Questions for those who work/worked at wire
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You always hear the stats that say that 80% to 90% of people entering the business at a wirehouse don’t make it five years. So the first question, do you think that is really accurate?
That leds into the next question. Lets say you have 100 newbies with no previous experience as a FA start at a wirehouse. How does the normal attrition happen? How many of those 100 will not pass the 7 or 66 and be gone 4 months into the job? How many will drop out at six months into production? How many at one year into production? How many of the original 100 will make it all the way through the training of two to three years, but then will have to drop out once the job becomes commission only? Thanks for any input.[quote=runner999]You always hear the stats that say that 80% to 90% of people entering the business at a wirehouse don’t make it five years. So the first question, do you think that is really accurate?
That leds into the next question. Lets say you have 100 newbies with no previous experience as a FA start at a wirehouse. How does the normal attrition happen? How many of those 100 will not pass the 7 or 66 and be gone 4 months into the job? I think 67% is still the passing rate for the 7. Most wirehouses have their pre-employment tests which help narrow out people who cannot pass the 7 even with 10 weeks of studying full-time. I'd guess about 10 drop out here. How many will drop out at six months into production? I'd say another 20 people here. This is where the reality of cold-calling and the hours are first really felt. How many at one year into production? Biggest chunk drop out here. I would guess at least 40. Hurdles ramp up significantly and this is where the mental toughness comes into play. How many of the original 100 will make it all the way through the training of two to three years, but then will have to drop out once the job becomes commission only? Your last 20 disappear along this path. They had enough to graduate or get them through, but not enough to put food on the table once the salary was turned off. Honestly, none of it matters as long as you are where you want to be on Year Five Plus One Day. Thanks for any input. [/quote]I’ve not been at a wire although a close friend of mine was (and his father still is) at MS. I know that the particular branch he is at hires about 5 trainees a year. Of all the people in the office, NONE started as a Morgan trainee, although my father’s friend began over 20 years ago as a DW rep and remained with Morgan afterward. They had one class a few years back in which every single person failed the 7 and was let go. In my friend’s class, five were hired, all passed the 7, and all were gone within 6-9 months. Of these individuals, they have all remained in the industry, three going to different banks, one become a sales assistant at another firm, and one going to an insurance based full service firm. Of the five individuals that got cut, two of them brought in NO accounts. Two brought in a couple from their natural market that amounted to nothing. My friend had the highest with just under 2MM, 500k of which came from additional funds deposited into an inherited account, so he couldn’t receive comp or credit for 2 years on that. In any case, anecdotal evidence at best. I used to see the resumes that came in at a firm that I worked for and can tell you that we got A TON of MS trainees that were just at the 6 month point who were already gone or in the process. The other wires tended to have several applicants coming our way as well. I’d say the 90% figure for any particular firm’s training program is accurate, if not a little understated, although one key point is that many of the people remain in the industry. If you flame out of a wire, at least you got paid to get licensed and have opportunities available to you that weren’t the case before. Probably better options to start though.
I am not in the business, but I am in sales and manage 7 outside sales reps. Extremely high turnover plagues all sales sectors, not just the financial sector, and is possibly the single greatest cause of lost revenue for many sales driven organizations. Common misconceptions among sales reps is the belief that sales is easy, and success will come to a rep if they just find the right company. I see reps hopping in many industries, looking for the ‘right’ company and/or product. There is no magic cure or quick fix…success in sales takes two main ingredients (being very basic here), and that is (a) time, and (b) hard work. Unfortuneatly, patience and a good work ethic are becoming increasingly scarce these days. Just my .02.