So how's business?
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Is it going better than mine?
**** this a brutal time for industry newbs but my chest has never been hairier.I always felt the best time for a broker to start is when the market is bad. It is easy to look at someone else portfolio and say, well here is what I would have done. When the market is zooming, everyone is happy, no one changes.
Absolutely. These are times when clients will definitely be looking to their brokers (and others) to find their money’ worth. I am having success asking clients whether or not they are prepared for times like these and have been sitting in with them and their tax professionals to figure things out. Anyone who calls to talk about an awesome American Fund or going to get hung out to dry.
down markets are much better prospecting opportunites. nobody wants to change when things are going well.
Many of you know my investment philosophy. I had to bring on another office administrator this week. I have been extremely successful bringing on new clients. This is a very good time to be a fundamental/technical analyst/advisor.
Congrats, Broker7! But promising to double people's money in 3 months might come back to bite cha'.....in 3 months!Many of you know my investment philosophy. I had to bring on another office administrator this week. I have been extremely successful bringing on new clients. This is a very good time to be a fundamental/technical analyst/advisor.
9 appointments set today for next Friday and Saturday! falls off chair
Can I go home now?[quote=anabuhabkuss]9 appointments set today for next Friday and Saturday! falls off chair
Can I go home now? [/quote] Good Job! Now you've got the ball rolling.So... your pitch must be : "I buy the good stuff at the right time". If you are truly having great success at a time like this , and I don't doubt that you are, I'll bet it has nothing to do with being a "fundamental/technical analyst/advisor" but more to do with a good work ethic and a positive attitude. .02Many of you know my investment philosophy. I had to bring on another office administrator this week. I have been extremely successful bringing on new clients. This is a very good time to be a fundamental/technical analyst/advisor.
Dober, Im not doubling anyones money every 3 months…LOL…just doing my job preserving my clients assets. I have done very well with my personal portfolio though.
I have a great work ethic and a very positive attitude, as well as a pretty good understanding of global economics and finance. "fundamental/technical analyst/advisor" comes into play more than ever in a down market. My pitch is my referrals.."my broker really knows the market."[quote=Broker7]Dober, Im not doubling anyones money every 3 months…LOL…just doing my job preserving my clients assets. I have done very well with my personal portfolio though.
I have a great work ethic and a very positive attitude, as well as a pretty good understanding of global economics and finance. "fundamental/technical analyst/advisor" comes into play more than ever in a down market. My pitch is my referrals.."my broker really knows the market." [/quote] I wuz just yankin' yer chain! Like you, I have little confidence in the underlying fundamentals of this market. Warren Buffett once said, "I know what's going to happen, I just don't know when it's going to happen" and I'm of the same opinion. Being ahead of the curve can be a great boost to our business, once the curve happens. However, you can't dump all your assets in a gold fund and wait for the cr*p to hit the fan. It could take years before the pay-off occurs (in the meantime the client's giving you h*ll until you're proven right), so I gradually increase allocations to international equites/bonds and precious metal funds. Before anyone labels me a permabear, let me just say that I have full faith in the ability of Americans to produce and compete in the world marketplace. We can do it better, cheaper, & faster than anyone else. But we can only do this when our hands aren't tied-up with high taxes & debt, burdensome regs, & labor laws that remove incentives; i.e., what we're living with right now. The solution, according to politicians, is a deeper "deficit hole" and more regulation. And given the entitlement-mentality of many voting Americans, I don't see the problem abating anytime soon. And yes, it's going to get worse, I'm afraid...I want to hear from the senior advisors in this business.
What's your take for a young solo act such as myself? I mean, the reality is I can be doing all the right things but I can not control people's ignorance and fear of this market while firms expect huge numbers from me. My approach is the same as it were months prior to this market: go over all aspects of a person's investment picture (areas such as accumulation, protection and distribution). Marketing is not an issue as I'm getting in front of plenty of people but just freaked out ones. That really does not help my commissions nor my marriage And to think how awesome it went LAST YEAR.[quote=anabuhabkuss] I want to hear from the senior advisors in this business.
What’s your take for a young solo act such as myself? I mean, the reality is I can be doing all the right things but I can not control people’s ignorance and fear of this market while firms expect huge numbers from me. My approach is the same as it were months prior to this market: go over all aspects of a person’s investment picture (areas such as accumulation, protection and distribution).
Marketing is not an issue as I’m getting in front of plenty of people but just freaked out ones. That really does not help my commissions nor my marriage And to think how awesome it went LAST YEAR.[/quote]
People think of money in the time frame that they will use it until these sorts of messes occur.
A client’s dialogue:
- Johnny’s going to college in 2 yrs.
- Amy in 4 yrs.
- I’ll have to kids in college for 3 yrs.
- I want to retire in 15 yrs.
How do I do all of this?
If you help them navigate to and through these goals in a thoughtful way, you’ll have client for life.
You handle these kinds of messes by reminding clients of their timeframes & showing them how they make money through down markets.
I draw this and ask them what % loss it takes for them to go from a $1 to $.50. Everyone knows that’s a 50% loss. I then ask them what return it takes to get back to $1. Most say 50%. I point out that’ll get them back to $.75 & they realize they have to get 100% return.
