Included in this week’s On My Radar:

• Jack Daly — GET JACK’D
• Trade Signals — Bullish Trends Rolls on for Equities and Fixed Income
• Personal Note — Inside ETFs Conference & Mauldin Strategic Investment Conference

Jack Daly – GET JACK’D

One of the top business professors at MIT came in to consult to a good friend’s business.  He told my friend he was going to give his best advice in the simplistic way possible.  Every successful business’ most important ingredient is sales.  You must have an exceptional process, game plan and sales people.

Daly espouses two basic foundational principles for sales: (1) establishing systems and processes and (2) leverage.  As mentioned above, Jack emphasizes that every successful business needs a sales system and process that is followed by every salesperson for interactions with prospects and clients.  Leverage refers to engaging in activities that generate more sales and revenue with less work and effort.  Jack encourages salespeople to solely engage in “high payoff activities” and to delegate everything else to support staff.  Jack says there’s only 168 hours in a week and some people get much more accomplished in those 168 hours than others.

Jack states that any sales system and process must have a “playbook,” just like a football team.  A football playbook contains numerous plays that the offense can use to try to score a touchdown.  Playbooks of NFL teams are highly detailed and specific. Don’t go into the game without a game plan.

A sales playbook needs to be similarly detailed and specific.  Jack says, “The best sales people are canned.”  He means that a sales presentation or pitch is thoughtfully planned, scripted and practiced numerous times.

“The shortest course on sales: ask questions and listen!”  Jack continued, “People don’t want to be sold.  It’s the salesperson’s job to help them buy. The best way you can help them buy is helping them with their problems, opportunities and needs.”

Jack contends that it is imperative for salespeople to practice their pitches repeatedly and be prepared to effectively respond to objections.  Jack says, “There’s hardly anything that goes on in a sales call that couldn’t be anticipated before one’s arrival.”  Jack recommends that teams identify 10-15 common objections and develop one or two effective responses.

He recommends that sales teams regularly practice presentations together and engage in role playing.  By doing so, “prospects” can observe and provide constructive feedback to improve their colleagues’ pitches.  It’s not a one-and-done, role playing and rehearsals must be ongoing.

Jack recommends setting goals every week, writing them down and determining how you are going to achieve those goals (i.e., tactics).  Salespeople must be accountable to the system and processes.

“Things that get measured get done.”  Jack advocates the sales managers have to measure and assess progress.  With data and analysis, managers can coach and encourage where necessary.  It’s cliché, but practice makes perfect.

Jack next told us a story about his swim coach.  At age 58, he decided he wanted to do triathlons.  But he couldn’t swim.  He explained how his swim coach helped refer so much business to other people.  He needed a specialty bike, go see my friend over there.  He needed a fitness person, a strength coach…  Swim coach referred him to everyone he needed.

So the story here is to find yourself a “swim coach.”  Someone who can refer many people to you.  For example, when Jack got on the speaking/conference tour, instead of paying a big organization 30% of his fee to line up conferences for him, he got close to Vistage Worldwide (an organization he was part of for many years).  Companies like mine pay them thousands of dollars a year to train our executives.  Jack would speak to their groups and he’d then build a seminar in their city.  About 75 of the 100 people in the room last Tuesday were Vistage clients, like CMG, who heard Jack present.  $30,000 for… three hours of work and book sales.  Vistage is Jack’s swim coach.  Find yours.

Jack Daly’s “crackerjack” sales tips:

If you would like to learn more about Jack, please visit his website.

Trade Signals — Bullish Trends Roll On for Equities and Fixed Income

S&P 500 Index — 2,776 (01-17-2018)

Notable this week:

Broad market indicators: Bullish trend continues for equities.  The Don’t Fight the Tape or Fed moved from a 0 reading back to a bullish +1 reading.  The Ned Davis Research CMG U.S. Large Cap Long/Flat Index remains positioned in 100% exposure to large-cap equities.  Despite the recent move higher in interest rates, the Zweig Bond Model remains bullish on fixed income.  HY remains in a buy signal.  As always, we continue to monitor our inflation and recession indicators.  Despite the extreme overvalued level of equities, the trend evidence remains bullish.

Click here for the latest Trade Signals.

