[quote=Big Easy Flood]

Chicks don't need to worry about the phone. Try this approach:

"Mr. Prospect, my name is Jennifer Anniston--no not that one--and I am a financial planner with Ameriprise.

I'm calling today to ask if I can have five minutes of your time to introduce myself and discuss how we might work together to ensure you financial future is secure.

Would Thursday at 10 work for you, I'll be in your area?"

Then shut up.  He'll be thinking about Rachel and mutter, "Sure."

[/quote]

Maybe I should just place an ad that reads "topless financial advisor will address your needs."  (yep..do have the rack to substantiate that one)   LOL!

All joking aside, when I was a stock broker, about half the guys I met on Matchmaker became clients.   It seems men will do just about anything to "get some." (and being my client was a sure fire way of making sure you didn't)   I used to joke with the guys in my office that this way I knew their net worth before deciding on a relationship!

And yes gang, I am kidding! 

I'm pounding the phones to talk to as many firms, as well as a few resources into the indy world, as I can find.   I realized today that I can overcome call reluctance when my rent is on the line!  LOL!

Should have more action next week....until then....

I'd jump on the Ameriprise in a heartbeat if it weren't for 2 things:

1. the 65 hour week (which I am willing to do, but would rather not do) and

2. The idea that I have to turn away transactional business unless I end up working with a p2.   Somehow the idea that I have to turn away income when I so badly need it doesn't sit well with me.

i just started here- haven't inked a client yet and don't want to. Can I transfer out with series 7 and 66 or will nobody want me. Could I still latch onto a "group" elsewhere. I got a 94 on the 7, 'tho I guess that matters very little? Would it help my case at all? Big regrets... But I guess you can't do much when they lie to you flat out.

Please any suggestions! Considering a Raymond James "group" where I have a contact. Is everywhere but "groups" cold-calling?

just curious..because I haven't committed yet and yes, I have all my licenses already.   It would be helpful to know why you want out, and ...just in case, are you in TX? (making sure it is or isn't the same office)

If you are licensed and haven't been there long, it may be better than being there a while because a lot of firms don't want trainees that come in with bad habits.  As a newbie, you haven't got them yet...

Otherwise your best bet is to build a decent book, then most firms will take you or you can go independent.  Reps with $200K GDP will get snapped up by another firm in a heartbeat and often with some sweet signing bonuses.

Look, here's the deal on restriction of transactional business: Ameriprise knows you can get that kind of business, but wants quick results.  They want your salary to reflect your production.  Wirehouses pay a salary that has checkpoints, but they know it can take a while to learn how to do all the different types of transactional business, so they give the rep a bit more time to figure it out.  Ameriprise doesn't, so they teach you to do one thing: sell plans.  If you've sold someone a plan, and have all their info, and have to take it back to figure it out with a manager or coach, there's no way you can mess up the client.  And you have plenty of time to figure out how to make the following transactions work, because they paid you money to tell them what to do.  That way you learn as you go without learning on potential clients that don't happen. 

The biggest benefit is that Ameriprise will teach you to sell, whereas the wirehouse won't.  If you can sell something as intangible as a financial plan, you can sell anything.  Consider it sales boot-camp and enjoy the paid education.  If you have the cojones to jump into the wirehouse world, and they're willing to take you, then by all means do so.  But you'd be better prepared by working with Ameriprise.

So, if you do lean towards Ameriprise, tell the VP you don't give a durn about his feelings about plans being required, and if you find transactional business that refuses a plan, you're submitting the business, and he better agree to approve it or you're not coming on board.  Tell him you'll keep quiet about it in front of the other reps, I mean, advisors.

I'm sure if you're not making a big deal about it, and not tying up coaches with it and getting the how to do the paperwork right from home office (don't be afraid to spend as long as you need to on the phone with them, because even if you do rely on the coaches, they'll screw it up, so just do it yourself.) 

As for the time, if you're producing enough, you set your own schedule.  The top producers I met spent only a few hours a day in the office, and were out most of the time meeting people.

Ace

Otherwise your best bet is to build a decent book, then most firms will take you or you can go independent.  Reps with $200K GDP will get snapped up by another firm in a heartbeat and often with some sweet signing bonuses.

