We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lyndah Tello a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lyndah, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In the late 1990’s I was living in NYC, single mom with three kids on a school teacher’s salary. We took a summer vacation, a low budget camping trip. Where ever we are in the world we went to church, and so that summer we ended up in a little church in Rocky Mount, NC. The women in front of us turned around to shake my hand and saw our casual attire, I explained I was a teacher on summer break and camping nearby. She handed me her business card Director of HR for Nash Rocky Mount Schools and said “I can’t believe you are camping alone with these kids, we need strong Christian women like you in our classrooms!” I took her card and when I got back home decided to send her my resume. A few weeks later there was a message on my answering machine asking for an interview. I flew down for the interview and they hired me on the spot! I got home and realized I was going to leave everything I had ever known, friends, family, church, culture and be alone with 3 kids in this new place…. I felt completely overwhelmed! I prayed and I heard in my head “Where can you go, that I am not?” That gave me the courage to take this great risk. This relocation changed my life! Inside of 12 months I bought my first house! I felt way better about my oldest child driving in Rocky Mount versus New York City! My middle daughter was able to take horseback riding lessons every week here – something out of our reach in NYC financially. My baby boy flourished here in the calmer culture, he was so introverted in NYC. This was a great risk, and felt so scary at the time, but my financial skillset and ability to embrace change served me well. I can now say it was the best move for me and my family.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I grew up in New York City and worked on Wall Street which felt like the center of the fast paced culture that is iconic to that city. I did not feel overwhelmed, in fact the pace excited me and I loved the challenge it presented. When I got pregnant with my first baby I realized that I would miss so many important moments working those long hours, so I resigned. I went back to college and got my teaching degree because I wanted a job that would give me more time with my child. For years I told the children, you will meet many people who trade time for money, because that is the norm. I traded money for time. I chose this job because I thought time with you is more valuable than the big salary I could be making elsewhere. When my last child was in high school and I was not needed at home like when they were younger, I went back to my first career – Finance. I found someone to sponsor me for my licenses and used them to work at banks as a licensed banker, and now work on my own. I love that I can use my life experience to help people turn there financial lives around.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

When you are self employed you quickly learn that going out into the world to find your customers can become a full time job, such that you have little time left over to do whatever it is you are trying to promote! I saw the value of networking and building referral partner relationships where leads are passed back and forth between professionals. I tried to join many networking groups in my area but they were either my seat – Financial Advisor was taken or when open they chose someone else. I thought “what am I going to do? how can I grow my business if no one will let me join?” I decided that I was probably not alone in this situation and that I should build my own networking group – with different rules! I literally wrote down everything I didn’t like about the other groups and did the opposite. I formed a non-profit called 1099 Ladies No Cost Networking, Inc. No fees or dues, not seat specific, no mandatory attendance and many people told me that I would fail! Those rules for the other groups were tested and proven to be successful. Well my organization went from 1 chapter and 15-20 women meeting twice a month to 6 chapters and over 800 members. This organization has built my reputation as the girl to know. Part of my elevator speech says, I have met a great many women building this network, I am sure I know someone you need to know, let’s talk!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I use an APP called SendOut Cards to keep in touch with my clients and prospects. I have a calendar to keep track of who I have sent a card to so that at least once a quarter they get a card from me. When something significant is posted on social media by my client or prospect, I grab that picture and put it on the front of a card. I know they like the picture or they would not have posted it. It also communicates that I am paying attention to their lives and celebrating their wins with them. I love this APP because it makes keeping in touch so easy and I have gotten such great feedback. I see my cards on people’s desk, framed and on the wall or on their refrigerator with a magnet holding it there. I think it helps me stay front of mind and contributes to my warm referrals from my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.primerica.com/lyndahtello
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LyndahTello
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndah-tello/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKQq7TifvSw2Gsql8NJcyA
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehackswithlyndah