To be a financial advisor you must have clients. And to get clients you have to focus on prospecting.
“Rookies come into the business thinking they’re going to be advisors,” says Keir Clark, branch manager and senior investment advisor with ScotiaMcLeod Inc. in Fredericton. “But really early on, you don’t do much of that — because you don’t have anyone to advise.”
A major rookie blunder is failing to prospect for new clients. That’s partly because it’s easy to find something else to do instead. Here are four excuses new advisors use to avoid their prospecting duties:
1. Trying too many strategies
Rookie advisors often try to do too many marketing activities at once, says George Hartman, CEO of Market Logics Inc. in Toronto. As a result, they don’t excel in a particular area, or they don’t give an initiative a chance to succeed.
Focus on one or two marketing activities you enjoy and that suit your strengths, Hartman says, such as networking or cold calling. Make those initiatives the centre of your prospecting plan.
2. Focusing on investments — instead of clients
Believe it or not, concentrating too much on products and financial advice in the early going can hurt your business.
Sometimes rookie advisors, especially those involved in the investment side of the business, get caught up in investment management, Clark says. A rookie’s role, however, should focus primarily on asset gathering and establishing relationships with clients.
Focus on meeting prospects in your community at events or through cold calling. Get to know the clients you do have by meeting with them, or hosting client events.
3. Too much “research”
Staying informed doesn’t mean you should spend all day reading the newspapers and financial blogs.
There’s nothing wrong with devoting a part of each day to keeping abreast of financial and economic news. “You should have a really clear understanding of what’s going on in the world of finance,” Clark says.
However, that doesn’t mean reading news all day — at the expense of your prospecting activities or meeting with clients.
Instead, manage your time to make sure you stay informed on world financial events — but still have time to introduce yourself to prospects.
4. Too much homework
A designation can give your career a boost, but striving for a credential is no excuse for neglecting your rainmaking activities.
Sometimes rookies consider the hours they spend studying for an important exam as time spent on their businesses, Clark says.
Again, manage your schedule so you can get out and meet prospective clients — and still have time to work on your designation. Because what good is a designation without clients?
This is the second instalment in a two-part series on rookie mistakes.