I would disagree unless the LOS is 3 or less, or we're talking an independent.  $200k GDC at an independent isn't a bad gig, but $200k at a wirehouse (again 3 years LOS or less) - you had better have other options in mind because they largely won't want you. 

Up-front checks are also measured by the LOS/GDC comparison and don't start getting really solid until someone is at $400k (or if it is a secondary market, smaller firm with less recognition or a desperate manager) or higher. 

I'd also plan on putting in 60+ hours anywhere you are, not just AMP.  You'll find that the amount of time a new rep puts in at ML/SB/UBS, etc. pays off much better for the same 60 hours put in at AMP.

Bottom line, if you need a sales school, Ameriprise is the best because it's a sales school in the field you want to work in.  If you don't need a sales school, go straight to a wirehouse.

Ace

Some cons at ameriprise:



-no email address assignment for 1st 2-3 weeks

-no formal hr

-force-fed va and vul plans to meet 1st year comission goals- i for one

don’t find these plans enticing for clients in 99% of situations

-weaker brand name

-payout secrecy prior to start and ONLY low base 1st 10 weeks here

-weak managers who only put in 2 years to get where they are!

-no desk to sit at

-no personal phone



Every office may differ- I will say this is not the Austin office I’m

evaluating.



Any advice on how my having left without clients but fully licensed will

impact my chances of latching onto a group where I can learn over the

next 2 years and do client servicing for them? I have an otherwise good

resume with 2 years of solid business experience. Where do you search

for these groups for the most part? Websites? I have interested prospects

but didn’t want to service them at amp.

"Any advice on how my having left without clients but fully licensed will impact my chances of latching onto a group where I can learn over the next 2 years and do client servicing for them? I have an otherwise good resume with 2 years of solid business experience. Where do you search for these groups for the most part? Websites? I have interested prospects but didn't want to service them at amp. "

Well...I'm searching myself and have on and off for about 4 years.  I think some luck is involved or maybe it's cold calling firms until you hit a jackpot.   Funny..I started this thread talking about how hard it is for me to pick up a phone, yet I've been pounding them this week without much hesitation.  I guess when the rent is on the line, fear takes a back seat!

What I've done or plan to do in the coming days:

1. Contact the head of the local Financial Planning Association to see if she knows someone who may be interested in taking me on.  There's a meeting on Tues I may well attend.   I did this a few years ago and interviewed with 2 companies, neither of which were what I was looking for (Waddell and Reid and an RIA that puts all its customers in their own managed accounts..not much flexibility).  Who knows what I'll find this time.

2. I contacted one indy b/d who clears for indy reps who is banging bushes for me, and even suggested he might coach me if I could find an indy bank or two that might want to offer financial services.  Here in TX, there actually are some small banks that don't have b/d's or b/d agreements in place.   His offer to coach is pretty sweet but he's an hour and a half away and I'd have to either cover all my own expenses, or find a bank that will front me a draw.   I also haven't figured out how the bank gets paid on such a deal given the securities laws.

3. My freelance work has given me decent, and in a couple of cases, excellent business relationships with most of the trade magazines (including RegRep).  I'm thinking of contacting the editors as they may well know of someone (since most of their content comes from advisors) or have some great ideas.  At a minimum, they definitely know the buzz on which firms to avoid.

4. I'm going to follow the suggestion of others that I contact LPL, Investor's Capital (I have my own contacts there) and a few of the big indy b/d's.   They will certainly know who is doing biz in my area and who might be large enough to be interested in some help in return for mentoring and a salary.

5. I'm also dialing and talking to the hiring manager at certain wirehouses.  I have an interview tomorrow with AG Edwards, and looks like I'll talk to Raymond James next week.  I've also talked to HR Block (they won't have a training spot open for a couple of months as their energies are focused on opening a new branch in another city), and will likely bite the bullet and talk with ML.   My mom's advisor of 25 years is with SB in CA.  I know Jim and will talk with him too.  In the past I've interviewed with both ML and SB and turned them down but it seems they put more effort into training these days so I think I should at least talk to them.

6. I have talked to a couple of broker recruitiers who have offered up some good ideas and agreed finding a spot with an indy practioner would be best but may take some searching.

7. In the past I have offered up secretarial and geek (computer) skills in exchange for salary and education.  That's how I got my series 7 in the  first place. That boss taught me his biz, unfortunately it took me a bit to realize that wasn't the kind of biz I want to do.  Still, it was an excellent learning experience and I have a lifelong friend in the man.

