Success is the cumulative result of the little things. Here are 10 “little” things that can add up to make a big difference in your success and happiness in business and in life.

1. Buy a nice pen. Invest at least $100. I’m not saying it should be a diamond-studded, Donald Trumpian ostentatious piece of bling. Go to a high-end stationery or department store and write with several of its better pens. Buy the one that feels the best in your hand, regardless of the price. Think about all the notes you take when you are with a prospect or client. Wouldn’t it be great to be taking those notes with a high-quality instrument? Think about all of the important things prospects and clients tell you. Aren’t those important comments worth writing down with a high-quality instrument that feels great in your hands and whose ink flows smoothly on to the paper? And what about when you hand your pen to your new client to sign the documents that transfer their life savings to you? Or to sign that big insurance application or their living trust? What message does it send when you hand them an 89 cent piece of crap pen or the freebie you picked up from the fund company at the last conference? “Here you go. Let’s memorialize you hiring me to help you achieve your goals and fulfill your values with this POS.” Maybe it’s not such a little thing. And don’t kid yourself that you’ll lose it. When you invest big money in a nice pen, you keep track of it.

2. Improve your smile. Whitening your teeth is a good first step. I’m not talking about glow-in-the-dark or movie star white. Just white. Ask someone who cares about you enough to tell you the truth whether or not your teeth are yellow, gray or dingy. Crest white strips are inexpensive and easy to use. It matters. Have you ever noticed how you tend to look at another person’s mouth when they speak? What nonverbal message is your mouth sending? And get a good teeth cleaning regularly. Who wants to hire an FA with plaque-encrusted teeth? If you can’t take care of your teeth, why should anyone trust you with their money? Appearances aside, less plaque can help prevent heart disease.

3. Smile more. Now that you have cleaned up those teeth, let’s see them. The shortest distance between two people is a warm, genuine smile. It instills confidence. It makes an emotional connection. Giving important advice about money doesn’t have to be a sphincter-tightening experience. You can be professional and smile at the same time. Practice by smiling at strangers. As you walk by, just make eye contact and smile. It’s instantly transformational.

4. Contact three to five people a day and offer to be of service. You could do this via e-mail, but why not pick up the phone and make a more human connection? Who should you call? How many prospects are in your CRM who haven’t heard your voice live or on their answering machine in a while?

5. Contact one of your best clients every day without a business agenda. Ask questions about their family, their health and their overall happiness or well-being. Start the conversation with something like, “I don’t have an agenda for calling today. I was just thinking about you and wanted to touch base to see how you are. Tell me about something good that’s happening in your life?” Follow that up with more questions about their answers. They talk. You listen.

6. Try arriving at your next appointment 10 minutes early and just relax before the appointment. Notice how it shifts your way of being to be able to just relax and think before the appointment begins. How much more present were you to the possibilities? How much more prepared were you to capitalize on the opportunity? How much easier was it to make an emotional connection with the other people in the meeting? How much more confident were you? What would happen to your success and happiness if you arrived a few minutes early for everything?

7. Listen more. Talk less. At your next social function, only speak when you are asking questions. If someone asks you a question, say, “I appreciate your interest in that, but first I’d really like to hear about _________ from you.” Instead of asking people what they do, which implies what they do for work, ask, “What do you do for fun?” Direct the conversation to subjects that make them feel good and then keep them talking about those things. You keep the conversation flowing in this manner by saying, “Tell me more about that.” Or, “What else?” This will make you a better listener and the most interesting person at the gathering.

8. Don’t watch the news for a week. Successful people tend to be happy and optimistic. Being a successful FA requires a commitment to living in a challenging, stressful world and doing challenging work. It’s a big responsibility to help people determine their goals and then make smart financial choices to achieve them. It pays well for a reason. The news is the antidote of happy and optimistic. Unplug completely from the news in all forms for a week and see how that affects your attitude and how your improved attitude affects your results. It’s freeing to discover how successful you can be when untethered from the day-to-day flow of all that negativity.

9. Express more gratitude. My friend and keynote speaker/neurohumorist, Karyn Buxman, recommends sending “grati-texts” like the one she recently received from her sister, which said, “I just wanted to remind you how amazing you are and how grateful I am that you’re in my life.” Buxman writes, “My eyes got teary and my heart swelled. My sister, a busy physician three time zones away, had taken 30 seconds out of her busy schedule and had changed the course of my entire day. Studies have shown that one way of increasing your happiness set point is to practice being grateful. Studies vary slightly in their findings, but in a nutshell, writing down three things daily will raise your level of happiness more than writing down a list of items you’re grateful for weekly. Sharing your gratitude or appreciation with another person boosts your happiness level even more. In one study, people who focused on gratitude rather than hassles felt more optimistic about their future, felt better about their lives and even did an average of 1.5 more hours of exercise a week. In this fast-paced, high-tech world, it may seem unrealistic to try to squeeze in one more task on your to-do list. Instead of switching from high-tech to high-touch, you can be high-tech AND high-touch! Take 30 seconds to practice ‘Grati-text.’ Think of someone who has made a real difference in your life, and shoot them a text telling them so.”

10. This last idea is just for my male friends: Groom better. We live in the era of man-scaping. If you don’t know what that is, ask someone under 40. Excess hair in the wrong places is totally optional. Nose and ear hair come to mind as obvious areas to start. Your nose hair is supposed to be hidden well inside your nose, and ear hair … disgusting, right? They make a tool called tweezers for this purpose. They are very inexpensive and easy to use. And your chest hair is not supposed to flow over the top of your shirt collar and spill onto your tie. I’m just saying. Somebody had to tell you. People notice.

There you have it—10 simple things that can make you a more successful and happy financial advisor. Pick one or two and start today.

Bill Bachrach is considered to be our industry’s leading authority on the subject of building high-trust client relationships. To learn more about how his company can help you create your Ideal Life by building an Ideal Business exclusively with Ideal Clients, go to www.billbachrach.com.