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Hiring a Financial Advisor: Clues from the Receptionist

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If you’ve ever met with a financial professional, you know how nerve-wracking that first meeting can be. First, you’re unsure of the qualifications of the expert, you don’t know anything about their operation, but mostly, you’re not sure if you’ll like her.

Let’s give you some clues to look for when you have that first meeting. OG & I have visited plenty of financial advisory offices and can give you an insider’s look:

Financial Advisor Office: The Receptionist

Unless you’ve agreed to meet after hours, there are plenty of clues about an advisor in the reception area. First, there should be a welcoming, warm receptionist. This is a key role in an advisor’s office. Every good advisor knows that new and existing clients might come in with concerns and a case of “nerves.” While we had plenty of routine reviews with clients when I was practicing, there were times that people came in after a loved one died, when kids were headed to college, their company had made a retirement offer, our client had been fired, or a new baby was on the way. These are all nervous times.

The receptionist should welcome you. If he/she seems disgruntled or too busy to notice you, this is a warning sign. Sure, an advisory office is a busy place (I usually received between 25 and 75 emails a day on top of about 15 calls from clients and 6 hour-long meetings….do that math!), but the receptionist’s number one task is to make sure that clients feel welcome. I’ve seen plenty of disgruntled receptionists and can confirm that I’ve never met one that wasn’t unhappy for a reason (usually they hated their boss, the advisor).

A great receptionist is the eyes and ears of a great advisor. My receptionist would let me know if someone seemed especially anxious, so I was armed and ready when the client arrived at the meeting room.

Financial Advisor Office: Surroundings

The office reception area is the first view of the advisor’s office and says a ton about them. Some advisors prefer to fill the walls with professional accolades (I saved that for the actual meeting room). Others stack the area with financial magazines and CNBC on the television. Personally, I prefer anything that helps my clients feel confidence and calm.

The television: If there’s no tv, fantastic. However, there should be some soothing music if there is no television. Actually, if there is only soothing music, I think that’s preferable.

Who the hell wants to watch the market tank and people screaming on the trading floor before they meet with their advisor? Imagine if you’re meeting with your advisor on the day world news happens. Would that make you feel calm? Plus, there are so many pseudo-professionals on those channels who spend their few moments “on air” creating fear and doubt. I don’t want a jittery, nervous client in my office. I want them relaxed! We’d keep the television on either the Travel Channel or the Food Channel.

Check out this space. It's small (advisor is frugal...a good thing) but stylish and comfortable. As long as those files aren't private client info, I'm good with this one!

Check out this space. It’s small (advisor is frugal…a good thing) but stylish, quiet and comfortable. As long as those files aren’t private client info, I’m good with this one! Photo: Dwonderwall

We hired a designer to tackle the reception area. Her job was to decorate the walls with relaxing images. Our chairs were big and firm, like the kind you’d find in a nice family room. We removed the overhead flourescent lights and used lamps instead. We’d lay out magazines such as Travel and Leisure, Golf, or high end fashion stuff.

Advisors playing CNBC, in my opinion, are big on timing the market, pretending they know what’s going to happen next, and playing “the game.” No thank you. And advisors playing political channels such as FOX News or MSNBC were complete morons. The clinic my wife works at has FOX News on the television and a big sign that says “Do Not Change the Station.” What does politics have to do with my flu shot (please don’t answer that in the comments….consider it rhetorical). Why do I want my left-leaning multi-millionaire prospects to hate me before they actually shake my hand because FOX News was on the television (or, swinging the other way, right-leaning clients while I’m playing MSNBC….). Politics don’t mix with good business (at least on the retail level).

Financial Advisor Office: Amenities

The receptionist should offer you drinks and possibly light hors d oeuvre’s. Let’s be clear: I want my advisors to be successful and spend a little money on my comfort without going over the top. I don’t want a cheap paper cup. Is the advisor broke? Are they one step from going out of business? On the other hand, if I’m being offered lattes or espresso out of an expensive machine, that’s too far. We offered soft drinks, bottled water, and a variety of Keurig coffees, served in nice recyclable cups with lids or mugs with our firm’s logo. That way, clients who wanted one for the road after the meeting could have another.

