Young FA's
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Alright guys, question for the young guys. Been reading this board for a couple of months and I get the vibe that a couple of us are younger then 30. Obviously there are guys 45+ on this forum and I have my guess to who they might be. But I want to know how the under 30 crowd is faring,(besides windy), even better would be under 25.
Do people give you a hard time because you are young? Do they even ask? I sold cars and worked at NWM as a Financial Rep for about a year and never had it brought up, but investment brokerage/financial advising is a little different. It was never a issue before, but I was never asking for more then a 3,000 check with insurance. Cars is a different world entirely, so disregard that. As young guys, our credibility is well…eh
Now I know that we can make up for our youthful looks with charisma, knowledge and sales ability, but in all seriousness, how was your age effected you?
When I was first starting out at age 23 I think age was a huge factor. There was one time in my 3rd month when I somehow got a 62 year old widow as a client (with help from one of my experienced colleagues). We had 2 meetings or so in the next few weeks then we presented our proposal to roll over about $750,000. When I went to get her coffee she pulled my colleague aside and told her that she apologizes but she feels uncomfortable with me being as young as I was, and as good as the proposal may be that we show her, she wasn’t going to be moving any money. We spent about 6-8 hours of work prepping for the meetings because she didn’t have the heart to tell us how she really felt up front.
At this point I'm 26, but I feel 36 when talking and meeting with prospects right now. Where I used to hope that people wouldn't ask me too many questions because I was afraid I either wouldn't know the answer or wouldn't know a good way to b.s. the answer, now I almost invite any kind of question cause I know I can answer it. I don't look any different than I did 3 years ago but I think showing confidence can make you look older than your age. Thats just my .02.Being young you should emphasize that you will be around after they retire to take care of their investments, while with a more “senior” advisor they will be going to retire exactly when you need them. Also a lot of clients like the idea of getting in on the ground level instead of being the 1500 household added.
Got my can sell at 20.
It only came up a couple times. Just don't let it become an issue and you'll be fine.Volt has an advantage though, he can prospect his fellow residents at the retirement community in which he lives.Sorry Volt & Moraen…you guys are O-L-D!
[quote=iceco1d]Sorry Volt & Moraen…you guys are O-L-D!
Volt has an advantage though, he can prospect his fellow residents at the retirement community in which he lives.[/quote]
Ouch!
Being young is a disadvantage in this business. Most people are cautious to invest with a young FA. However, you can overcome it. You have to work harder than the other guy to gain the trust of the client. You have to show you will out service the other guys. Sometimes you will have to settle for being their second guy at first, take a smaller piece of their business at first until you prove yourself. This is still a great opportunity as you can eventually bring the other business over after a year or two. Talk to any veteran who is 40, 50, 60 years old and they will tell you they would have killed to start at 23 instead of a second career later in life. I always tell young guys always lean to the conservative side with your recommendations to clients and let clients know this. This will be more at ease when you tell them your style is conservative. The last thing they want is a young agressive guy blowing up their portfolio. 80% of clients will prefer this, the other 20% will let you know they want to be more agressive and then you can change direction at that time.
I think looking older has advantages in most areas of business. Recently, I remember talking with a business associate a who had shown me much more trust and respect than he had shown to my colleagues with similar age/qualifications/experience.
He made a comment, "I don’t trust those young guys. They don’t get it. Us baby boomers have to stick together!"
I resisted the urge to say, "Hey man, I’m only 35! What are you talking about?"
Maybe there is an advantage to looking old before my time.
I’ve been asked if I was selling girl scout cookies. I’ve been told I look 15 years old. I’ve been told I look 18. I’ve been told that i really shouldn’t be talking to people “like me” (by some 55 year old) that I should just stick with younger people because anyone like her will not work with me. I bit my tongue and didn’t tell her to go screw herself. Or ask if her broker that’s her age will still be around when she’s 85. Boomers, I have found, are the rudest. The people that have said I look very young, though, are the very elderly. As far as prospecting goes, I have had a lot of pushback from the 55-65 year old group. The elderly will comment on age, but the will still talk to me. I have had the most luck with the 55 and under. (It seems that 40-55 is my sweet spot.) The same could be said for my clients at my previous firm.
So is being a douche, but that hasn't stopped you yet...at least not in your imagination![/quote] You are such a tool it is not even worth responding. You have been in the business 2 years, you should not even be posting sh@t, go door knock or something. I have done more in my 27 years than you ever will in your sh@t hole town in the midwest. While you picked your ass for 5 years after school I was working for a major firm at 22 traveling to over 30 states doing business getting both my MBA and CFP paid for. You could not even hold my jock strap little man. This is why I hardly go to this site cause losers can post comments they would never back up in real life. I knocked out b#tches a lot bigger than you playing college ball. Why don't you get back to chasing your sister around for a little tail, isn't that what you do in small towns?[quote=LA Broker]Being young is a disadvantage in this business.
[quote=iceco1d][quote=LA Broker]Being young is a disadvantage in this business.
So is being a douche, but that hasn’t stopped you yet…at least not in your imagination![/quote]
You are such a tool it is not even worth responding. You have been in the business 2 years, you should not even be posting sh@t, go door knock or something. I have done more in my 27 years than you ever will in your sh@t hole town in the midwest. While you picked your ass for 5 years after school I was working for a major firm at 22 traveling to over 30 states doing business getting both my MBA and CFP paid for. You could not even hold my jock strap little man. This is why I hardly go to this site cause losers can post comments they would never back up in real life. I knocked out b#tches a lot bigger than you playing college ball. Why don’t you get back to chasing your sister around for a little tail, isn’t that what you do in small towns?[/quote]
LA - I have avoided bashing you since most of your recent posts have been an effort to help and were not smart ass at all.
You think you know things about people, when in fact, you are just a clown. If you think an MBA is a big deal, think again. A lot of people on this board have MBA’s and CFP’s. The CFP is a joke compared to the CFA. You think saying those things or having those things makes you special? There are plenty have people who have done more before 25 than you will do your whole life.
College ball? You mean you couldn’t make it to the pros?
Your own words damned you as a liar. And for you to think you know anything about anybody else… clown.
Holding up jock straps - is that what you do for the senior brokers while they are pulling on your thong.
LA - do yourself a favor, erase your name, come back as someone legit and quit thinking you know jack about anybody.
So is being a douche, but that hasn't stopped you yet...at least not in your imagination![/quote] You are such a tool it is not even worth responding. You have been in the business 2 years, you should not even be posting sh@t, go door knock or something. I have done more in my 27 years than you ever will in your sh@t hole town in the midwest. While you picked your ass for 5 years after school I was working for a major firm at 22 traveling to over 30 states doing business getting both my MBA and CFP paid for. You could not even hold my jock strap little man. This is why I hardly go to this site cause losers can post comments they would never back up in real life. I knocked out b#tches a lot bigger than you playing college ball. Why don't you get back to chasing your sister around for a little tail, isn't that what you do in small towns?[/quote][quote=iceco1d][quote=LA Broker]Being young is a disadvantage in this business.
LA Polesmoker, you are bagging on Iceco1d for his 2 years in the industry, when he has been a producer for the entire time, the part of the industry that generates revenue. Nobody knows what you did for the past 5 years traveling around the country. Were you a compliance officer, preventing others from working or maybe just a cheerleader, blowing the big producers to keep morale up?
When you have actually done something as a producer then you can come to a forum for advisors and bag on someone else.
Now take your queer ass back to West Hollywood and come back here when you have done something of relevance as a producer.