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Journey to T12= $1,000,000

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Sep 20, 2011 5:28 pm

Great stuff LS! 

I'm with one of the wirehouses and start production on 11/1.  I'm planning on cold-calling to be a big part of my prospecting too.  I'm also partnering with a senior guy here on some seminars that will hopefully translate into a few higher-end leads (given my partner's target market).

 Keep up the hard work and posting about it.  I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that it's encouraging to all of us newbs.

Sep 20, 2011 11:18 pm

Ok..so i am giving myself a pat on the back today..we had our weekly meeting at 4:15 and I was able to focus and get my calls in...thought I had an account! Grr..guy was thinking on 75k and asked at what amount I can reduce the price and I told hime 100k..he said he just needs to look at it a little longer and then will call me back..took my info but did not get back in touch..he will be my first follow up call tomm...For my own moral I want just one new account to get on the board.  Outside of that a successful day...continuing to find some good prospects and plenty that can be thrown back into the rotation and hopefully become prospects...Tomm at some point I need to time block an hour or so to go through all the prospects I have gathered and organize a follow up campaign...I do not want them to get lost or go cold...In response to the door knocking question...ugh....I have alot of respect for people who are able to do that and get business from it...my only problem with doing it for "ME" is that I will not be consistent and I am very weak at it...I just cant stand it...If I had to dk to be succesfull in this business I do not think I would do it..Sounds like a loser mentality but its true..I am not that charming and have never had much luck with it.  I know many who have essentially built their biz from it but not this guy...I do work off of a call list of business owners in my area...Dk may speed up the process but I will take the hours on the phone dialing as a trade off to knocking on doors..to each his own though..

Dials:490

Contacts:64

Prospects:6

Functioning brain cells left: 5(dont have many to start with but I am fried today)

Sep 21, 2011 2:47 am

Super well done....great start to your week....keep it coming.

Sep 21, 2011 10:46 pm

I want to try and ratchet up my dials and contacts here but I simply just get too tired...so I will probably need to stay around this level until i get more "in shape".  I have read posts by bond guy talking about working from 7:30-9:00..I just dont have that in me right now but wish I did...Any how..ok day today..few more good prospects...they are really starting to pile up..I can only hope I can start closing some at a good rate starting over the next few months.

Dials:493

Contacts:67

Prospects:6

New account new account come out come out wherever you are....I will find you..

Sep 22, 2011 2:16 am

hey, well done> i enjoy reading your daily activity reports. Keep on the phone and stay healthy....it's a marathon....the accounts are already there...just keep talking to the new prospects in the pipeline.....and give them what they are looking for.

Sep 22, 2011 11:13 pm

Well another day in the books..lot of ups and downs today...had a few people chew me out and did not get too many good contacts in during the morning...really just wanted to go home and curl up on my bed...but since that was not an option decided to just keep dialing..made some follow up calls which made for some good movement..have another potential account in the mix and one more long term...they say the good ones take a little longer so all fine by me...since I refuse to leave before my brance manager I had no choice but to keep making calls late so I did...and bam bam bam...three good prospects in an hour block....one has 140k ready to go and is in the process of selling a few rental properties and is looking for stock and bond ideas...the other two are thinking on a bond purchase and want a call back on monday after they get the info...so maybe nothing develops maybe something does..who knows...but the opportunities are popping up..

Dials:456

Contacts:61

Prospects:4

Sep 23, 2011 1:17 pm

Keep going LS!  Have you started following up with any of your prospects from last week?

I know one effective strategy used by a guy in my firm has been to cold call on munis just to get the conversation started.  Once he finds out what they're really interested in, he thanks them for their time and asks if he can follow up should he come across any of what they're interested in.  He then wastes no time finding exactly what they want and follows up within a week.  He's been in production for maybe 15 months and has $46mm AUM now...I'd say he's doing alright.

Rock on....

