Choosing an EJ location
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[quote=DCnew]Potential,
The surveys would be fine for the interview, but I HIGHLY recommend you go back out in a higher end neighborhood, preferably comparable to the potential office location and door knock for YOUR sake, and make sure your willing to do this long term. Just a little advice Oh, and 3-7 are usually prime hours. [/quote] I know this wasn't directed at me, but I might have to take this advice anyway!As I understood the EDJ website and pdf file - they (the marketing dept) have already pre-selected several locations for new FA’s. Which would be fine for me, because I’ve been to several provinces in Canada and I haven’t really decided where I want to retire to…I digress, does EDJ pick or advise new FA wrt locations?
They ask you where you would like to establish yourself and the market analysis department checks if there is room there for you. I have been told I can pick whatever area I wish and an alternative one if the primary is not available. However, everyone I have talked to at EJ has been trying to persuade me to set up shop where I live. I dunno. If I had to say which would be more predictive of a lucrative career with EJ, I'd have to say that working a territory with twice the median household income of my neighborhood far outweighs any benefit of "running into potential clients at the supermarket and little league field." I'm happy to play Mr. Main Street financial advisor and knock on doors if they like. But asking me to ignore basic math and common sense is a bit much. Where are you more likely to find people with money to invest? A neighborhood with a median household income of $87,000 a year or one with $42,000?does EDJ pick or advise new FA wrt locations?
I am wrapping up SFS with EDJ and just received a wire from Market Analyis. They are giving me a choice of two intersections (2 mile radius) to choose from. One of the intersections is downtown, and in close proximity to the banks. The other intersection is centered closer to the regional hospital, and also has some retirement communities (snowbird parks-no solicitation signs abound). Both intersections have some overlap with each other (2 mile radius). The total community is +/- 50K. Knowing what you guys know now, which one would you choose and why?
Hank, I’m in the same boat as you and just picked my location a few days ago.
I can't tell you which one to pick, that's up to you I can tell you how I made my decision. After reading these forums and talking to Vets their best advice was go for an established area with a good mix and density of bus. and res. One side of my city (suburb of a big city) is overloaded with new (less than 3 year old) homes and new retail. Some are really nice others are entry level. I did my preemployment doorknocking exercise here and about 75% have moved there in the last two years (before the housing bubble burst). So they're really feeling the mental pinch. On the other hand, and the hand I went with, is the more diverse side of town. Less retail but more prof. small bus. and alot of older established neighborhoods. It's not the current hot spot but the people here are the ones with the lake houses and are on the old golf course. Also, there are newer developments that have sprung up over the last ten years to fill the gaps. I felt it was more stable, offered a better diversity of res and small bus. Plus, the intersection just happened to be right outside my subdivision (one of the new ones). That means I can be door knocking (oh, i mean making face-to-face contacts ) and then be home in a couple minutes!Believe it or not, what you read is true. Making F2F contacts in an area where you live, possibly go to church, kids go to school, etc. is a HUGE advantage. The higher income areas also have increased competition. This is a forum, so I am just sharing my own personal experience with you. The rate of success is about 15%. There is about a 10% loss of FAs that don't pass the Series 7. Some KYC classes lose 50% of those during Field Foundations as you make F2F contacts. Between Eval/Grad and PDP, there is about another 50% loss.
This is also an industry where people are looking for any reason to sue you. You have to disclose everything, everything. A small mistake can kill you (or really hurt) even if it is made by your BOA.
It's been said here already, it's really difficult and no matter how much you read, you won't fully understand until you are in the middle of it.
Think of the beach at Normandy....