One time our receptionist, to cut costs, decided to buy these little tiny cups. We were serving clients these tiny drinks the size of Costco samplers. No thanks! Big cups for us!

Do I think this is important to notice? From a guy who’s been in hundreds of advisory offices: Absolutely! EVERYTHING is a hint about how the advisor values you, your money, and their own business. My gut instinct about advisors was usually right on after I looked at their reception area. I want an advisor who has pride in their operation and gives top customer service without being over-the-top. If they offer me a drink “to go,” I think they’ll definitely call me when I need to know about some new law that affects my goals or money.

Financial Advisor Office Clues: Take Away Tips

Here are clues to look for when you walk into an advisor’s office:

– How are you greeted? Is the receptionist worried most about you or are they focused on other tasks?

– What does the reception area look like? Is it worn out or overly expensive? Does it seem like someone thought about your comfort?

– How is the media offering? Are there magazines, television, music that are calming?

The reception area can give you huge clues about whether this is the advisor for you. Often, because I think we did such a great job on our reception, I had a real leg up on gaining a new client even before they met me for the first time.

You Can Do It Yourself

The reality is that a decent financial advisor will likely cost you – either a percent of your investment capital or a straight fee.  Don’t forget.  You can always go the DIY route. There are lots of solid software packages out there.  All of which are going to be a lot cheaper than hiring a full-time advisor.  Alternatively, you can check out our toolkit if you want free tools or books that will help you focus your money.

Do you have an advisor? Have you met with one before? Let’s share some more clues in the comment section!

Photo: jepoirrer

How Colors Affect Your Investment Decisions

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how-colors-affect-your-investment-decisions

When I was a new advisor, one area I failed to understand was the importance of color. We are, at our heart, 90% subconscious beings. Sure, we have thoughts, but while we’re deciding which ice cream to eat, our automatic mind is handling the so-much-more trivial tasks of (among many, many others) breathing and sensory response. Those who are able to reach those subconscious portions of us are more likely to sell us on pursuing whatever it is they’re selling.

I was in the business of selling you on your goals. Better yet, I was in the business of selling you on the fact that you’d rather pay me to handle as much of your money as possible.

I wasn’t selling actual products, I was selling the concepts of trust, commitment, and richness. These concepts can be expressed in colors.

Colors Affect Decision Making

The use of color in sales isn’t limited to investment advisors. On the contrary, most advisors have little understanding of the importance of the subconscious on a client’s decision to say “yes” or “no” to a strategy. Yet there’s tons of research available, from color’s role in shopping to fruit-buying, and even clean energy and cleaning supplies.

Marketers understand the role of color. So should you.

Brief overview of colors

Most of the colors below have two different associations, that depend on your experience and temperament

  • Red – Danger, power, and strength. On the other side of the coin, passion, desire, and love are also associated with this color.
  • Green – Growth and harmony. Common associations include tranquility and a sense of calm.
  • Blue – Trust, peace, compassion, and warmth. Can also emit feelings of sadness and cold.
  • Brown – Dependability and resilience. Users of brown are typically more reserved.
  • Orange – Joy, enthusiasm,  and attraction are common associations. Orange is also used to call attention.
  • Purple – Mysterious, wealthy, and soothing (to some).
  • Yellow – Aggressive, energetic, and cheerful.
  • Black – Power, aggressiveness, and sadness.
  • White – Purity, bland, and cold.

Effective Colors

If I had meetings with potential new clients, I’d choose royal blue ties. Royal blue suggests security and trust. My goal with new clients was to be the guy they could hand money over to manage. Imagine that you were meeting with an advisor that you’d never previously met. Would you trust a guy wearing red?

In later meetings, when we’d talk about investing, I’d switch colors to green. Hunter green especially is a wealthy color. This was most effective with clients who seemed to be in love with the pursuit of money. If I projected wealthy colors, they were more likely to accept my counsel and allow me to manage more of their assets inside my firm. Even so, if I wore green to meetings where we were signing contracts, it symbolized that these were going to be big money-making investments.

