The Raymond James national conference held in National Harbor, Md., May 19-22, 2014, had four days jam-packed with great advice. Here are 10 highlights worth soaking in.

1. Mountain Climbing

Randy Carver, a Raymond James branch manager in Mentor, Ohio, explained that to be successful one must first identify the mountain to climb and then plan the route to take.

He told a story of a plane crash on March 29, 1989, in which he sustained serious injuries. For a year, he could not speak. For him, it made it clear how important a good team is. He asked the crowd, “Does your team know what they have to do?”

He admits his company was just spinning its wheels. He found his staff was burnt out and the organization had no clarity of mission. They made changes, including getting a backhoe to knock down their unappealing office and then constructing a much more impressive building.

Looking back at the reasons for their success, he recommended advisors move to a reoccurring revenue model to better focus on the client relationships. For prospecting, they do two types of events: topics that are financial service related, like estate planning and Social Security, and topics that are purely social, on telling good stories, for example, or on how to use an iPad.

Recapping how he set a goal, built a plan and became a success, he simplified his climb, recommending, “Build a team, go fee-based and do some events.”

2. We All Have A Choice

The most inspiring keynote came from Chris Gardner, author of the best-selling autobiography The Pursuit of Happyness and the person Will Smith played in the movie.

Gardner said the movie was only one year of his life. There were important things that happened before that time that allowed him to go from being homeless to eventually being a success. As a 5-year-old boy, he recalls making himself a promise to be a good dad, unlike the abusive stepfather he’d had. He also remembers his mother saying, “You can do or can be anything you want to be.”

Gardner coined the term “spiritual genetics.” It means that we do not have control over the genetics our parents pass on to us, but we do shape our own spirit.

He told a story about being on set with Will Smith and pushing to rewrite a father-son scene in the script taking place on the basketball court. He and Smith won a 30-minute debate with the film creators to give the final scene a message about protecting your dreams. The main point: Don’t let someone tell you what you can’t do.

Before two managing partners at Bear Stearns saw his potential and took a chance on him, Gardner at times went hungry so his kid could eat. As the movie depicts, they even slept on public bathroom floors. His son at the time was less than 2 years old, but in the movie the son was 5 so there could be dialogue between the actors.

He remembers asking himself, “Why did this happen? What is going to happen next?” and the hardest question: “How did I get here?” Gardner said it hit him that he drove to where he was and it made him smile, as he could drive out.

“Nobody appreciates hope more than me, but you need to have a plan,” said Gardner. It needs to be clear, compelling, concise, consistent and committed. He gave an example of David versus Goliath. David only had one plan.

Gardner urged the attendees, “You must be committed to plan A, not committed to plan B. Write this down, ‘Plan B sucks!’”

3. Starting With The Question ‘Why?’

Gerry Klingman, a Raymond James branch manager in New York, said he was influenced by Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk, in which he made it clear that many companies start by focusing on what they do, then how they do it and finally why they do it. Sinek’s recommendation is to reverse that thought process, instead going from “why” to “how” to “what.”

Klingman agreed, stating, “Great companies work in the exact opposite way.” He used Apple as an example.

Sinek asked the attendees, “What is your ‘why’?” and encouraged them to not just think about the professional why, but also the personal why. “What is your personal why?”

4. Patience And Giving

Judith McGee, a Raymond James branch manager in Portland, Ore., talked about bamboo farmers in China and compared what they did with an advisor developing staff. From the book Water the Bamboo, she learned that it takes farmers five years before a bamboo’s roots grow. Eventually, that results in gigantic growth in 60 days.

On top of having patience, McGee recommended developing a strong culture and connecting with the community. She strongly believes in the law of reciprocity. “We really need people that give back. Do something without the expectation of getting anything back. If you practice the law of reciprocity, you will get more back,” she said.

5. A Strong Focus

Mark Smith, a Raymond James branch manager in Greenwood Village, Colo., talked about the proper use of time management. He talked about how hard it was to hire the first person and encouraged many advisors to let go of some of what they are doing so they can start concentrating on getting out there and getting referrals. Advisors should look at the internal team as an investment, not an expense. One staff person for every quarter million of production was suggested as the right ratio to benchmark against.

Regarding the value proposition to offer clients, Smith said to control what you can and plan for what you cannot. We can’t control the economy, the stock market, inflation and interest rates, said Smith. We should humbly admit how hard it is to predict these things and help manage investor behavior.

“Talk about reducing taxes. That is one area we can add value. Things are changing. Make it a focus. Increasing taxes are now a real concern for the affluent investor. The party is over. Taxes are going up. Become as knowledgeable as you can,” recommended Smith.

