MGolds Cold Calling Journal

Unfortunately I have to leave the office early today...its my last semester of grad schoool and I have class tonight.  I was able to get most of my calls completed tho.

Calls: 388

Contacts: 46

Prospects: 4

I am calling residences w a muni bond.  Tomorrow I am going to try calling a business direrctory...it will be first time.  Ususally I just call residences but after reading some of the posts here it seemsthat calling businesses is more effective.  

Day 3

Calls: 493

Contacts: 54

Prospects: 5

I was still calling residential today.  I want to call businesses but I feel uncomfortable doing it.  Not really sure why.  I know i have to just pick up the phone and do it.  I am located in an area with lots of retired, wealthy people so  Its easy to find prospects home during the day.  

I asked for a few appointments today and was shot down but hopefully down the line....

Ran out of time to post the rest of last weeks results.  Here they are now:

Last Thursday: 

Calls: 93

Contacts: 10

Follow Ups with previous prospects:  Attempted 12, reached 4

Thursdays are hard for me to make calls because I have a meeting every Thursday morning and then in the afternoons I attend Rotary.  These have both been beneficial for my business but they take up calling time.

Last Friday:

Calls: 335

Contacts: 47

Appointments: 1.

Lsat lady I dialed said she was interested in the bond rate I was calling with.  We scheduled an appt for Monday morning.

Unfortunately on Sunday she called and left a message saying she has no funds right now.  I called her back Monday morning wondering if she had anything coming due in the future and she said no...said she is looking for a job.  Its my fault for not qualifiying her properly but I was so exctied when she said she wanted to meet me.  

Today:

Calls: 200

Contacts: 34

Appointments: 0

I had two appointments today.  One became a client.  Bought a small annuity 15K but has large account elsewhere that I believe I can get in time.

Second appt has old 401Ks everywhere.  Explained benefits of rolling over...meeting later in the week to gte that moving.

Also sold a 500k life insurance policy to a new client.  So I had some activity today but nothing from my cold calls yet.

"said she is looking for a job"
Dude 401k roll-over. Make lemons out of lemonade.
With enough time you will be quick on your toes to spot opportunities.
Keep plugging away. The hardest part is once you fall off the wagon to get back on.

Tuesday's Results

Calls: 200

Conatacts: 35

Prospects: 2

Nothing too exciting.

Wednesday's Results

Calls: 311

Contacts: 49

Prospects:3

I know I need to just keep calling and things will happen....gets kinda boring day after day.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring some exctment.

Fell off the wagon a bit last week....didn't make any calls on Thursday or Friday.  Thursday I was out of the office for meetings most of the day.  

Anyway, I got back at it yesterday.

Monday:

Calls: 310

Contacts: 44

Prospects: 3

Wish me better luck today....really hoping for an appointment.

Yesterdays results

Calls: 407

Contacts: 52

Prospects: 4

So far I have made 3109 calls, spoke with 414 people, 25 qualified prospects and 0 sales.

I know I just have to stick with it.  Had a major surgery a few months back and the medical bills are rolling in so a few clients would help. 

I've been out of town for a wedding the last couple of days.  Last Wednesday was the last time I made calls.

Calls: 184

Contacts: 30

Prospects: 5

Appointments: 1!!!

Had the appointment yesterday.  Widowed man.  Portfolio of about 500K that he doesn't plan to touch...just pass on to family when he passes away.  Showed me statements.  Said it takes him a long time to get comfortable with people.  Have second appt scheduled.  Hopefully can move some money then.  

Keep going man, I am going to start in a few months and this is very inspirational. If you're still at it two months from now lets get a competition going. We can each post how many calls we made and I'll follow the format you have for reporting and this way we can inspire each other.

Keep going!

I am ready to get back on the phones!!  Last week wasn't my best calling week.  I was out on Monday because I was returning from an out of town wedding...Then Tuesday I had to rush a family member to the hospital.  It was a little hectic.  For the whole week I only made 332 new calls, 57 contacts, and 3 prospects.  I am ready to go this week.  NO more distractions!!  Wish me luck.

What are the rules about calling on Veterans Day?  Its this Friday and I'm not sure if its okay.  Most of the people are older, retired so a lot are veterans.  Do you think it would piss them off to be called on this day?

Today was a great day.  I was able to ignore all the distractions and get my calls made.