Avoid These Colors

I owned a kick-ass yellow tie. Besides being the color of caution, my blondish hair created a pale, washed outlook. It seemed like I might be sick. This unsteady, youthful, and pale look decreased sales.

Red was a color I played games with. I had a red marker on my dry erase board. When I was disproving something other advisors had told my client, or I was recommending areas we wanted to avoid, I purposefully used red. I switched to blue or green markers to illustrate my own strategies.

What Does This Have To Do With You?

Colors affect all of your buying decisions. If an advisor is recommending a change in your strategy, be aware of her choice of colors when making an argument. When you’re handed a prospectus for a product, look at the colors they choose. When you go to a financial company website, avoid the urge to choose based on the color pattern.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Fidelity.com: Bright, fresh green. The only orange is the “choose an account button.” Orange is a “call to action” color. Blue is only used in the words “See how Fidelity can help.” Remember what I said about trust? These colors aren’t accidents.

Vanguard.com: Red all over the place. At first blush, this seems like a mistake, but think about what Vanguard sells. They sell at a lower cost and the fact that you’re probably paying too much if you’re looking somewhere else. Even the keyword on the side, “Vanguarding” suggests stopping to think. Red increases your heart rate, gets you excited, and creates energy. Red is the perfect color for what Vanguard sells.

Scottrade: An interesting choice….purple. This isn’t a bad move either. First, it’s different from the others, but purple is a calm, soothing color. As a slightly smaller broker, Scottrade’s job is to get you to think of them as a steady ship (often I was surprised that many of my clients had never heard of Scottrade).

TDAmeritrade: Check out all the green.

Ameriprise:  Tons of royal blue. Why? This is an advisor-driven company, so they’re not going to sell red. They’re selling a trusted relationship.

E-Trade: Their site is too busy. Lots of green, some blue, and a little purple all make sense. The black across the top is interesting. Black is a power color. I used it during what we’d call “come to Jesus” meetings (I don’t mean to be offensive – that’s the term every office I ever worked in called it when clients needed to either be given the boot or get on board). However, it’s also an impulse shopping color, so maybe E-Trade thinks they have to get people while the impulse is on.

Charles Schwab: Blue, with a big lime button in the middle “get guidance” button and an orange “open an account” button at the top.

The Most Important Point To Remember

Colors are used against you all the time. To stay in control of your money, use colors defensively. Or, when you’re up for your next raise, use colors against your boss!

For more on financial advisors and how to pick the right one check out these great articles.

When I Was a New Financial Advisor
What is the Role of a Financial Advisor?
Afraid To Meet With a Financial Advisor? Here’s How the First Meeting Goes 

Photo credit: wazimu0.

In Defense of Financial Advisor Fees

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I was a fee hater.

Like a younger, more handsome John Bogle, I would rail on fees. I’d stand on every rooftop screaming about avoiding fees at all cost.

For this reason, when I was a financial advisor, I provided what I thought was top-notch service and undercharged for it every day.

How much did I charge? My minimum fee was $500 per year.

Undercharged? There is no such thing, Joe! Less fees = better. Duh! You should have charged $300!

Think so, do you? Sit close, young padewan, while Uncle Joe tells you a story:

My Experience With Fees

Early in my career I lucked into the opportunity to give speeches on behalf of one of the top advisors in the country. I’d fly wherever he wished and spoke to rooms full of people about good planning. In exchange, he allowed me to move my offices into his suite.

Awesome! What a break for a new advisor; I’d get to see the inner workings of a well-honed operation and maybe glean some tips.

At first I was disappointed. All I saw was what looked like a cookie-cutter assembly line of advice and deliverables. Many clients received offshoots of similar advice. The firm never stuck their neck out. They avoided complex situations at all cost.

That lead me to believe that he was among the best in the country only because he could “sell” people on ways he’d jack up their fees.

…and jack he did. I rarely saw him charge less than $2,500 for planning, then garner asset management fees on top of that. He was a fee-based selling machine.

One day the operations manager and I were talking. I asked a polite question about how redundant their process management workflow seemed. To give you an idea of what I thought about this guy: I’m sure the term “cocky smartass” wouldn’t be far off the mark.

