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Feb 1, 2008 4:17 pm

BG - I don't think the military experience will fully replace a sales background.  But, you can learn to be a salesman to a certain extent.  You might not be the ice to eskimos kind of salesman, but you can still learn to answer questions like you asked above. 

The Jones system will focus more on teaching him how to gather prospects and then how to sell them stuff rather than how to set up a core/satellite portfolio.  So, his military discipline will get him in the door, his work ethic and attitude will get the prospects, all we have to do it teach him how to close the biz and what to do with the money after that.  I'll bet if he only does what Jones tells him to, without a lot of free thought, he'll do well. 
Feb 1, 2008 4:21 pm

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

I'll bet if he only does what Jones tells him to, without a lot of free thought, he'll do well. 

[/quote]   Hmm, sounds like communism.
Feb 1, 2008 4:31 pm

Dark Knight - fascism is closer to it - except you can quit, so…



Communism is a sharing of resources and the production resulting from those resources. Communism’s mantra was, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” - Karl Marx.



If you’re going to beat on stuff, at least know what you’re talking about.

Feb 1, 2008 4:57 pm

I am no expert in these matters, I wasn't talking about the Theory or literal definition of communism.  I was of course referring to the general picture Americans have of the former USSR where the common man was  supposedly told what to do and how to act.

Feb 1, 2008 5:12 pm

[quote=Dark Knight]

I am no expert in these matters, I wasn't talking about the Theory or literal definition of communism.  I was of course referring to the general picture Americans have of the former USSR where the common man was  supposedly told what to do and how to act.

[/quote]   With that mindset, Edward Jones has built a 10000 strong salesforce.  It dosent make it a very sophisticated salesforce...I really wished EJ's investment training was as good as EJ's sales training.. it still amazes me how many 2-6 year brokers only used A share american funds for 80-90% of their paycheck
Feb 1, 2008 5:25 pm

Yeah and while I’d never predict it, could you imagine if American were to blow up?  (Stranger things have happened.)

Feb 1, 2008 5:28 pm

this job is a sales job and not really a finance job, most of the reps are started b/c they thought it was finance/investment job failed. those that came into it because they loved to sell, did really well.

Feb 1, 2008 5:45 pm

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

BG - I don't think the military experience will fully replace a sales background.  But, you can learn to be a salesman to a certain extent.  You might not be the ice to eskimos kind of salesman, but you can still learn to answer questions like you asked above. 

The Jones system will focus more on teaching him how to gather prospects and then how to sell them stuff rather than how to set up a core/satellite portfolio.  So, his military discipline will get him in the door, his work ethic and attitude will get the prospects, all we have to do it teach him how to close the biz and what to do with the money after that.  I'll bet if he only does what Jones tells him to, without a lot of free thought, he'll do well.  [/quote]   SS, you're not wrong here. His work ethic will help. But saying all we have to do is teach him how to close business is like saying were going to open a custom motorcycle shop and  all we have to do is learn how to build motorcycles. That's a  steep mountain to climb.
Feb 1, 2008 5:48 pm

[quote=Broker7][quote=Dark Knight]

I am no expert in these matters, I wasn't talking about the Theory or literal definition of communism.  I was of course referring to the general picture Americans have of the former USSR where the common man was  supposedly told what to do and how to act.

[/quote]   With that mindset, Edward Jones has built a 10000 strong salesforce.  It dosent make it a very sophisticated salesforce...I really wished EJ's investment training was as good as EJ's sales training.. it still amazes me how many 2-6 year brokers only used A share american funds for 80-90% of their paycheck[/quote]   I agree with you on the investment training.  We sell more mutual funds than anything else, but nowhere in our training process is there a discussion of alpha, standard deviation, overlap, etc.  We have all the reports to give us that info, but not the training to go along with the reports.  If it wasn't for my Goldman Sachs wholesaler I'd be stuck trying to learn all that stuff on my own.      I'll tell anyone who listens that if we could add another week of training, say 6 months after PDP, that focuses specifically on MPT, managing income, portfolio building, and portfolio review we'd be darn near unstoppable.  Imagine the best sales force in the world really knowing what they are doing.  Right now we have a bunch of new guys out there knowing how to ring doorbells and call on bonds, vets who don't sell anything other than American Funds, and probably the fewest number of CFPs of any firm in the industry.  I think that's going to change, but they needed to start it about 5 years ago. 
Feb 1, 2008 6:20 pm

