Any advisor will tell you that the first few years in the business are the toughest. Intense pressure to accumulate assets, gain clients’ trust and familiarize yourself with all the products on the market can be stressful and overwhelming.
“Any new advisor needs to be prepared for a lot of hard work,” says Beverley Moir, senior wealth advisor with ScotiaMcLeod Inc. in Toronto, who has been working as an advisor for 18 years. “It’s not easy, so they have to be prepared for that.”
Hard work, however, can pay off down the road. In reflecting on their experiences getting started in the business, Moir and other successful advisors offer words of wisdom to the rookies.
> Narrow your focus
Find your niche within the industry sooner rather than later, suggests Moir. She waited a few years before settling on a specific target market — successful female business owners, executives and professionals. In retrospect, she regrets not having developed that specialization earlier on.
“I think I could have saved myself a lot of time and effort, and become known for my specialization much earlier in my career,” Moir says. “The sooner somebody develops that focus, I think, the better.”
Advisors who try to offer all services to all kinds of clients tend to have trouble getting traction in their careers, agrees Matt Wilhelm, an advisor with Sun Life Financial (Canada) Inc. in Kitchener, Ont.
“It’s really important to find your niche early, and find a niche that you’re good at, and that you enjoy,” says Wilhelm, who’s been an advisor with Waterloo, Ont.-based Sun Life for 20 years.
> Develop a brand
Once you’ve determined your area of focus, promote yourself as an authority in that area — especially online, advises Frank Wiginton, an independent financial planner based in Toronto.
“Most people, when they’re looking for a new advisor, or looking for information on something, they go to Google,” says Wiginton, who’s been in the industry for 13 years. “Make it where you can be found, and make it so that you are the authority on whatever you want to be the authority on.”
He suggests launching a blog and website focused on your area of expertise. Make sure your firm’s compliance department approves all of your promotional material, he adds.
> Manage your time
With plenty of demands on your time, it’s important to prioritize in the early years of your career. Your biggest priorities should be securing clients and nurturing those new relationships. So, if possible, you should hire an assistant to help you with everything else, Wiginton says.
“Hire an assistant almost right away, probably within the first six months, to take care of a lot of the paper work and inquiries and solicitations and to help you set up meetings and that sort of thing,” he says.
> Earn your credentials
It can be a challenge to prove yourself early in your career, but designations can help enhance your credibility. Successful advisors recommend building your knowledge through courses and designations at the beginning of your career, and making this a career-long habit.
“I think it’s very important as a new person to just keep building up their professional stature,” says Moir. “Any credentialing that you can do helps you grow as a professional.”
> Find a mentor
The guidance of an established advisor early in your career is invaluable, advisors say.
“Go out and find the veterans,” says Wiginton. He suggests taking a successful advisor out for dinner in exchange for their knowledge and insight. “Talk to them about what’s worked for them.”
This is the final article in a three-part series on rookie advisors.