The traits that make you a success-namely commitment, knowledge, excitement, dependability and investment-are the same as those that help you negotiate your daily life. Tailor them to your business effectively and, chances are, you'll improve your sales. Here is a brief overview of them:.

COMMITMENT

Your commitment shows in many ways, including how you dress. Surprisingly, some advisors refuse to wear a suit to work. As an advisor to rich people, it's in your interest to dress well because your look will encourage, or discourages, sales. Consider this point. The average production is significantly higher in offices where the dress code is formal than in those where it's casual. Do you want to make money or wear jeans?

KNOWLEDGE

Insight and wisdom come through education and other efforts at self-improvement. Take Stan, for instance. He's been in the business for more than 15 years with a trailing 12-month production of about $1 million. When he decided to improve his business, he took such steps such as attending sales seminars, using his lunch hours to learn about new products and devoting an hour each day to books that helped him develop as a professional and as an individual. As a result, last year Stan realized a 20% uptick in his bottom line, along with greater client and employee satisfaction.

INVESTMENT

How much money do you spend on your car each year? Experts say that you should be dedicating at least that amount, excluding the company expense account, to investing in your business. Earmarking money for your career can be a tall order if you have children to educate, weddings to pay for and other big-ticket items coming up. However, investing in you pays off. In Stan's case, he has used a career coach for three years and also invests heavily in client-appreciation events and gifts that keep him in front of his best clients.

Another way to invest is to attend a recruiting session. Understanding the competition is essential for you to sell against the other firms and retain your own clients. For instance, do you know the elevator speech given to clients at the rival firm down the street? If not, find out what they're saying and if the message is better than yours, improve your own. Who knows? Maybe what your adversary offers is better than your own platform. In that case, do right by your clientele and think about moving over to the winning team.

EXCITEMENT

My recruiters often hear an initial objection from advisors saying they are happy where they are. That's good, because a positive attitude and enthusiasm about your firm and the financial products lead to increased sales.

But, admit it, it's not always that easy to feel excited about your work, especially when the market is dodgy and the weather dreary. To counteract such periods in my own business, I listen to upbeat books on tape, such as Earl Nightingale's Lead the Field and Brian Tracy's The New Psychology of Achievement and recommend that my staff do so as well.

I suggest you do the same. Sharing such information with your team and assistants is a must, as it shows that you take an interest in their success, both personally and professionally. Each time I listen to these books, I take away something different that helps my business grow. Other books, recommended by senior management at various firms, are those by Malcolm Gladwell, Steven D. Levitt and Daniel Goleman.

DEPENDABILITY

Dependability is another characteristic of a great advisor. I found my own advisor to be unreliable because he didn't get back to me in a timely fashion. Worse yet, his company had a firewall set up that blocked my emails and website. So I transferred my business to a guy who demonstrated all five of these attributes I'm writing about: commitment, knowledge, enthusiasm, dependability and investment in his business. And I'm happy I did.

Carri DegEnhardt-Burke runs Degenhardt Consulting in Jersey City, N.J. For more information, call 201-395-0222 or visit www.degenhardtconsulting.com.