Spiff,

I would push it back... say seg 3 training should be a week long intensive investment class.  At 6 month after PDP, we were still learning the system and working overtime to make sales.  I think at that point in an EJ career..it i just too overwhelming.  During my first 2 years with Jones I kept getting hammered by my mentor to stop building "complicated ' portfolios and just focus on selling caibx.
Feb 1, 2008 7:12 pm

Wow - with Bobby’s gone, there’s actually a chance for a reasonable discussion of Jones’ strengths and weaknesses!



I just lost a $400k acct to a Jones rep. He was invested 100% in the ICA & started telling him in June that it was a good thing to take some capital gains & diversify. I had recommended that he, over two years(Dec, 2007 & Jan, 2008), put the money in a wrap acct. The Jones rep told him that 1 - The 100% ICA account was just fine & the $15K in capital gains it would take to diversify was too much to pay. 2 - That the wrap account was too expensive. The wrap acct I recommended is down 5.5% after fees since the day he transferred & ICA is down 11.43%. Most disgustingly - this client should in fact be in a 50% stock/ 50% bond portfolio as he’s drawing 5 - 6% of the principal per year & he’s unwilling to accept more than a 10% decline in his portfolio.

Feb 1, 2008 7:56 pm
Ashland:

Wow - with Bobby’s gone, there’s actually a chance for a reasonable discussion of Jones’ strengths and weaknesses!

I just lost a $400k acct to a Jones rep. He was invested 100% in the ICA & started telling him in June that it was a good thing to take some capital gains & diversify. I had recommended that he, over two years(Dec, 2007 & Jan, 2008), put the money in a wrap acct. The Jones rep told him that 1 - The 100% ICA account was just fine & the $15K in capital gains it would take to diversify was too much to pay. 2 - That the wrap account was too expensive. The wrap acct I recommended is down 5.5% after fees since the day he transferred & ICA is down 11.43%. Most disgustingly - this client should in fact be in a 50% stock/ 50% bond portfolio as he’s drawing 5 - 6% of the principal per year & he’s unwilling to accept more than a 10% decline in his portfolio.

  Sounds like the Jones rep was just trying to close the deal.. Everyone here knows you need to have diversity.. Sounds to me like your old client just wanted someone to agree with him/her and they found the person with the Jones broker. Oh well, I bet the receiving broker will regret taking that client one day..   Miss  J 
Feb 1, 2008 8:13 pm

Sucker, now he’s dealing with a 40-45k loss and getting paid 25bps to do it.  Sucks to be him.  (Although if he is like the Jones broker in my area, he will start telling him how great FT or some other MF is and in 6-8 months will move over 200k for the upfront payout.  I hate that lying SOB.)

Feb 1, 2008 8:20 pm
Dark Knight:

Sucker, now he’s dealing with a 40-45k loss and getting paid 25bps to do it.  Sucks to be him.  (Although if he is like the Jones broker in my area, he will start telling him how great FT or some other MF is and in 6-8 months will move over 200k for the upfront payout.  I hate that lying SOB.)

  Wow, you sure do sound passionate.. I assume there is good reason behind your distaste.. Either way.. I don't really care to know what it is just an observation.   Miss J
Feb 1, 2008 8:27 pm

Miss J - I hope you’re right. I actually know the receiving broker. I trained w/ him when I was at Jones a while back. I’m fearful he just broke out his ICA guide & showed him a 6% withdrawal rate during the best possible period & went on with his business. I inherited the client when I joined the bank so I’m not too sad about losing him. I certainly pushed him hard to change because I felt change was going to happen to him… Got another phone call to make!