So..I'm being both aggressive and creative in my search.  I gotta believe that anyone hiring will appreciate that I went to that effort "to close the deal" rather than just submitting online resumes and waiting for some action.

Best of luck in your search.

In the past I've interviewed with both ML and SB and turned them down but it seems they put more effort into training these days so I think I should at least talk to them.

Lost, you had a great post going there, well written and filled with ideas.

Then you went and lost all credibility by saying that you turned the world's two premier wirehouses down because they didn't provide as much training in the past as they do now.

Perhaps you've missed the news about firms doing less formal training than in the past.

Don't make up stuff in an interview, what doesn't ring true to a casual observer screams at an informed observer.

Also, your litany of things you are considering are all excellent, but not a one of them do you approach with certainty.  "I well may attend" or "I'm thinking of....." and so forth do not convey the impression that you're a long term survivor in this business.

The ranks of ex brokers--planners, advsiors or whatever the name du jour is--is filled with people who spent their careers thinking about what they should be doing.

Any advice on how my having left without clients but fully licensed will impact my chances of latching onto a group where I can learn over the next 2 years and do client servicing for them? I have an otherwise good resume with 2 years of solid business experience.

Damn, two whole years of solid business experience.  Why you're a hiring manager's wet dream.

One of the biggest mistakes in this business is to come into it before you're thirty.  The people who need advisors, and there are fewer of them every day, are going to look at a 26 year old as a nice young person who might know something in a few years.

Think of your own mother and father.  Would they think you're some sort of financial genius?   Why should anybody else their age think anything different?

Go to a place like Ameriprise, learn to pound the phone, learn to make appointments, get out there an stumble around in front of a prospect, lose the deal.  Lose lots of deals when they don't count.

Then, when you're in your thirties do what you can to get in front of a hiring manager at a premier broker/dealer.  You won't have to be licensed so you're valuable to him or her right then.

The warning that some managers will not hire you ifyou come with "bad habits" is exceptionally important to remember.  But Ameriprise, or the insurance companies, are not going to have the reputation of creating bad habits.

A lot of wirehouse managers do not look all that favorably on those who come from the bank side because a wirehouse manager sees bank brokers as little more than order takers.  Before the bank group on this forum gets all pissy, I know it's more than that.  What I'm saying is that most wirehouse managers see bank brokers as little more than order takers.

I'm sitting here trying to avoid saying that I too see them as little more than order takers, and I can't bring myself to do it.

There will be some wet behind the ears, snot nosed, kid who will pop up and talk about how he's 24 years old and is fitting in just fine at Merrill or Smith Barney or wherever.

When you're 24 you have no idea what "just fine" really means, nor do you know enough to know that you're not fitting in as well as you would have fit in if you had gone there when you were 33 instead of 23.

Years ago I read a discussion of one of the five star cruise lines.  The statement, "Those who will feel uncomfortable on this line are those who do not know what it means to not fit in."

You don't fit in in a wirehouse until you're at least thirty, regardless of the fact that a manager makes a mistake and hires you.

BEF,

Explain please, how could someone who's 33 and just starting this business could fit in better than someone who's 33 and been doing it for 10 years.  I mean, what better could a 23 year old with sales skills do than go for broke and try to join up with a wirehouse.  Hmmm?  Work tables at TGIFriday's?  Join an accounting firm?  Go Air Force? 

I hear you saying "Don't" to a young guy, but what does a young guy do?

Ace

[quote=Ace Planner] 

I hear you saying "Don't" to a young guy, but what does a young guy do?

Ace

[/quote]

He gains selling experience in an environment where if  he fails  he does not get marked as a failure.

If you're 23 you almost certainly will fail at a place like Merrill.  There is no way to spin failure at Merrill into a positive in the mind of a Smith  Barney branch manager.

Go where  you can succeed far easier, go to an insurance company, go to a bank, go to Ameriprise.

If you fail there you can (possibly) spin it as "The clients I have, and the prospects I was approaching, wanted things I could not deliver in that environment."  You can't make that argument if you failed at Merrill.