Calls: 409

Contacts: 73

Prospects: 4 (not many for this many calls but...)

Appointment: 1 Widowed lady that is interested in munis.  Meeting with her on Wed morning.  Keeping my fingers crossed.   Might have another appt on Thursday...man told me he had CDs that matured on the 1st.  Hasnt done anything with the money  yet.  told me to call him again on THursday morning.

Just got back from a networking breakfast...Met an older man there that asked me a question that I had a hard time answering.  He asked what I did and I told him that I was a financial advisor.  He said no offense but how can you plan anything when you are so young??  I was caught off guard and not really sure how to answer.  What should I have said?

There's probably alot of clever things you could thing of to say. But if someone feels that way there's probably very little chance you'll change their mind. If you think they're testing you, that's another story.

It's probably why networking breakfasts are likely a huge waste of time for a new Advisor.

Also, in general, the more you can direct attention to a product, the less direction/questions/apprehension will be placed on you/experience/age etc.. Especially true if it's a product that can't be screwed up by an Advisor.. so stock picking and asset allocation of a rollover is low on the list.

In that situation you could probably say something simple like 'I find the best bonds (or yields) for people based on their risk and time horizon..usually tax free... '

Thanks for the suggestions Bobby...thinking I should have told him to f*** off. 

Yesterdays numbers:

Calls: 200

Contacts: 34

Prospects: 2

Appointments: 1!! Woman said she had a 401K form an old job and doesn't know what to do with it.  Set up appt for next week.  Widowed muni buyer didn't show up this morning...I called her and she said she thought our appt was for 4 this afternoon...so Im keeping my fingers crossed she shows up then.  Gonna make more calls in the meantime.

Awesome job sticking with it. With over 4,000 dials so far, where are you getting your leads from? If it's a lead list service, that will get really pricey.

MGold,

Yeah, great job and also fun to read you're posts...keep going.....

All The Way

Muni buyer showed up this afternoon.  Sold her some bonds...I made a big mistake when we were talking on the phone...she asked me the minimum and I was scared if I said 100K I would scare her away so I said 10K.  Unfortunately she only opened the account for 10K. I know this is completely my fault...Just being as poor as I am right now 10K sounds like a lot.  She did tell me that she isn't happy with the person that is currently handling her stock portfolio...said she wants to get to know me better and we can go from there...she said to call her with muni rates often and if she has the cash she'll buy.  

Todays calls:

Calls: 200

Contacts: 33

Prospects: 6...Lots of people were asking for info...we'll see what happens.  

Thanks for the encouragement All the and Inland!

MGold,

You're a real sport for posting that.......the 10K minimum and all. It is worth a laugh.....funny how people navigate to the minimums.....anyways.....1) you may think you are poor at this moment, but keep firing out the work and you WON'T be lacking in no time and 2) Raise your minimum mate...stick to the 100K.....

This post of yours captures the essence of having minimums and qualifying...like that guy with the Size'em.

Thank you for the post...it is worth it's weight in MGold, and keep posting, because you are really doing the grunt work and I look forward to reading about your successes.

All The Way.

Embarassed to admit that i haven't made any new prospecting calls in about 2 weeks.  I've been making some follow up calls only.  Last week I had two meetings that resulted from cold calling.  One of the meeting resulted in transferring in $600K in a managed acct!!  This is my largest acct yet!!  

The second appt was for a $40K annuity.  

These results proved to me that cold calling does work.  You just have to actually do it.  Back to the phones today.

Mondays Calls: 260

Contacts: 44

Prospect: 1

Tuesdays Calls: 172

Contacts: 38

Prospects: 3

Didn't make any calls today.  Had a few client meetings.  Better luck tomorrow.

Had BNI this morning and Rotary this afternoon.  Had a client meeting too.  Was hoping for more time to call but I did manage to set one appt for next week. Tomorrow will be better. I have nothing scheduled besides cold calls.

Todays numbers"

Calls: 80

Contacts: 17

1 set appointment for next Monday!!

Calls: 318

Contacts: 57

Prospects: 0

Its amazing that I dialed the phone 318 times today and I didn't find one interested person...better luck tomorrow.  Planning on coming in tomorrow for a few hours in the morning to make calls.

