Corn prices are up more than 50 percent since early June and this season’s yield will be the lowest in 17 years. More than 60 percent of the U.S. is experiencing drought conditions, which has devastated the nation’s crop. According to CLS Portfolio Manager Matt Santini, we expect to see widespread food price inflation as… Continue reading Things that Go Pop: Corn
CLS Blog
How a Chief Operations Officer Survived the Most Inefficient Wedding Ever
I knew I was in trouble when my 19 year old daughter, Teaghan, called home one day from her apartment in Utah and said something along the lines of, “You know, like, me and Tyler are starting to get pretty serious. Like, I think I’m pretty sure we are going to, like, get engaged soon… Continue reading How a Chief Operations Officer Survived the Most Inefficient Wedding Ever
Notes from Beijing
The hotel room looks great – it is much better than expected. The TV is a flat screen with digital quality picture. The bathroom is very modern. The only real problem is my reading light doesn’t work. I’m in a very attractive looking hotel in Beijing, China, after spending the day doing volunteer teaching at… Continue reading Notes from Beijing
10 Most Common Personal Finance Mistakes
In our industry it feels very common for clients to believe the single biggest threat to their personal financial success is investment performance. CNBC recently published an article highlighting the 10 most common personal finance mistakes. Interestingly, investment performance barely scores a mention. On the list below, numbers 6 and 7 touch on the dangers… Continue reading 10 Most Common Personal Finance Mistakes
Welcome (back) to the CLS Blog!
Welcome (back) to the CLS Blog! We’re excited to have you here. You are probably noticing that this is our first post in over a year. In the past, our blog content has focused primarily on best business practices. While we still believe this information is incredibly valuable for financial advisors, we also understand that… Continue reading Welcome (back) to the CLS Blog!
Finding & Retaining Quality Employees
Part 1: The Search The process of identifying, enticing, and retaining quality employees has long been the bane of many small businesses’ existence, since they often do not have the time and resources to dedicate to it. Also, since small businesses are frequently limited in terms of the wage and benefit packages they can offer,… Continue reading Finding & Retaining Quality Employees
Marketing Technology
The essential systems that every advisor must have By Peter Montoya All the skill, knowledge and experience in the world can’t impress someone if they know nothing about it. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if motivated, qualified prospects could just “know” you were the best Advisor for them and magically appear? Financial Services marketing is nothing… Continue reading Marketing Technology
Creating a Strong Sales Process
Do you have a routine that you follow outlining each step that your sales team executes? Does the outline intertwine both sales and marketing steps that are taken as you move a lead to a prospect, and a prospect to a client? Do you utilize metrics to track how long it takes between each step… Continue reading Creating a Strong Sales Process
Leveraging Professional Relationships
Getting more out of referral relationships with professional contacts, such as CPAs and attorneys is one of the most common challenges that business owners face. Partnerships with other professionals are only successful when the professional directly witnesses the benefit that their clients receive through your service. And in most cases, you have to wait for… Continue reading Leveraging Professional Relationships
Three People Who Can Help Shape New Business Development
If you had the opportunity to get into a new market, where would you start? If you wanted to attract particular clients, who are the people that would help you make a solid entrance? Centers of influence, evangelists, and critical contacts are three potentially powerful types of people who might provide the answers you are… Continue reading Three People Who Can Help Shape New Business Development