$1< >$1
< >
< >
< >
$.50
If they stay in the same portfolio they will experience this.
$1< >$1
< >
-50% < > 100%
< >
$.50
For those people who want to be less aggressive I point out that when the market goes back up they’ll experience this(and the market always goes back up).
$1<
< > $.90.
-50% < >
< >
$.50
For them to benefit from this down market they have to do this. The only reasonable thing to do to make money in down markets, then, is to become more aggressive when you believe you’re down 50 - 75% to the bottom.
> $1.10
$1< >
< >
-50% < >
< >
$.50
I’ve found this builds trust, teaches people why buying low is the right move, and sometimes gets new money.
Good luck!
Go to
www.nickmurray.com Order his 3 CD set: Nick Murray on Managing Investor Behavior $80.00 That should get you started.[quote=anabuhabkuss]I
Marketing is not an issue as I'm getting in front of plenty of people but just freaked out ones. [/quote] How are you getting in front of plenty of people? That seems to be my problem. I do fine when I get in front of them, I just don't get in front of enough of them. Any thoughts are appreciated.[quote=Broker24][quote=anabuhabkuss]I
Marketing is not an issue as I'm getting in front of plenty of people but just freaked out ones. [/quote] How are you getting in front of plenty of people? That seems to be my problem. I do fine when I get in front of them, I just don't get in front of enough of them. Any thoughts are appreciated.[/quote]
I'll jump in here and offer some thoughts.
Every lack of qualified, dipped, cleaned, and ready to close prospects can be traced to one of two things. 1) not making enough contacts. 2) not closing enough contacts for an appointment, second call, etc.
B24 it is that simple. And that hard. Regardless of your marketing/prospecting system you need to do more of it. Or get better at closing the contacts that your system is providing. You're a business person running your own business. Approach it from that POV. That is, to know what is wrong you need numbers to analyze. To get those numbers you need to track your results. To track'em you need to log'em. So, the first step is just like calorie counting, keep track of every call and it's result. Once you've done that for a month or so you'll have a base line to work from. Actually, the patterns will become evident much sooner, but a month should cover it. With this info in hand you can now make some decisions on what needs to be changed. If, for example, you results show you are asking 25 or people a day for appointments and getting less than 2 per day, look at your message, it's delivery, and your closing. If your marketing is delivering less than 25prospects/day then look at your marketing channel and why it's not delivering at least that many people. Simply put, that means you need to make more calls. Ok, off you go, this should give you a starting point to analyze the problem.[quote=BondGuy][quote=Broker24][quote=anabuhabkuss]I
Marketing is not an issue as I'm getting in front of plenty of people but just freaked out ones. [/quote] How are you getting in front of plenty of people? That seems to be my problem. I do fine when I get in front of them, I just don't get in front of enough of them. Any thoughts are appreciated.[/quote]
I'll jump in here and offer some thoughts.
Every lack of qualified, dipped, cleaned, and ready to close prospects can be traced to one of two things. 1) not making enough contacts. 2) not closing enough contacts for an appointment, second call, etc.
B24 it is that simple. And that hard. Regardless of your marketing/prospecting system you need to do more of it. Or get better at closing the contacts that your system is providing. You're a business person running your own business. Approach it from that POV. That is, to know what is wrong you need numbers to analyze. To get those numbers you need to track your results. To track'em you need to log'em. So, the first step is just like calorie counting, keep track of every call and it's result. Once you've done that for a month or so you'll have a base line to work from. Actually, the patterns will become evident much sooner, but a month should cover it. With this info in hand you can now make some decisions on what needs to be changed. If, for example, you results show you are asking 25 or people a day for appointments and getting less than 2 per day, look at your message, it's delivery, and your closing. If your marketing is delivering less than 25prospects/day then look at your marketing channel and why it's not delivering at least that many people. Simply put, that means you need to make more calls. Ok, off you go, this should give you a starting point to analyze the problem.[/quote] Good stuff!The other piece is deepening relationships that you have with existing clients.
How many clients have insurance through you?
How many clients have kids & don’t have a college plan through you, or grandkids & the same thing?
How many of your accounts have TOD’s on them?
When was the last time you updated beneficiaries?
Is there a specific piece of money these clients have set aside for beneficiaries?
For those people who are retired, how many of those clients do you provide monthly checks to for income? If you don’t, where do they supplement their pensions & social security’s from? Would an immediate annuity or a VA be a better option?
I tell my late baby boomer & recently retired clients that I’m going to be a polite, persistent, PITA about LTC insurance until they tell me to go away or purchase it(For the most part I can’t grow them out of the cost of LTC.)
Who is part of your ark? Come hell or high water, who are your most important customers?
Do you use both passive & active management strategies? As the market comes back does it make sense to talk about having some money in UIT’s as something that stands apart from the other funds you own.
Does it make sense in some cases to take money off the table w/ American Funds? If 60 - 70% of someone’s liquid net worth is tied up w/ one fund family, does it make strategic sense to change?
When was the last time you ran a postions report & eliminated positions that make no sense?