Feb 1, 2008 9:00 pm

Ash - Do I understand correctly that the guy had $400k in ICA before he went to Jones?  I can’t imagine our FSDs letting something like that slide.  It’s an OK fund, but not unless the guy is worth about $4 mil.  I’d guess Miss J is correct.  The FA probably just agreed with the guy to get the assets on the books.  

  B7 - You're right.  6 months after PDP is probably too soon.  But how much easier would your sales process have been if you had been taught something basic about portfolio reviews in some sort of formal setting.  Cause if you were like me, it was like the dog that caught the car once someone said here's my statement.  Maybe MPT is more of a Seg 3 class, but I still think there needs to be some sort of training not just on how to sell a bond, but why it belongs in a portfolio.    Miss J - I think you're probably the newest Jones girl here that is actually in production.  Would a class like we've been talking about be a benefit to you or at this point or just another source of confusion?
Feb 1, 2008 9:13 pm

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

  Miss J - I think you're probably the newest Jones girl here that is actually in production.  Would a class like we've been talking about be a benefit to you or at this point or just another source of confusion?[/quote]   I just made Seg 3.. So I would agree that the investment training should occur more around the time you reach Seg 2. At that point they tell you to be more client focused and less activity focused.. That was kind of old news to me.. I have never run my business activity focused. That is the difference between people with sales experience and people that come to the firm to learn how to sell (?!?) So for me knowing more about investment placement and best practices would be more beneficial.. I had to learn it on my own or through someone in my region. The bottom line is at Jones there just isnt much training on investments! That is why we are laughed at by other firms.. You have all these licensed people that dont know what the hell they are doing. I am training this new girl and she has the heart for it but I can already see the writing on the wall.. There is no way she is going to make it.. She can't do an effective presentation AND doesn't know what she is doing.. Why her field Trainer let her go back to EVAL/Grad is beyond me! She didn't even know how bond rating went ?!?   Oh well.. I still love Jones but I really get frustrated with them at times.   Miss J
Feb 1, 2008 9:34 pm

[quote=Spaceman Spiff] Ash - Do I understand correctly that the guy had $400k in ICA before he went to Jones? I can’t imagine our FSDs letting something like that slide. It’s an OK fund, but not unless the guy is worth about $4 mil. I’d guess Miss J is correct. The FA probably just agreed with the guy to get the assets on the books.







B7 - You’re right. 6 months after PDP is probably too soon. But how much easier would your sales process have been if you had been taught something basic about portfolio reviews in some sort of formal setting. Cause if you were like me, it was like the dog that caught the car once someone said here’s my statement. Maybe MPT is more of a Seg 3 class, but I still think there needs to be some sort of training not just on how to sell a bond, but why it belongs in a portfolio.



Miss J - I think you’re probably the newest Jones girl here that is actually in production. Would a class like we’ve been talking about be a benefit to you or at this point or just another source of confusion?[/quote]



Spiff - yeah - I inherited him. He’s been here for a while & started w/ about $300K in ICA a few years back. It’s grown to $400K & I was suggesting to take the $100K gain & diversify. We may not have had as tough compliance review policies when someone allowed a rep to put $300k into one fund. Also, he does have a net worth certainly north of $5MM. It’s all in real estate & a good amount of that in non-income producing property.
Feb 1, 2008 11:26 pm

Miss J,

  I know what you mean.  A newbie I trained came back from eval grad and was proud he knew how to pitch GE, ICA, and a 4% tax free bond, but he didn't understand why he was sellling them, other than for the commission.  Needless to say, he never made it to PDP.   When I went to new IR-seg 2 training, I would see 1-3 new faces every month and then never see them again 1/2 the time.   Lots and lots of newbie turnover.  I guess it is a very tough industry for most people.