This was my first Saturday making calls...I always thought people would yell at me for calling on a Saturday but no one said anything!  And I got a lot more people to answer than usual.  23%

Calls: 200

Contacts: 46

Prospects: 4

Appts: 0

I tallied up my numbers for October and Novemeber.

In Oct I made 3944 calls, spoke with 532, and only had one appt and brought in 0 assets.

In Nov I made 1664 calls, spoke with 292 peeps, had 3 appts and converted all to clients.  Brought in $265K with a bit more still in transfer.  I would like to beat this in Dec!!  Wish me luck.

I have lots of email addresses in my database.  Some are given to me when I cold call people, some are from people I meet at networking events and some are from corporate directories.  I would like to send out some type of email once a month or once every 6 weeks to these people.  But I don't know what to send.  I get several long boring newsletters...this isn't what I want to send.  What I am looking for is something that is only one page that is interesting.  Any ideas?  Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  

I'll be back on Monday.

Organize! 

You and LS are in the same spot.

Maintain control over your prospects.

You read about the markets all the time, right? So - 500 day war says to batch the materials to read on the weekend. Do that.  If something sparks you as good to send - send it first thing Monday morning.  You can EVEN be really smart and say "Hi there, I read this article over the weekend and it made me think of you".  You can even have it send out at 4:45 AM and they will think you were up early in the morning thinkging about them.

Be sure to send the email blind CC.  People LOVE being thought of, reminded of, etc. and hate a "Hey there" email that goes to 23 other prospects.  In fact, that would be a really good way to lose 23 prospects - so be careful.

Break down your list of contacts to email by type.

You can do this easily with most contact system by adding them to a category - for instance, in outlook.

Create categories like:

Annuity

Bond

IRA/401k rollover - whether they be equity, blend, cons, mod, etc.

Fin Plan

529

Life Ins,

Etc.

Then, create distribution lists of people by type. Name them by type and number.

Annuity1 then add 24 names,

Annuity 2 and add 24names, etc.

Then - when you have a product call to make - run off a list by category - you have a great bond you can pull up a list of ALL the bond prospects to call.  Then print a list of all the bond prospects and call them  all day. 

Got a great Annuity piece because a wholesaler sent you something or your research team wrote a great piece? Then send it to each Annuity distribution list (one list a day to not break the 25 person barrier most firms have) and send it until you have gone through that distribution.

You know, if this were rocket science; we'd be launching rockets.....

What's your closing question and how many times were you able to get to your closing question out of those 800 plus contacts?

Thanks Taking for the feedback.  If I find a good article should I just scan it and attach it?  Will people open it?

King--When I call someone I say Hi this is MGold calling from XYZ firm here in town.  I am calling today because we currently have tax free bonds that are paying %.  Is that something you might be interested in?

If they say yes I try to set an appt.  If they won't set an appt then I say I will send them some info on the bond and tell them that I will follow up in a few days after they have had a chance to review the information.  On the call back I say Hi Mr. Smith This is MGold calling back from XYZ firm.  We had spoke a week ago, and I mailed you some brief information regarding tax free bonds. I wanted to get back in touch to see if there might be a time at your convenience that we could sit down and see if perhaps this investment would have a place in your portfolio.  If on the original call they aren't interested I move on.  

So I don't have an exact closing question.  Any suggestions?

Sounds really good. I know alot of people don't like the "Is that something you might be interested in?" because it's easy to say no, but I like it. Anybody that expresses interest after that question and you have a very legit chance if qualified.

With your process I'm sure you have alot of good prospects to work with, is this right? It sounds like having a stronger close would definitely convert these interested prospects.

Something like "we have X amount of these bonds left (or in inventory), would you like them all?"

 Or, "they sell in increments of X, would you like X today?"

Or, "what do you think so far about the yield of X tax free? Great, do you want to get started at the minimum for now?"

Or simply state the process is actually very simple to get started (if you're closing product), if you have about 10 mins would you like to get started? (works really good when said in a very laid back fashion, but it has to fit your personality)

When selling the appt (I don't really do much of), be sure to emphasize a quick meeting to go highlight a few things.. Or I'll drop off the info you're interested in and highlight a few points when I'm in the area tomorrow at 3 etc. They will likely refuse a long/confusing/pressured meeting. (of course ha)

Another way is explain the application process and give two options and let them pick. "Which way works better for you?"