There is a guy named Walter Williams, a professor somewhere who often substitutes for Rush Limbaugh.  He has a rather unusual approach to offering advice to black kids about college.  He suggests that it's a bad idea for them to attend difficult schools because they're likely to fail and end up being a drop out, but if they went to an easier school they may well last long enough to graduate.

He is condemned for suggesting that because in so doing he is saying that black kids can't succeed at Harvard, when we all know that not everybody who enrolls at Harvard flunks out.  Most do, almost all do, but not everybody.

The same is true of being young at Merrill.  Most fail, almost all do, but not everybody.

Why not stack the cards in your favor, gain maturity.  The reason clients trust older people more than younger people is not because the older people have better selling skills, it's because they're older.

In most employment arenas being "old" is a negative.  That is not true at the major wirehouses.

So work at New York life until your 32nd birthday, or at BankOne, or at Ameriprise, Waddell and Reed and the others of that ilk.

You're not wasting your time, what you're doing is all you can to ensure success once you do get to the big leagues.

I heard of a kid who was offered a job at the old Pru Bache when he was 23.  He told the manager, "Thanks for the offer, but I know I'm too young now.  I assume that if I come back when I'm thirty you will want me even more."

The manager not only agreed, but actually gave him a letter addressed to the firm's HR department in case he, the manager, stepped in front of a bus, or was unable to hire him a few years later.

It takes balls to turn down an offer, but it takes bigger ones to run the risk of failure that accompanies accepting an offer that is ill considered.

I guess that may work for some people.  And the reason I confronted you on it is because you're talking to me.  I'm 26.  Here's why I chose not to accept that philosophy: I'm not going to waste my time.  My life's goal is not to work for a wirehouse, my goal is to not waste my time.  If I didn't go straight to a wirehouse, I'd be wasting my time.  My time's valueable to me. 

So by your last paragraph, you're saying I have big balls?  Thanks for the compliment, even if I disagree with your premise.

By the time I'm 50, someone who started 10 years after me and is 50 will be 10 years behind me, and our books will reflect it.

Ace

By the time I'm 50, someone who started 10 years after me and is 50 will be 10 years behind me, and our books will reflect it.

The falacy in your thinking is that somebody who is ten years older has so much more credibilty that within 5 years--when you've been around for 15 years and he's been around only five--he will have as large a book as you do.

Another falacy is to conclude that somebody who is not at a wirehouse at age 26 is wasting their time elsewhere.  Why do you think that they are?  Why do you think that a 26 year old at New York Life is not assembling a Rolodex with far more potential than you are?

Do you disagree with me regarding the importance of being older when it comes time to being credible?

Is it easier for a young person to be credible about life insurance than about retirement planning?

Would your parents be more comfortable suggesting that their best friends invest with you, or buy a life insurance policy from you?

How about your parent's best friends--who remember you when you were a cub scout.  Would they be more likelyto buy a life insurance policy from you or allow you to transfer their 401(k) from wherever it is?

It's the epitome of arrogance to think that you are using your time more efficently than a guy of similar age and education who is out there selling John Deere tractors to soybean farmers.

You're both gaining valuable experience--but only you are running the risk of ending up failing at a wirehouse before you're old enough to have much of a chance.

By the way, it’s very easy to trip on big balls.

[quote=Big Easy Flood]By the way, it's very easy to trip on big balls.[/quote]

I've also heard that it is not very easy to take a crap when you have a big prostate.  But I'm sure you knew that already. 

Even if the training at ML and SB has gone down the toilet, I would still take their training over AMP any day.

BEF= Putsy.....

It amuses me that you constantly get kicked off this forum, yet still feel the need to come back under another screen name to spew the same old crap.... Pa- the- tic.....

My 5 cents:  Regardless of age - if you want to start your own business, what better place to do it that the financial serivces industry.  No capital required to start, most places pay you a salary for the first year or so, if you fail - the experience you gain is priceless.

Don't ponder success, don't sit on the fence, 'just do it!'

[quote=blarmston]

BEF= Putsy.....

It amuses me that you constantly get kicked off this forum, yet still feel the need to come back under another screen name to spew the same old crap.... Pa- the- tic.....

[/quote]

If I read it right I have been posting on this forum since August of last year.  It's now June, that's damn near a year.

Why would you conclude I am somebody who keeps getting kicked of the forum and comes back as different names?