Rude Awakening at Edward Jones
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I’m a new FA who just recently finished KYC and I’m struggling with the
whole idea of getting phone numbers. The main reason I am having this
problem is that I just do not like the idea of pitching over the phone.
The face-to-face strategy was the #1 reason I chose to work for Jones
(I had 3 other offers) and I am very disappointed to have these new
expectations.
I believe, if I bust my a$$, I could knock on
every door in my town at least once every month and I feel I have the
drive and motivation to do this. For people with whom I have a genuine
conversation (not some bull-s**t conversation about their lawn gnomes)
I would call and try to set up an appointment and have the opportunity
to make my sale. The rest, I would follow up in person and possibly
have a better conversation now that they know me.
This is what
I call relationship sales and this is what I signed on to do. I’m very
disappointed about the eval/grad requirements and have been seriously
questioning my decision to join Jones.
If there is anyone who can offer some feedback or advice, it would be greatly appreciated.
Alot of what I do is based solely around relationship sales, which is why I enjoy the company I’m a part of. I make very few phone calls, and a lot of what I do with setting up appointments is done in person. You can read my story on another thread called “Newcomer here”. If you want more information about my company and I please PM me and I’ll give you details and maybe you would be a better fit in my upline, rather than taking it from “the man” in corporate america. Look forward to hearing from you.
Man, as a newbie you won’t have time to sit around and wait on “relationship sales” to produce biz. It’ll take 9-12 months for relationship-based leads to come through. Too much rapport and lunch buying in the meantime before any paperwork is signed. Ask anyone on here how long it took them from the time they joined alliances with a CPA or an estate attorney to getting actual referrals from them, or how long it took them from when they developed their first connection with the Chamber of Commerce for that person to actually come on as a client. Takes WAYYY too long for that to be your sole source of marketing, especially as a newbie.
Hey still@jones, I agree with Wind. Just do the work and hang in there. I haven’t been on here for a long time because I haven’t had the time. Wanted to pop on and reply because I get what you are feeling right now. I’m out working towards eval/grad and everytime I get worked up about something I realise I’m just making excuses to not do the work.
Don’t look for a reason to fail. Door knock your ass off then and get your numbers and appointments to a point where it won’t matter that you hate making phone calls. If you let that psyche you out (especially when it’s so far away from what you are supposed to do right now) you will fail.
Don’t forget that you can make appointments before eval/grad too. In person. Face 2 face. Just date them for past your grad date.
....and if they should ever find out you talked to them before you were licensed, you not only get to write a check for them, you also get to contribute to Finra's penalty fund and you are out the business. Great advice from a veteran to a newbie."Upline"? Sounds like you're either with Primerica or World Financial Group. This is not a board for recruiting to MLMs. Edward Jones is a MUCH better alternative and better reputation over those two companies (and that's not saying much either).Alot of what I do is based solely around relationship sales, which is why I enjoy the company I’m a part of. I make very few phone calls, and a lot of what I do with setting up appointments is done in person. You can read my story on another thread called “Newcomer here”. If you want more information about my company and I please PM me and I’ll give you details and maybe you would be a better fit in my upline, rather than taking it from “the man” in corporate america. Look forward to hearing from you.
Sam, stop being an ass. You are not doing anything wrong. You are not asking for money. You are not giving advice you are setting up a time to meet with them. Totally within the boundries of compliance. Stop looking for fights.
Were you trying to say that you can schedule appts for after your grad date?Sam, stop being an ass. You are not doing anything wrong. You are not asking for money. You are not giving advice you are setting up a time to meet with them. Totally within the boundries of compliance. Stop looking for fights.
I was thinking maybe I read your post wrong. Must not have.I’m not engaging in an argument, I have too much work to do.
I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm on pace to be making well into the six-figure income within the next 2-3 years. All while not having to worry about being "butt-holed" by my boss, or having to worry about abiding by some strict schedule. I'm 100% independent, and the activity I am doing right now is more than many of my cohorts.Sam - I’m not as much worried about Cool Aid’s comment on appointments as I am the Primerica guy saying move there to not deal with “Taking it from the man”. lol
Paying for your license - $300
New suit - $400
Working for Primerica, giving your RVP 85% pay-out of your prospects, while being butt-holed from every direction and loving every minute of it - Absolutely Priceless
Don’t set appointments. I would like to clarify that it is NOT ok to to give any solicitation of business before eval/grad. Wrong wording. My apologies.
And no my name doesn’t start with C.
I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm on pace to be making well into the six-figure income within the next 2-3 years. All while not having to worry about being "butt-holed" by my boss, or having to worry about abiding by some strict schedule. I'm 100% independent, and the activity I am doing right now is more than many of my cohorts. [/quote] Your ignorance of your situation is astounding.[quote=wind3574]Sam - I’m not as much worried about Cool Aid’s comment on appointments as I am the Primerica guy saying move there to not deal with “Taking it from the man”. lol
Paying for your license - $300
New suit - $400
Working for Primerica, giving your RVP 85% pay-out of your prospects, while being butt-holed from every direction and loving every minute of it - Absolutely Priceless
I know it's very important to develop those relationships early on, but to expect you can rely solely on relationship-based sales when you first start out and still have a job in 6 months is more than someone can handle. I could be wrong, but I don't think you can live off of COI's and business alliances and not do quick turn-around marketing strategies, cold calling or door knocking in your 1st year, unless you are a former CPA or estate attorney transitioning your current clients/contacts with you3rdyrp2 - You have to remember. At Jones you do nothing but prospect for 3 months. Anyone who can’t start developing some business relationships within that time probably shouldn’t be in this biz. Building relationships first and then selling to my clients is workin fine for me, but then again not everyone does things the same way, especially in different parts of the country…
[quote=wind3574]3rdyrp2 - You have to remember. At Jones you do nothing but prospect for 3 months. Anyone who can’t start developing some business relationships within that time probably shouldn’t be in this biz. Building relationships first and then selling to my clients is workin fine for me, but then again not everyone does things the same way, especially in different parts of the country…
I know it’s very important to develop those relationships early on, but to expect you can rely solely on relationship-based sales when you first start out and still have a job in 6 months is more than someone can handle. I could be wrong, but I don’t think you can live off of COI’s and business alliances and not do quick turn-around marketing strategies, cold calling or door knocking in your 1st year, unless you are a former CPA or estate attorney transitioning your current clients/contacts with you[/quote]
I think you all are misunderstanding the OP. He is not talking about networking, he is talking about building a relationship with the client through face-to-face interaction versus product pushing over the phone. He said he came to Jones for that Face-to-Face approach, and from what I can gather, he is under the impression he will have to sell over the phone. (Please correct me if I’m wrong, still@Jones.)
Now, I am curious, if I could get some feedback from other EDJ newbies, is this pitching over the phone @ Eval/Grad actually an expectation? I don’t see how that fits into the business model. I just started SFS and I don’t know how many times I have read that a recommendation must meet a client’s individual needs. How is it possible to make a recommendation over the phone at Eval/Grad? There is no way the client’s needs have been established at that point. I thought the big thing at Eval/Grad was setting appointments.