Important note: Not a recommendation for you to buy or sell any security.  For information purposes only.  Please talk with your advisor about needs, goals, time horizon and risk tolerances. 

Personal Note — Inside ETFs Conference & Mauldin SIC

Speaking of getting JACK’D, Jack completed 15 Ironman competitions and made TEAM USA in 2012.  He is just shy of two of his other bucket list goals: he’s competed in 90 marathons in 49 states.  New Jersey is last on the list and that one is coming up next.  He’s played 92 of the Top 100 golf courses in the U.S.  I’m pretty sure he’ll check that box as well.  He’s done extreme bungee jumping and dived with sharks in South Africa.  OK, he’s not your normal guy and I don’t think the man sleeps.  I’ve never met anyone like him.  I sure did GET JACK’D.  I think I better hit the gym.

I’ve been in Boston all week and what an exciting week it’s been.  Certain investments are just out of the reach of most investors.  The best opportunities tend to get gobbled up by the large institutions and ultra-high net worth.  We are working hard to bring some of those unique opportunities to you.  More in the near future.

Tomorrow my beautiful Susan turns 50.  We’ll be celebrating her this weekend.  Don’t tell her yet, but we are going to see Hamilton in NYC next month.  It was going to be tomorrow but she totally enjoys coaching so we are heading to the National Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia.  It should be fun.

Early Monday morning I’m flying to Florida for the annual Inside ETFs Conference.  Several thousand of the industry’s leaders.  It’s meetings, networking, dinner and wine.  You’d think plenty of sunshine but one rarely leaves the hotel.  I will share my high-level notes with you, after the conference.  Here is a quick look at the sessions I’m most excited about:

• Are We in a Bubble? Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian
• Leadership Is a Choice: Lessons From a Military Legend, General Stan McChrystal
• Beyond the Hype: Strategically Implementing Factor-Based ETFs
• Pitfalls in Smart Beta: Data Mining, Selection Bias & Performance-Chasing, Rob Arnott, Founder and Chairman, Research Affiliates
• As Good as It Gets: PIMCO’s Macroeconomic Outlook & the Importance of Active Management in Core Bond Portfolios
• The ETF Lab: 10 ‘Hidden Gem’ ETFs You’ve Never Heard Of
• Fixing Income: Bond ETFs, Active Strategies & Portfolios for Rising Rates
• Everything You Need to Know: Active & Factor-Driven Fixed-Income ETFs
• Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, ETFs & the Future of Finance
• Everything You Need to Know: Hedging Your Downside & Protecting Against Tail Risk
• The Best New ETF of 2017: We Present, You Decide
• Alternative Income Strategies
• How to Deploy Tactical & Strategic ETF Portfolios That Work (SB here: Seeing what the competition is up to)

If you too are attending, please shoot me a note.  I’d love to say hello.  Here is a link to the Inside ETFs Conference agenda.

Park City follows January 31 to February 3.  Another advisor conference (and yes I’ll again be packing my skis) and the Mauldin Strategic Investment Conference is March 6-9.  I hope to see you in Florida or at the Mauldin SIC.

Registration and agenda information for the Mauldin SIC can be found here.  Dr. Lacy Hunt, David Rosenberg, George Friedman, Mark Yusko and Jeffrey Gundlach are but a few key names who will present.  Gundlach is saying the great bond bull market is over.  More note taking to share with you.

“Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions,” said the Dalai Lama.  I’m sure Jack Daly agrees.

Hope you walked away from today’s piece with a few actionable sales ideas. Jack said that when you first start to prepare for a 26-mile marathon, you don’t just go out and run 26 miles.  You start with running just a mile or two.  It takes time to build up to 26.  Same with building your sales process and play book.  Just start with a few ideas, practice, then expand to a few more and practice, practice, practice.  Hope you GET JACK’D too…

Have a wonderful weekend!

♦ If you are not signed up to receive my weekly On My Radar e-newsletter, you can subscribe here. ♦

With kind regards,

Steve

Stephen B. Blumenthal
Executive Chairman & CIO
CMG Capital Management Group, Inc.

If you find the On My Radar weekly research letter helpful, please tell a friend … also note the social media links below.  I often share articles and charts during the week via Twitter and LinkedIn that I feel may be worth your time.  You can follow me on Twitter @SBlumenthalCMG and on LinkedIn.