Sep 23, 2011 10:44 pm

friday friday friday!! not the strongest of calling days in terms of contact ratios but some is better then none..wasted most of the morning on a conference call with the manager from blackrock talking about the economy and their thoughts..I try to listen just so I do not get too out of touch with what is going on in the world but since I do not have any clients or call on the fund it was probably not the best use of time...but insightful none the less..had someone call back in response to a message i left which led to a long conversation and a meeting in the future...good prospect...solid 6 fig account and lots of moving parts...exactly what I am looking for as a result to calling on munis with a rate..she had a cd mature that is earmarked for college and the rate i was offering was quite a bit higher then what the bank has..very unlikely she will be buying tax free bonds but i get the chance to go after the whole pie..amazing how a bond call can lead to an in depth conversation about what is really important to them...also had a follow up call with the president of an energy company in the are who said flat out he doesnt want munis but appreciated my persistance..he is looking to make "substantial" purchases in a couple individual stocks and is going to get in touch with me when he is ready to pull the trigger...an in on a good prospect...these are what I am looking for!!!so today I get to walk away a little closer then I was the day before..In win in my book..

Dials:431

Contacts:44

Prospects:5 (for full disclosure I may be doing a crummy job counting these all a tally on this forum..If I counted someone as a prospect from an earlier day and the conversation continued and advanced I check prospect again on my sheet..So if it looks like I have an obscene amount after some time that is the reason...I will try to seperate them and give a monthly summary of my efforts and results..this should be more accurate.)

45mill in 15 months...thats a monster number...biggest I have ever come accross..I refuse to discredit any claims though since if you are really pounding out the calls and getting good accounts whose to say a 20mil or few 5 mills done pop up...I have no allusions of that happening for me but I guess anything is possible...45mil was more my year three goal..kudos to your guy...

off to the gym..gotta crank out some weights to keep the muscles from going into complete atrophy...believe it or not sitting in a chair pounding the phone all day does not lead to six pack abs and a solid chest...more likely bi%$ T%$s and diabetes in my case...enjoy your weekends all...going in tomm and going to try some residential calls and see if I have any luck!

Cheers

Sep 25, 2011 8:52 pm

Hey Long Shot,

Mind if I ride shotgun. Got myself into a bit of a bind and got to bring in 6M by Christmas or else......

I used to dial 400 a day when I was a broker in England but kind of fell out of the routine now that I'm back on this side of the pond. I ache to make it in this business second time around....anyways......been booking about 1-2 meetings a week sso far from cold calling but it's not going to be enough to make the cut.....been reading your posts and brings me back to where I was in 2002.......now...older and with wife and kids.....just need a bit of a buddy system to get to 5-6 meetings booked a week.........what a ride!!!!!!

Sep 26, 2011 10:27 pm

All the Way, hop on board.  Plenty of room for folks trying to make it...Today was a decent day..I got an appointment set for saturday and found a 401k rollover..best part of the rollover is he currently has his money with my old firm and is quite disgruntled....ya that one will feel good....Switched it up a little today..My bond inventory would not load so I started calling on a high yield muni fund..actually got a few indications of interest..more important to that it gave me practice on calling with something other then a bond..this is good because when inventory is low or no good I wont just twiddle my thumbs..moral victory..snuck out a little early since I am a bit of chump and I stayed up too late watching football...

Dials:481

Contacts:43

Prospects:5

Sep 27, 2011 11:18 pm

Thanks Long Shot.......really appreciate it.

Been doing well on the calls and had a prospect come in this morning from a cold call done 3 weeks ago. Went very well, brought in his statements and I are-booked to  see him again next week with a proposal. There's over 500K to work with and it should go well. I got a clear day tomorrow and will be calling to book meetings..pretty much all day and part of the evening as yesterday evening was a school  meeting and today had 2  appointments.

Got to say...that not only are your dials impressive, but more so you're attitude. still haven't come across any moaning or groaning about how hard it is, or the weather, or tummy problems or whatever.......I got a feeling that this thread or yours will be the longest  thread, culminating in you getting to your T-12 celebration. Keep doing what you are doing and have a great evening...catch you again  in 24 hrs.

