Akers’ car broke down and he had no way to pay for transportation.
“I needed to get to work no matter what. So I woke up early — about 9AM. Started around 10AM. Left for Bend [Oregon] and it took about 6 1/2 hours, but I made the trek,” Eric said.
After the long trek, he worked an 8–hour shift and stayed with a nearby co-worker for the rest of the week.
Pretty soon after his journey, Eric’s story made its way to the local news.
Chris Arsenault, a nearby farmer, scrolled upon the story while on his tractor and immediately called his wife.
“We decided we have more cars than we need, so we wanted to give him this little Honda,” Chris said.
They called Eric out to the farm and asked him if he’d like the vehicle.
“He just handed me the paperwork for the car and told me it’s mine,” Eric recalled. “The kindness and generosity of the community has been overwhelming.”
When asked why he would give away a perfectly good vehicle to someone he didn’t even know, Chris said he felt it was the right thing to do.
“I think that, especially in today’s times, we need to help people. We need to help our neighbors. My hope is that we can all take time to help somebody.”
1 Caffeinated Neurohack
Feeling stressed?
A little rhythmic breathing can help you bust the tension and instantly feel better.
Science shows slow, rhythmic breathing activates the vagus nerve – which is the massive nerve that runs through most of your body and links your brain to your heart, gut, and lungs – and relaxes the body.
The vagus nerve is also part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for slowwwwing down the fight-or-flight response.
When your brain realizes that it no longer has to run or fight, blood flow returns to your hands, feet, and organs.
This leads you to feel more relaxed.
You can activate the vagus nerve by doing the following:
- Breathe in through your nose for a count of 5.
- HOLD for a count of 2.
- Breathe out through your mouth for a count of 6.
Repeat this process for a minute or two and you’ll feel a sense of calm rush over your body.
I recommend doing this a few times each day – particularly when you feel overwhelmed.
☕ TL;DR: Use this 2-minute exercise to instantly destroy stress.
Marketing Psychology Quick Hit
A brand new study finds that people severely underestimate how much others appreciate having someone unexpectedly reach out to them.
Interestingly, the more surprising the “reach out,” the more people appreciate it.
While the results of this study aren’t explicitly related to the recent pandemic, the research team believes the isolation of the last couple of years has played a role.
“Our work provides robust evidence and an encouraging green light to go ahead and surprise someone by reaching out,” lead author Pegy Liu said. “Such reach-outs are likely to be appreciated more than one thinks.”
As an advisor, we can get so focused on prospecting that we forget about the clients we already have on board.
This study reaffirms the value in taking time to reach out to your existing clients.
My challenge to you is to call three clients each day this week and say the following:
“Hey [Name], I’m just calling to check in and see how you and your family are doing. How’s the summer going?”
Then be quiet and…LISTEN!
Let the client talk.
Ask simple follow up questions.
And don’t talk about business.
The conversation might last 3 minutes or an hour…either way, it’s a win.
It gives you a chance to reconnect and show your clients that you care about them.
☕ TL;DR: New study shows people appreciate when you call them out of the blue.
What’s New in SHIFT Nation?
If you’re an insurance or financial advisor, you need to stop what you’re doing and watch this 3 minute and 20 second video!
Mel shares the one underlying theme she heard in 57 phone calls with financial advisors last week.
Weekly Industry Catch-Up
🔹 Power shift. The housing market feels like a seesaw. After two weeks of significant declines, 30-year fixed mortgage rates jumped back up to 5.51% this week.
Simultaneously, some of the leverage is shifting away from sellers and into the hands of buyers. Of 60,000 home purchases conducted last month, Redfin says 14.9 percent were canceled and 7 percent had a price drop.
🔹 Relief in sight? Could inflation have an end in sight? The IMF chief says inflation will be tamed by 2023 when the full effect of rate hikes start to work. In the meantime, college is getting even more expensive…leaving many families wondering what to do.
🔹 Minimum whoa! As inflation rises, the effective value of the $7.25 federal minimum wage (which has stayed the same since 2009) has declined to record lows. After adjusting for inflation, a worker earning minimum wage today makes 27.4 percent less than they did in July 2009.
In your corner,
Jeremiah D. Desmarais
CEO, Advisorist
#1 in ROI-Driven Training for Advisors