I hope you find On My Radar helpful for you and your work with your clients.  And please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.

Stephen Blumenthal founded CMG Capital Management Group in 1992 and serves today as its Executive Chairman and CIO.  Steve authors a free weekly e-letter entitled, “On My Radar.”  Steve shares his views on macroeconomic research, valuations, portfolio construction, asset allocation and risk management.

The objective of the letter is to provide our investment advisors clients and professional investment managers with unique and relevant information that can be incorporated into their investment process to enhance performance and client communication.

Click here to receive his free weekly e-letter.

Social Media Links:

CMG is committed to setting a high standard for ETF strategists.  And we’re passionate about educating advisors and investors about tactical investing.  We launched CMG AdvisorCentral a year ago to share our knowledge of tactical investing and managing a successful advisory practice.

You can sign up for weekly updates to AdvisorCentral here.  If you’re looking for the CMG white paper, “Understanding Tactical Investment Strategies,” you can find that here.

AdvisorCentral is being updated with new educational resources we look forward to sharing with you. You can always connect with CMG on Twitter at @askcmg and follow our LinkedIn Showcase page devoted to tactical investing.

A Note on Investment Process:

From an investment management perspective, I’ve followed, managed and written about trend following and investor sentiment for many years.  I find that reviewing various sentiment, trend and other historically valuable rules-based indicators each week helps me to stay balanced and disciplined in allocating to the various risk sets that are included within a broadly diversified total portfolio solution.

My objective is to position in line with the equity and fixed income market’s primary trends.  I believe risk management is paramount in a long-term investment process.  When to hedge, when to become more aggressive, etc.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION

Investing involves risk.  Past performance does not guarantee or indicate future results.  Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk.  Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended and/or undertaken by CMG Capital Management Group, Inc. or any of its related entities (collectively “CMG”) will be profitable, equal any historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful.  No portion of the content should be construed as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.  References to specific securities, investment programs or funds are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be, and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell such securities.

Certain portions of the content may contain a discussion of, and/or provide access to, opinions and/or recommendations of CMG (and those of other investment and non-investment professionals) as of a specific prior date.  Due to various factors, including changing market conditions, such discussion may no longer be reflective of current recommendations or opinions.  Derivatives and options strategies are not suitable for every investor, may involve a high degree of risk, and may be appropriate investments only for sophisticated investors who are capable of understanding and assuming the risks involved.  Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained herein serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from CMG or the professional advisors of your choosing.  To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisors of his/her choosing.  CMG is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the newsletter content should be construed as legal or accounting advice.

This presentation does not discuss, directly or indirectly, the amount of the profits or losses, realized or unrealized, by any CMG client from any specific funds or securities.  Please note: In the event that CMG references performance results for an actual CMG portfolio, the results are reported net of advisory fees and inclusive of dividends.  The performance referenced is that as determined and/or provided directly by the referenced funds and/or publishers, have not been independently verified, and do not reflect the performance of any specific CMG client.  CMG clients may have experienced materially different performance based upon various factors during the corresponding time periods.

In a rising interest rate environment, the value of fixed income securities generally declines and conversely, in a falling interest rate environment, the value of fixed income securities generally increases. High-yield securities may be subject to heightened market, interest rate or credit risk and should not be purchased solely because of the stated yield. Ratings are measured on a scale that ranges from AAA or Aaa (highest) to D or C (lowest). Investment-grade investments are those rated from highest down to BBB- or Baa3.

NOT FDIC INSURED. MAY LOSE VALUE. NO BANK GUARANTEE.

Certain information contained herein has been obtained from third-party sources believed to be reliable, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

In the event that there has been a change in an individual’s investment objective or financial situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with his/her investment professional.

Written Disclosure Statement.  CMG is an SEC-registered investment adviser located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.  Stephen B. Blumenthal is CMG’s founder and CEO.  Please note:  The above views are those of CMG and its CEO, Stephen Blumenthal, and do not reflect those of any sub-advisor that CMG may engage to manage any CMG strategy.  A copy of CMG’s current written disclosure statement discussing advisory services and fees is available upon request or via CMG’s internet web site at www.cmgwealth.com/disclosures.