don’t have enough time in the day to make the number I will discuss work anymore. Whether it be because you promised your spouse or yourself that you won’t work 80 hours a week all your life or because you have so many clients you can’t spend as much time proactively seeking new ones. Where my progression towards social media became relevant was in the search to answer these questions.
There are two reasons why this is being added to this book. First because I think that the adoption of these Social Tools has become so popular that any text talking about prospecting that doesn’t address them is outdated. There are certainly ways to use social media and social tools to enhance each of the steps below. Second, by properly understanding how these tools work, what they will do, and most importantly what they will not do, will better equip you to transition to them after you achieve the rapid success that will follow the steps in this book as you initially build your practice.
I have added a few tidbits through the existing text but I have also added a section at the end of selected chapters to talk about the implication of social media as it specifically relates to the respective concept.
About Me
It should be noted that I am not a writer. I haven’t written anything besides email, term papers, and the occasional thank you note (if my wife pushes me enough). I say this because what follows is my attempt to put my process, philosophy, ideas, and opinions into a format that can hopefully help others realize what I believe to be the best way to succeed at becoming a financial advisor in a short amount of time. Starting in the business at 22 years old, I was forced to cold call because of my lack of experience, knowledge, social network, and confidence. I often say that when I got into this business the only people I knew with money were my parents’ friends. Being fresh out of college, I found these people hard to approach about managing their life savings because I had either borrowed money from them, or slept on their couch. With no other option, I took to the phones. I did this for two reasons: rejection was easier to handle, and confidence was easier to find.
Additionally, I am not from a wealthy family. I don’t run around in affluent circles. I don’t have any formal education in financial planning. I don’t balance my own check book (see: Reasons I Got Married). I don’t find enjoyment in watching CNBC and hearing reporters talk about an eighth of a point move in XYZ’s share price on a Tuesday in June. I don’t have an MBA, and I can’t count, in 5 seconds, how many toothpicks spilled on the floor.
So now that you know what I am not and didn’t have – let’s talk about what I am and what I did have. When I started as an advisor trainee, I had two suits, three ties, and one pair of shoes. I had a 700 square foot apartment where I would drive my wife out on Sundays by cranking up the volume of football game after football game. I had a six week old pug puppy, $60,000 in student loan debt, and $10,000 that I owed Visa for the purchase of my wife’s wedding ring, (which she has since been nice enough to help me pay off). In addition to the above listed, I had ambition, excellent work ethic, drive, and a healthy sense of competition. This brings me very quickly to Step #1:
Step #1 – Taking Inventory of Yourself
Discover what you have and don’t have.
Understand your natural strengths and weaknesses.
After watching my dad wear a suit and tie every day for most of my life, I swore that I wouldn’t do that, so after high school, I went to an art school in Savannah, Georgia, to draw pictures and play soccer. I soon discovered that Savannah wasn’t for me, and after my freshman year, I headed to Austin, Texas. After a transitional semester at community college, I slipped into the University of Texas at Austin, where I finished my studies. With a only year of “drawing pictures” behind me, the only major that would allow me to graduate remotely on time was Advertising. My first semester was a definite eye opener that culminated in a letter from the dean informing me that I had one semester to get my Grade Point Average above 3.0, or I was out of there. They called it “scholastic probation.” Nice. Luckily, I met my wife, and we spent many of our early dates in the library, where I figured out how to study. I got my act together, and graduated with a 2.99 GPA. Not bad for a “C” student who was good at drawing pictures, but NASA wasn’t knocking on my door.
During my last two years in college, my buddy and I had a web design and marketing company. It had a decent level of success before the crash of the market in 1999 when everybody stopped spending money. I always say that the above sounds cooler than it actually was. It wasn’t like the two of us had a business plan. We were just trying to figure out how to make money without getting a job. We never made a sales call, but somehow it worked. I guess it was just “beginner’s luck.” Nevertheless, shortly after graduation, I got married. I felt it was necessary to get a “real job,” which I did – selling copiers. With all due respect to those who sell copiers for a living, it just wasn’t for me. I found myself hating my work for three main reasons: 1) I didn’t care about copiers, 2) I was micro-managed, and 3) being a copier salesman didn’t “sound cool.” Number three may not be a good reason, but I was 22. “Sounding cool” was important!
A typical day in the life of a copier salesman, at this particular company, started at 7 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. At 7 a.m., you were to be at the office to prepare your day. You were to pack up your stuff and head out by 8:30 a.m. I began by cold walking. I had a three zip code territory where I randomly dropped by businesses to inquire if they were satisfied with their current “document replication processes.” I would get in my car and drive to office complexes, strip malls, and one-off business locations. I would walk in the door in a full suit and casually try to build enough rapport with the receptionist to find out who the “copier decision maker” was. I would keenly notice if they had a dilapidated machine because that meant there was an opportunity. “Got ‘em!” If I was successful during the day, I would visit 20 businesses and have one conversation. I would stroll back into the office to log my process into the “funnel” to be reported to my manager. This repeated all five days of the week. On Friday, my numbers would sync into the system, and on Monday morning I would talk about my progress with my manager.
I soon realized that this approach was terribly inefficient. My thinking was that buying a copier was not a highly emotional decision, and if I could just spend my time finding people that had problems, I could avoid burning up all that gas and save some money. Not to mention that is was September in Texas, and temperatures routinely got in the 90’s. Yes, this company had a dress code requiring a suit to sell copiers. I asked my manager if I could stay in the office and call instead of walk. His response was to berate me about my level of commitment to the process, and the company. Didn’t I think that they did their research? Didn’t I think they knew the best way? I disagreed, so I improvised.
I continued to check in like a good employee in the morning, and then drove back to my apartment. I set up shop in my living room, petted my pug, made 200 calls, and asked a simple question: “Is your copier broken?” If it wasn’t, I would ask how long they had it and then hang up. If it was, I got the appointment. My meeting count was off the charts, and I was recognized in front of the other salesmen for my level of activity. I laughed, inwardly, at the irony.
After three months, a neighbor suggested that I think about becoming a financial advisor. He offered to arrange an interview. I told him about my first date with the woman who would later become my wife. It was Halloween and I was broke, but I wanted to purchase a pumpkin to carve. Remember, I went to art school, so I was great at coming up with creative date ideas! To fund this idea, I wrote a check for $1.50. The check bounced. Later that summer, I found out that I never paid the grocery store’s “bounced check fee,” and the issue had been turned over to the District Attorney’s office. I was to be charged with a misdemeanor for “fraudulent check writing.” Whoops! To avoid the charge, I had to take a correspondence course on how to balance my check book, which I did. Nonetheless,
