Google Alerts: Track What Matters To You

Analytical software enables you to shift human resources from rote data collection to value-added customer service and support where the human touch makes a profound difference. --- Bill Gates

How can be find the gems in the clutter than surrounds us?

Define what you want to track and use Google Alerts, a remarkable overlooked tool. Google will then scour the online world and send you links as they happen, daily or weekly. You can quickly scan the results to decide what to keep. I use PersonalBrain to turn this data into information and then wisdom (see my review). I'm building up a nice database for quick, future reference.

Examples
I'm tracking these keywords at present:

• Canada Revenue Agency
• life expectancy
• life insurance Canada
• trust

Life Expectancy
Here are some of the interesting, timely articles about life expectancy:

• UK life expectancy increases by 20% in 20 years (home equity may be used to fund the longer retirements)
  
• Life settlements hurt by increasing life expectancy ("21st Services of Minneapolis sent the market reeling by extending estimates by 20% to 25%)
• Simple Steps to Increase Your Life Expectancy (sunlight, exercise,...)
• Restructuring portfolios for retirement is a cautionary exercise ("Canadians are also living longer - but not necessarily healthier adding to potential health costs.")
• Cleaner air adds 5 months to US life span (link to New England Journal of Medicine research)
• Ernst & Young: Retirees should live frugally ("...More than half of those entering their retirement years in North Carolina are at high risk of living longer than their savings will last")
• Life Expectancy in the NFL ("the life expectancy of an NFL player is 55 ... as much as 20 years less than that of the general population")
  

Since we're living longer and longer, we need to save more, save sooner and squeeze more out of our savings. We need to look after ourselves better so we can enjoy the extra years in good health.

There's plenty that you can do with the results. Do you send interesting, relevant articles to clients, prospects or centres of influence? You've now got more sources --- some obscure. Do you want to keep track of your competitors? Setup an alert. Do you want to see if you or your company make the news (which can be good or bad)? Setup an alert.

Try It

Education is not the piling on of learning, information, data, facts, skills, or abilities - that's training or instruction - but is rather making visible what is hidden as a seed. --- Thomas More

Go to www.google.com/alerts and give it a try. There's lots you can do. If you don't want comprehensive searches, you can even limit monitoring to news articles, the web, blog posts or video.

Links

• Using Google Alerts for Intelligence Gathering (Pandia Search Engine News)
  
• The best Google tools that you never use (China Daily)
• 8 Unique Ways To Use Google Alerts To Capture New Customers (Searching Solutions)
  

Mastering The Five Relationship Styles

I know you know what you know
but you should know by now
that you're not me.
--- The Rutles, Piggy In The Middle


There are many ways to categorize your clients. Net worth, business ownership, age, lifestage. How about by the type of relationship your clients want to have with you? The Ameriprise New Retirement Mindscape Study conducted by Age Wave found five main categories.

1. Guide
2. Motivator
3. Teacher
4. Partner
5. Friend
   

Naturally, you'll be more effective if you can identify the style of relationship your clients want and adjust accordingly.

Highlights

Looking for A Guide
These clients want you to help them explore choices and assist them along the path. They value recommendations.

This is the most popular style, which makes sense given the complexity of life.

Looking for A Motivator
These clients need help sticking to a plan. They want you develop a suitable plan and assure them that they can follow it.

Looking for A Teacher
These clients want to be educated. Unlike clients looking for a Motivator, these ones don't want to be told what to do. They want to make their own decisions.

Looking for A Partner
These clients want you to introduce new ideas or review their ideas. They expect you to have the same goals they do.

Looking for A Friend
These clients want more than a business relationship.

Style Mismatch

See, man, that's the difference between us. You think we're fighting, I think we're finally talking! --- football player Rod Tidwell to his agent Jerry Maguire

Naturally, there is overlap among categories and clients change. We are more comfortable adopting certain styles. You may even have a particular style you use all the time without even knowing. As a writer, I have a bias towards providing education and suitable guidance.

If you describe the styles to new clients, they can choose the one they prefer. You both benefit.

Links

• Open Up! (Dan Veto, Financial Planning Magazine)
• New Retirement Mindscape Study (PDF; an interesting study from Ameriprise)
  

Revved Up For Ailing Pensions

The events we most desire do not happen; or, if they do, it is neither in the time nor in the circumstances when they would have given us extreme pleasure. --- Jean de la Bruyere

I attended the public unveiling of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries' Prescription for Canada's Ailing Pension System (CIAPFCAPS for short?), anticipating content for a terrific post. I wanted to get material you could share your clients.

Unfortunately, the recommendations are limited to defined benefit plans, which only cover 21% of Canada's private sector workers. Your small business owner clients won't be interested in retirement plans that cover primarily the public sector ... with our tax dollars.

I put a post on my consumer blog: Prescription for Canada's Ailing Pension System.

So I did try to get you some good stuff but as Jedi master Yoda says:
Try not.
Do, or do not.
There is no try.