Same thing when talking about funds, if they ask about fees, explain share classes and let them decide, and proceed with the application. (assumption close, not my fav but works) -- or with div. reinvestment or take the income options, same thing.

Just throwin some ideas out there for people to look at or rewrite, Good luck..

Thanks King!  I appreciate your feedback.  I havve yet to close over the phone without meeting a prospect.  I don't know if I can do it.  I like meeting with people.  I know it takes longer but I like seeing and getting to know my clients.  In November I had three meetings and I turned all three into clients so I had a good conversion ratio...Hopefully this will continue.  But now I just need more appts.  Todays calls sucked.

Calls: 260

Contacts: 49

Prospects: 1

I made follow up calls to 16 people that I have spoken to or mailed info to before.  I got two out of the 16 people to answer and They both told me to call back in January.  

Had office meetings yesterday that i had to attend.  Didn't have a lot of caling time.

CAlls: 105

COntacts: 16

Prospects: 1 but not for awhile.  Called him with a muni bond and said the rate sounded good but won't have any liquidity til April.  Said he has about 500k.   Going to keep in contact with him til then.

Today was a waste.  Met with 401K prospect.  Small account.  Spent more time talking about her credit card debt.  

Calls: 116

Contacts: 17

Prospects: 1

Thursday and Friday will be very busy,  Rotary and BNI tomorrow.  Mandatory compliance meeting on Fri.  Will try to  make as many calls as I can.  I know that I need to just keep plugging along but its hard when I don't even have any booked meetings to go through.  Going to call existing clients to set acct reviews.  Going to try to sell some insurance and see what other assets they all have.

Hey very...very inspirational post. Could you please give me a PM if you feel better about contacting me that way, on how you are getting your leads. I would really appreciate it. Thanks MGold, this is truely wonderful work

Thanks for the comment Harkkam...I have been getting my leads from jigsaw.com.  The site is free.  You create a user name and pass word and it has several large corporate directories from businesses in my area.  For free you can see the address and telephone number...You can pay to see email and a few other items but I don't.  I think the information is added to the site but others so it might not always be completely accurate but for me so far it has been.  I have been calling on two hospitals in the area.  I know that their 401Ks are w Fidelity and they have a really good match but most of these people don't feel like they are getting any service from Fidelity so I am trying to show that I provide that.  And I thought if I called employees from the same company hopefully word of mouth would spread eventually.  I am trying to locate individuals that will be retiring soon and want to moe their 401K when the time comes.

I was calling today but just spilled my bottle of water on my office phone and it won't work now...I think it just needs to dry out for a bit.  Managed to get some calls in before I did that...Klutz.

Calls: 204

Contacts: 21

Prospects: 1

14 of the 204 calls were follow up calls.  I have a really hard time getting people to answer on the 2nd or 3rd follow up call...They ask me to mail them information and then it seems like they just disappear.  Guess I have to be persistent.

Yesterdays Numbers

Calls: 261

Contacts: 40

Prospects: 1

Today I had Rotary and Bni and a client meeting so there wasn't a whole lot of time for calls but I made some...found 0 prospects tho.

Calls: 149

Contacts: 18

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a client that I have had for a little while...She has about 350k with me.  We transferred her money in from SmithBarney...Her husband left his accts there...I want to try to get the husband to transfer in too.  I have never met the husband in my office and I don't really know how to approach the situation.  I have seen the statements and he has about 1 million.  She has told me that she has suggested to her husband in the past that he use me, but he hasn't done anything about it..I will bring it up tomorrow and hopefully we can figure something out.

Calls: 249

Contacts: 39

Spoke with 2 people who said they just reinvested there CD money and wished I had called them last week!!  So frustrating.  So I have several people that i have spoke with in the past that asked me to mail them info...then when I call back I can never get a hold of them,...so I want to send them some information in the meantime...everyone talks about dripping but I don't know exactly what to send...market research?  I don't want it to be too heavy or boring...just something so they see my name again.  Any suggestions?

I have no appts scheduled for next week with new prospects...kinda bummed about that. 

Planning on coming in tomorrow to make some calls...have a Rotary volunteer event at 6 Am but that should be over by 9 or 10 so I can come in after that.

Happy to Holidays are almost over and its time to get back to work.  