He ended by saying, “Growing your practice is a numbers game. You must get in front of people.”

6. A Leapfrog Approach

Mal Makin, a Raymond James branch manager in Westerly, R.I., explained how he achieved his success. When he did not know anything, Makin remembered seeing Lou Holtz early on in his career. Holtz’s advice on the three keys to success was very simple:

1. Show up.

2. Show up on time.

3. Show up on time and be prepared.

Makin said we do not have to wait for breaks to be promoted. “If you are prepared, you can leap over everyone else and declare yourself to be at a different level. Imagine if you could be at a different place? What would that feel like?” asked Makin.

He gave success stories of how he got in front of a huge group of teachers, how he built a relationship with a large company’s head of HR and how he built strong relationships with the press.

The clients’ interests always come first, said Makin.

He ended noting the creed, “Try to be the person your dog thinks you are.”

7. Communicating Better

“Advice has been commoditized. Get away from commoditization,” said Don Connelly, president and CEO of Don Connelly & Associates LLC. Ask yourself, “If I wasn’t around tomorrow, would I be missed?” Be irreplaceable.

Connelly explained we can get a vendor anywhere. He used Starbucks to illustrate how customers go where they get the best experience. Google was another company that dared to be different.

“Ramp up your EQ [emotional intelligence]. This business is soft skills. Hard skills are how you do the job. Soft skills are who you are. If you are confident in your soft skills, it is a layup,” said Connelly.

He urged attendees to find the right combination of competence and likability. He added, “If you sell investments, sooner or later people are going to be mad at you. Likability is silly stuff, like smiling.”

One great recommendation was to ask what wealthy prospects like to do and say, “I’d love to do that with you.”

Also, when advisors know too much, it can be a curse, since their technical knowledge gets in the way of effectively communicating with others. “It is something that afflicts really smart people. You forget how smart you are,” said Connelly. “People don’t buy what they don’t understand. All they want is someone they can trust.”

“Over time, we have made this business very, very complicated. It is not logical, it is emotional. Tell stories. Never forget you are a techie talking to non-techies.”

8. A Solid Brand

Brandon Shea, managing director, DCIO national sales manager at RidgeWorth Investments, spoke about standing out from the crowd.

He liked the Disney explanation of a brand being a living entity, which is a product of a thousand small gestures.

Shea stated that a good brand has three benefits. It will attract people to you, create intense client loyalty and allow for a pricing premium.

Branding, which first came from labeling cattle, has three emotional responses. People can react positively, negatively or not at all. Shea said, “Your name also has that attachment to it. Ask your significant other to come up with three words to describe you. We all have a personal brand.”

This research will allow one to learn how one is perceived.

Shea gave Nike, Starbucks and the Ritz-Carlton as examples of great brands. He then said to use LinkedIn and your Web site to manage the first impression.

When it comes to a biography, he said to do the “three C’s test”: credentials, character and connection points. Credentials are table stakes to get in this business, said Shea. Your reputation says something about your character. Ask yourself, does it pass the “so what” test?

9. At The Center Of A Great Technology Strategy

Casey Patrick, a Raymond James branch manager in Atlanta, asked, “Why do we need technology?” He then answered, “We want to be in front of clients more.” To have an effective technology strategy, he recommends putting the CRM at the heart of the puzzle.

He showed that he goes beyond the usual use of CRM for just contact information, e-mail history, notes from reviews and social media links. He recommended entering anniversary dates, hobbies/interests, meeting preferences and more. CRM can also be the hub for financial information, accounts, holding data, portfolio models and tax details. Bank, CPA and attorney info should also be noted. Even link and track referrals.

10. Sharing What Works

Joel Adams, a Raymond James branch manager and EVP of Southside Bank, and Pat Varney, a financial advisor at Bank of Colorado, gave advice for attendees to better network with each other. The two of them (and one other advisor) talk monthly or quarterly, as well as when they are together for Raymond James meetings.

Patrick Varney said, “My benefits from the group were numerous. … They are still the ones I bounce ideas off of, as well as concerns.”

Adams said to start the conversation with another advisor this way: “I am working on this in my practice. How about you?” By exchanging experiences of what has worked and what has not, advisors can avoid a year and a half of trying to figure out things on their own.

He recommended attendees share business cards. “That is why we are here. It is all about collaboration. We can make each one of us better,” said Adams.

Mike Byrnes is a national speaker and owner of Byrnes Consulting LLC. His firm provides consulting services to help advisors become even more successful. Read more at ByrnesConsulting.com and follow @ByrnesConsultin.