Defined Territories or a free for all
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I researched the number of FA's in the area close to me prior to my meeting with a local EJ FA. There were more than I expected. So the question I posed was .... did EJ set territories or was it a free for all? He said there were no territories so I am assuming its a free for all.
I am sure there is more to it than that! How do you avoid stepping on people toes or contacting the same potential clients? Any comments?It’s not really a free-for-all, but, in a way, it is. Best practice is to talk to the Jones broker or 2 nearest the area you plan on knocking. They will respect the fact you come in and see them. Odds are if they are out 3 years or longer they are no longer knocking. Hope that helps.
I don’t have enough offices in my area for it to matter. But as Rank said, find out what the situation is with the surrounding offices. I would also ask them point blank what their thoughts are on another FA starting in the area and guage their response. I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to start in an area with other Jones guys swarming around. If there are a lot of newbies running around doorknocking and networking already, I would be nervous.
I’m in an area that has 9 offices within a 1 mile radius of my office. Even though I’ve been out for longer than 3 years, I still doorknock. Your best bet is to do exactly what rank said and talk with the other FAs in your neighborhood to see where they have been doorknocking. If you doorknock the same areas, just be professional and not try to steal the other new guys prospects. My guess is that it won’t be that big of a deal for you.
You can handle the situation however you want. I say screw kissing a bunch of other FAs' rear-ends. I promise you they're not going to help you provide for your family when the going gets tough..regardless of how "respectful" you've been to them.
I took over an office where a guy transferred to another office, and after a couple years of being here, I'm still losing clients to him that I know he's soliciting. I've lost almost $8 milliion in assets to him thus far. I've realized that Jones's primary interest is keeping the assets within the firm. The broker's office in which they're held is completely irrelevant. We profess to be one big family, but at the end of the day, we're all chasing the same dollar. This is a dog-eat-dog business.I agree with the comments, I would be very polite and discuss this with local FA's, I don't want to cover the same ground, look unprofessional. More importantly it is how I would like to be consulted.
It all comes down to who the regional leader likes the best. He may forbid you to go in someone else’s territory if he likes them better than you. Its very political.
[quote=Borker Boy]You can handle the situation however you want. I say screw kissing a bunch of other FAs’ rear-ends. I promise you they’re not going to help you provide for your family when the going gets tough…regardless of how “respectful” you’ve been to them.
I took over an office where a guy transferred to another office, and after a couple years of being here, I'm still losing clients to him that I know he's soliciting. I've lost almost $8 milliion in assets to him thus far. I've realized that Jones's primary interest is keeping the assets within the firm. The broker's office in which they're held is completely irrelevant. We profess to be one big family, but at the end of the day, we're all chasing the same dollar. This is a dog-eat-dog business.[/quote] ...and in the words of Norm Peterson, we're wearing Milk Bone underwear. I see the same in my area. There's some cannibalism regardless of the happy story you get. Sure, the friendly Jones reps would much prefer to take accounts from the friendly local Indy/wirehouse/bank rep, but I haven't seen them stop when it comes to taking from other Jones reps. Slow down maybe, but not stop.I received the same answer. No defined territories. If the FA’s in your area have been out a while, they no longer doorknock. One told me he has 500 accounts and has been out 3 yrs. and couldn’t take on any more accounts. I think after a while, they don’t doorknock anymore as was previously said.
500 accounts and he's not taking on any more? Now that's impressive. I have almost 600 now and am looking for about 900 more. I've never heard of anyone being out three years, with 500 accounts, who's in a position to stop taking on new clients. The Seg 5 in my town has 1600 accounts and will still take anything he can get his hands on...much to my chagrin.…One told me he has 500 accounts and has been out 3 yrs. and couldn’t take on any more accounts.
Territory is irrelevant…I thought firms had internal rules against “stealing” another FA’s clients…