Yesterdays numbers:

New Calls: 265

Contacts: 38

I also tried following up with people that have requested info in the past.  I called 18 of these people and only spoke with 2 that said they were going to pass right now...at least I can take them off the list but wasn't the answer I was hoping for.

Yesterday I started writing down every response I got when I pitched the bond...Over the weekend I am going to look through this forum to  see how others have replied to these common objections.

I made a new list yesterday...I am excited to give it a shot...Its all business numbers....so far I have only been calling residences.  Thinking its time to switch it up.  

Can you give us an update on where you are with your business at this point?

AUM, Years in Business, Avg. account size

Sure SC

AUM: $2.1M

Started in the business in June 2011, so about 6 months in

I have 47 households so thats about $44K per household.

Whats with all the narcissism on this site?

[quote=Amber_M]

Whats with all the narcissism on this site?

[/quote]

If you are referring to the fact that MGolds CC journal, its not narcissism, its accountability and motivation. Cold Calling is hard and full of rejection. It is pretty easy to blow off cold calling for a week. Putting numbers on this forum is away to stay accountable and keep charging forward.

Mgold - What a great thread.  What does your pipeline look like?  I would think with those cold calling efforts you should have it very full by now.

Hey MGold,

Good for you on your numbers and efforts......you're on track and i wouldn't be surprised to see another 3-4M +  more in your books over the next 6 months....keep us posted on how you are doing and best of sucess to you in 2012.

All The Way

[quote=Amber_M]

Whats with all the narcissism on this site?

[/quote]

you do realize this is a site for brokers and advisors, right?  Thats like going to a site for body builders and asking "whats up with all the weightlifting around here?"

This is an accountability journal.  stating calls, wins, losses, struggles, mindset is part of coping.  Asking about AUM and $ is about measurement. tracking is a great part of learning. 

Then the obvious queation to Amber_M who has been at this for years is why would you come to a site about prospecting if you know all about it....maybe looking to upgrade that car of yours.....aim for the stars and......hit a clunker......

Seriously....this is a prospecting thread.......care to share any tricks of your trade????....

[quote=Amber_M]

[quote=FADavo]

[quote=Amber_M]

Whats with all the narcissism on this site?

[/quote]

you do realize this is a site for brokers and advisors, right?  Thats like going to a site for body builders and asking "whats up with all the weightlifting around here?"

This is an accountability journal.  stating calls, wins, losses, struggles, mindset is part of coping.  Asking about AUM and $ is about measurement. tracking is a great part of learning. 

[/quote]

I've been in the biz for years and know about prospecting.

When I did it, there was someone in the firm (training mgr) who I reported results to.  Just seems odd on here.  If you look thru the history, there are all sorts of people who post for a while then fade away.

Some unknown person on a forum won't hold anyone accountable.

[/quote]

Most training managers are complete jokes. Also, feedback tends to have limited/no bias or agenda. Keeping in direction with 'the firm' is reduced from the equation.

As we know in motivating athletes, people can and are motivated using sometimes drastically different approaches, as we all are unique and don't possess the same psychological makeup. Some use journals.

Also, some unknown person isn't holding anyone accountable, accountability is the act of reporting to the journal.

-KingBobby

[quote=MGold]

Sure SC

AUM: $2.1M

Started in the business in June 2011, so about 6 months in

I have 47 households so thats about $44K per household.

[/quote]

Look at it another way also. What's the total in the pipeline? What's your addition rate?  I track what I add to the pipe each month.  Do you rate each prospect? I do that - they are either priority 1, 2 or 3.  3's drop off as better prospects come in.  I do that on purpose to increase the assets per account and per household. Thus, there is also a subtraction rate - ie - files I closed (I am not going to pursue or drip on the person/deal) and deals that the prospect just doesn't want to do.

[quote=Amber_M]

Whats with all the narcissism on this site?

[/quote]

I'm so pretty, oh so pretty.....

[quote=Takingnames]

[quote=MGold]

Sure SC

AUM: $2.1M

Started in the business in June 2011, so about 6 months in

I have 47 households so thats about $44K per household.

[/quote]

Look at it another way also. What's the total in the pipeline? What's your addition rate?  I track what I add to the pipe each month.  Do you rate each prospect? I do that - they are either priority 1, 2 or 3.  3's drop off as better prospects come in.  I do that on purpose to increase the assets per account and per household. Thus, there is also a subtraction rate - ie - files I closed (I am not going to pursue or drip on the person/deal) and deals that the prospect just doesn't want to do.

