As we are coming up on our biggest training event of the year “The Journey” There will be a ton of talk about marketing funnels – what’s working, what’s not, what you should be trying out…

I’m sure there will be a lot of talk about movie marketing with the recent release from Steep Digital. If you haven’t checked it out already you should – here.

Also check out Cody’s recent interview with Steep Digital’s found Jonathan Musgrave on all things digital marketing in our industry.

Few of my notes from the episode:

• Algorithms are now prioritizing good content over more content for the first time ever.
• Picking your platforms is really important, go deeper not wider and really put more emphasis on creating quality content
• People who come in through digital are typically more marketing resistant, attend fewer financial events, and are generally higher average case size, with a close rate from second to converting into a client about 60% above industry average.

Here are your Quick Hits:

Annuity sales ignore all disruptions in another strong quarter, Wink finds

• Annuities are still on the rise!
• “Sales for all annuities were $109.6 billion when compared to the previous quarter, according to Wink’s Sales & Market Report.”

Unasked Questions (in retirement)

• This is one of the best articles I’ve seen to share with clients in a while!
• Great talking points to bring up in first meetings too.
• “2. Are we putting off estate planning, wrongly assuming we’ll be capable of handling it later?”
• “3. What will happen to our taxes when the first spouse dies? You might have seen mention of the widow’s tax. It could, of course, turn out to be the widower’s tax.”

World’s oldest man: ‘No special secret to long life’

• Not going to lie, I was hoping for some sort of advice. Even if it was “I still eat twinkies every day.”
• Still a solid article to share with clients. He retired in 1972 and to my math that means he’s been living off his investments for 52 years!
• “The world’s oldest living man has declared he has no “special secrets” to pass on about his longevity as he celebrated turning 112.”

AI is surprisingly good at predicting narcissism based on LinkedIn profiles

• Wondering who is a narcissist and who is genuine? Ask AI!
• “LinkedIn has grown into the most popular online professional network, with nearly a billion users globally. … Despite its widespread use, there has been considerable debate over how accurately LinkedIn profiles can reflect a person’s traits.”
• “For narcissism, key indicators included having a background picture, listing public speaking skills, and showing fewer smiles in profile pictures. These findings align with the idea that narcissistic individuals often seek to project a grandiose image and are less inclined to display warmth or friendliness in professional settings.”