Sep 28, 2011 12:20 am

Not my strongest day today but still moved a bit closer to my goal..We had out tuesday meeting which basically chews up most of my afternoon.  Again I was teased with a new acount today..had a conversation with a doctor who said he would be interested in my bond but was seeing patients so could not talk..he took down my number and said he would call back within the hour...hour came and went...then ring ring...he actually called back to discuss the bond..went through all the details with the bond but last questions he asked was if it was insured..I said no..he said hes not interested in it then because he only buys insured munis from my state...I am taking it as a winning dissapointment...he did not buy the bond but he is more then qualified and next time I find one that fits his criteria I am going to blow up the office phone and see if he cant buy a big chunk..got another prospect who has "significant funds" coming in 30 days and wants to get together and talk..he said he wants to work with me..so we will see..One area I desperately need to improve on is qualifying...A good friend of mine in the biz constantly breaks my balls when I tell him I found a prospect then asks how much does he have...my response is usually I dont know..I get so happy that someone agrees to talk to me and is willing to hear new ideas and talk in the future that I devalue my time by not finding out if it is good business..one thing at a time though...lesson learned today is that I need to get in earlier and start calling businesses at 8..i wasnt on the phone until 9 today and did not get my 200 in by noon...this hurts my long term plans..I did  not have any apts before my meeting so was able to get a minimum number in but slowly accepting lower numbers and rationalizing them is a quick path to no phone calls and destroying my long term goals...so tommarrow is a fresh day and will keep working on improving rather then accepting...had an interesting meeting today about the posibilites this business can offer...our firms top producer is doing a little over 12 mil in production..we took his pay and compared it to the ceo's of companies in our area...needless to say our boy is doing quite well..the difference between those at the top of the top and the rest seems to be that they never stopped prospecting and building...I have no allusions that I can get to 12mil but one or two would make for quite a nice life...well from a pay side at least...the rest is still a crap shoot..also interesting figure was those that graduate the training program in the bottom 10% of the first quartile have an average take home pay of about 560k after ten years...gigidigigidi goo...what i take from this is do not wait until tomm to try and be at the top or improve things..start today and do not stop...so with that..tomm is a new day..for now its tv time and hanging out with my four legged friend..

Dials:227

Contacts:28

Prospects:3

Sep 28, 2011 2:25 am

Long - big lesson here: always find out how much money. Maybe “significant” to them in $10k. Don’t EVER be afraid to ask.
Also with the Dr you should have said “if I find an insured bond for our state at an attractive rate, how much are you looking to invest?”. If it’s a decent amount, then you call your bond desk to find exactly what he wants. If not, then ask him when he would expect to have $___ to invest. Call him back then with a bond that meets his parameters This then becomes a bond client and you keep updated with money he has available and issues that come out.

Sep 28, 2011 10:35 pm

Did not hit my dial and contact goal today due to a welcome distraction..whats that you ask? new account!! finally got one on the books...very frustrating process...It is beyond me how difficult it is to open an account at my firm.  The information on the new account form is way more invovled then necessary to determine if an investment is sutiable..very aggrivating..in addition I learned that I need to open the act myself..I gave the form to my assistant and 20 mins later it was sitting exactly where I left it..soo lesson learned...spent more time figuring out how to actually buy something then I cared to....my old firm the new account and purchase could be done in less then a few minutes....here not so much...

Dials:324

Contacts:40

Prospects: 1 (became customer by end of the day so technically 0 I guess..?)

Sep 29, 2011 1:53 am

I don't know about the rest of you....but this guy...Long Shot....well....he's the real thing. Kids out there day in and day out for the last couple of weeks, new firm, hitting 400+ dials, going through the motions and putting in the E-F-F-O-R-T.

I think I can safely speak on behalf of many who have built -or are re-building books of business.............. what you have accomplished in the last few weeks....is inspiring.

Tommorow is Thursday.....brand new day to chip away at T-12.....relax...enjoy your 4 legged friend...and we'll catch up with you in 24 hrs.......well done .......

Sep 29, 2011 12:53 pm

Congrats, long shot.  You're a machine.

Sep 29, 2011 1:24 pm

Nice LS, the first of many.  Keep it up.  This thread is pure inspiration for the rest of us starting out.

Sep 29, 2011 3:12 pm

I won't belabor the point, but if you don't doorknock, I don't think it'll work unless you doorknock. It's a tried and true Jones formula, because your business at Jones is hyperlocal.

Sep 29, 2011 6:37 pm

American Flag,

Am I missing something?  I don't think LS ever said he was at Jones.

Sep 29, 2011 7:34 pm

Golfer, you're right... sorry.