[/quote]

Or not. Obviously this type of system works well for you, but for others it could lead to disaster. There's many ways to get numbers. Many top producers simply pitch and close with little time spent classifying or even recognizing 'prospects'.

Hi Everyone...I appreciated all the comments.  I don't keep this journal because I'm full of myself..actually quite the opposite...Not like I'm bragging about have Aum of $2M...I know most of you have accounts of that size!  Anyways I appreciate everyone defending me to Amber.

Element: So far I have spoken to 54 people that have asked me to send info on a bond...I call all these people back within a week of sending the info and I have a really hard time of getting a hold of them again.  I live in Floirda and a lot of people have vacation homes here and then they disappear back north for months and then they are back here again so I am having a hard time with follow up.  So far in my short career I have noticed that if I don't set the appt on the first call then it really doesn't happen...Im hoping this changes in the future.  I would like to send all 54 info lead prospects something to drip on them but I am struggling with what to send.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Takingnames:  So far I haven't been rating prospects.  I just consider them a basic prospect until I can disqualify them.

I didn't post Wed, Thurs or todays numbers yet.  I am going to post them all together.

Calls: 714

COntacts: 125

Prospects: 6

On thursday I tried calling 14 of the people that I have previously sent info to, only 3 answered and all said they weren't going to make any changes to their portfolios now.  

I would really appreciate any suggestion on something that I could mail to prospects just so they don't forget me.

Thanks for all the support everyone!

Have a Happy New Year!  

[quote=MGold]

Hi Everyone...I appreciated all the comments.  I don't keep this journal because I'm full of myself..actually quite the opposite...Not like I'm bragging about have Aum of $2M...I know most of you have accounts of that size!  Anyways I appreciate everyone defending me to Amber.

Element: So far I have spoken to 54 people that have asked me to send info on a bond...I call all these people back within a week of sending the info and I have a really hard time of getting a hold of them again.  I live in Floirda and a lot of people have vacation homes here and then they disappear back north for months and then they are back here again so I am having a hard time with follow up.  So far in my short career I have noticed that if I don't set the appt on the first call then it really doesn't happen...Im hoping this changes in the future.  I would like to send all 54 info lead prospects something to drip on them but I am struggling with what to send.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Takingnames:  So far I haven't been rating prospects.  I just consider them a basic prospect until I can disqualify them.

I didn't post Wed, Thurs or todays numbers yet.  I am going to post them all together.

Calls: 714

COntacts: 125

Prospects: 6

On thursday I tried calling 14 of the people that I have previously sent info to, only 3 answered and all said they weren't going to make any changes to their portfolios now.  

I would really appreciate any suggestion on something that I could mail to prospects just so they don't forget me.

Thanks for all the support everyone!

Have a Happy New Year!  

[/quote]

Get an email address when you can - and add them to an automated newsletter or drip system.  That way you don't have to worry about calling.  Automate the touches as much as you can so you can swim forward.

KB has a good perspective - and it's true top producers don't worry about the details.  However, it's because they don't need to because they already know the details and  their "system" is automatic to them.   To GET to being a top producer; you need to learn toss aside the little fishes and nice people who can clog up your day. THEY ARE NOT A PROSPECT UNTIL THEY QUALIFY.  They are just a person until they do. For me a prospect needs these characteristics:

1. They need to have enough money for me to manage.

2.  They need to be willing to listen to advice (they don't have to follow it, but if they don't listen or always have their own pet theory to push back with or watch a wee too much Cramer- they are a time sink that I don't want)

3. They need to be willing to pay a reasonable amount of money for the work. (those who dicker, bitch about fees they agreed to, etc - dump'em)

4. They cannot be abusive to my service team or to me. (They can abuse me a little- and when I draw the line - I draw it hard and clear)  If someone gives my support a hard time or rattle my support team  - it can make the support  personnel unproductive for a while or over time cost them their confidence or good humor - and that's a much bigger cost than the revenue most accounts generate. If a CA gets snarky, develops a bad attitude from being bitched at too much, or avoids picking up calls when they know it's a bad client calling in; this is a problem in your practice that you created. Then you are either keeping a bad client or replacing the CA and training a new one.  If ta CA gets upset by a client during a busy day or busy time or year,  it can blow their whole day's work and cause mistakes) Adopt a no asshole rule - and put yourself in control.  

 YOU control your book. No one else.  You pick who you want to work with as much or even more than as they choose you. Early on - you hope everyone will choose you because you have hurdles. So what.  The hurdles on;y matter for a short while.  Plenty of people stumble on them and have to move their book to a different firm while they build a practice.  Learn early to qualify the right people for you to work with and you will save yourself a lot of time later in your career.  Culling a book is painful and takes time.

In other words, clients that do not fit you or fired clients are worse than clients you never took on in the first place.

that is great, great advise.  For only being a few years in, its pretty learned info.  I can see why you have been so successful early.  

[quote=FADavo]

that is great, great advise.  For only being a few years in, its pretty learned info.  I can see why you have been so successful early.  

[/quote]

I'm wrapping up my 4th year in production. I'm not some big swinger who's been at this 30 years. 

I'm not talking with my head up my ass, either. I brought in almost 10 mil this year; culled my book 25% and increased revenues by more than 30 while maintaining stable production (in other words, I cut the dead wood and gained more time and better clients).  I booked 6 401k plans this year alone.

That means more time for me to focus and work on the "right" business for me. I've built it mostly cold calling, with some networking and a seminar from time to time. I never met a cold call I didn't like. In an average session; I can develop at least one prospect. It takes time to convert them, but I have all the time in the world as long as I have people in the pipe to convert.

 If the metrics are changed because a management team thinks they need to change. I adapt.  (Read the Book - Who Moved my Cheese.)  If I can't "fit" fast enough (because changing a book and changing yourself is a process of adaptation) and so far I've been able to adapt I think it helps to have good relationships with recruiters and with advisors at other firms and advisors who would be willing to work with you if you need to move. 

99% of advisors will be at home tomorrow because it's a "holiday". I'll be in the office and making dials. Does it make a difference over time? You bet it does.  Does compound interest make a difference over time?  

99% of advisors will be at home tomorrow because it’s a “holiday”. I’ll be in the office and making dials. Does it make a difference over time? You bet it does.  Does compound interest make a difference over time?  

 

That’s the truth. I’m in the office banging out calls. Called a prospect that got away from me last year. Has 200k at a local firm. He is scheduled to come in next Monday and transfer it to me. Last time he prayed his way out of the transfer though… so fingers crossed that God is on my side this time.

[quote=Takingnames]

If the metrics are changed because a management team thinks they need to change. I adapt.  (Read the Book - Who Moved my Cheese.)  If I can't "fit" fast enough (because changing a book and changing yourself is a process of adaptation) and so far I've been able to adapt I think it helps to have good relationships with recruiters and with advisors at other firms and advisors who would be willing to work with you if you need to move. 

99% of advisors will be at home tomorrow because it's a "holiday". I'll be in the office and making dials. Does it make a difference over time? You bet it does.  Does compound interest make a difference over time?  

[/quote]

lol

I didn't post at all last week...was busy making calls.

Last Monday I recieved a call from someone I had called twice about munis and mailed info to.  Met with him last Tuesday.  He is coming in tomorrow w the check!  

Last week I made 699 calls to new people, spoke with 167 and had 12 prospects.

I also made some follow up calls with people that I have spoken to before.  Called 31, spoke with 15.  Took about half off the prospect list.

My goal is to bring in $6 Million in new assets this year.  

TakingNames

How many calls you made in the beginning and how much in assets you have after 4 years?

[quote=MGold]

I didn't post at all last week...was busy making calls.

Last Monday I recieved a call from someone I had called twice about munis and mailed info to.  Met with him last Tuesday.  He is coming in tomorrow w the check!  

Last week I made 699 calls to new people, spoke with 167 and had 12 prospects.

I also made some follow up calls with people that I have spoken to before.  Called 31, spoke with 15.  Took about half off the prospect list.

My goal is to bring in $6 Million in new assets this year.  

[/quote]

MGold all these people that you call, they must be business owners a majority of them since most residents are on the DNC.

MGold,

Great thread! Are you having more luck cold calling the residences or the hospital? Also what do you pitch when you call? It it always a bond?