He said, “Have you noticed that we charge five times what you charge?”

I smiled. “Yes.” What a loser. I could never charge what they did! They were just leeches, skimming off of their client’s blood.

He said, “We charge five times more because we’re five times better than you.”

I took it personally.

I shouldn’t have.

Three months later, we were in agreement:

he was five times better than me.

Why He Was Better

This planner was so good, I’d worked right under his nose and hadn’t noticed his skill. The systems were sublime. Where I’d seen cookie-cutter assembly lines before, now I saw a brilliant asset allocation arrangement. Where I’d believed he was charging excess dollars to put boring plans in place, he was dotting every “I” and crossing every “T” for clients…mostly doing the boring stuff that usually was swept under the rug.

In short, he had a proven system of asset management and plan building. If you wanted that service, he covered his costs with his fees. If you didn’t want it, you should probably look elsewhere.

He didn’t try to be everything to everyone.

What You Can Learn

You don’t have to pay $2,500 or more to some advisor if you’re willing to perform the critical tasks that this advisor captained for his clients:

1) Design a plan that covers the six areas of financial planning and rigorously maintain the plan according to a set schedule. Make sure everyone involved is up-to-speed with the details.

2) Build a system to check and maintain your assets against your plan. He had systems in place to notify him when assets deviated too much from the plan. Build your own set of alarms.

3) Carefully guard against taxes and excess fees. This seems like an oxymoron, because this advisor charged a ton of money, but his fees were largely performance based. To increase his fees (and his client’s net worth) he had to ensure the plan was a lean-mean-return-gathering-machine. The only way to do that was to develop a comprehensive tax strategy (example: tax efficient investments outside of IRAs while tax-eaters inside shelters) and low-cost investments.

4) Scour insurances for opportunities. This advisor would review all of his client’s insurances regularly (every two years) to find wasted money. He’d also use insurances wisely to plug holes. One place he nearly always recommended: disability coverage.

5) Build legacies. He was the adamant that everyone either had a family or charitable organization they’d want to have flourish if they couldn’t use their own money. He’d make sure that the estate plan was air-tight and (as with insurance) review these plans every two years.

6) Set communication systems. Clients received a newsletter every six weeks. There was a conference call scheduled for two quarters of the year, along with two face to face meetings. Generally, the face to face meetings were comprehensive and the phone calls were “just checking up.” While he “allowed” only one member of a marriage to take part in phone calls, he was adamant that both spouses attend meetings. He’d become especially irate if one didn’t understand finances and didn’t want to participate. His thinking: if the knowledgeable spouse passed away, the other was screwed.

He also wasn’t afraid to call every client when markets imploded. During the 2002 and 2008 crisis, his whole team was on the phone non-stop, sharing information and passing along strategies. Usually, he wasn’t changing course, because his asset allocation model was already designed to weather downturns. However, clients loved hearing from him.

Was some of this overkill? Maybe. Often insurance and estate planning needs didn’t change. However, when something did, the advisor was on top of it fairly quickly.

It’s a Choice

During my 16 years as an advisor, there were many clients who refused to pay fees even though they would have been far better off had they paid this advisor. It’s fine to accomplish your financial goals without an advisor (in fact, if you’re willing to complete the six steps above, I’d recommend it). But if you decide not to, make sure you’ve designed systems for success and aren’t just being cheap.

Financial planning is just one example. Are there areas of your life where you’d be better off paying a fee and you just can’t do it? Are you cheap?

(Photo credit: Hands Clenching Dollars, Muffett, Flickr; Couple and Advisor, Jerry Bunkers, Flickr)

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6 Benefits of Hiring a Part-Time CFO

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The chief financial officer (CFO) is critical to the business’ success because they oversee the company’s financial operations and contribute to the decision-making process. However, if you have a limited budget or run a small company, you may not have adequate funds or workload to maintain an in-house CFO.

However, this does not mean you cannot benefit from financial executive services.  With part-time chief financial officer services, you can have all your financial demands handled without breaking your bank. Read on for more benefits of hiring a part-time CFO. [Read more…]

How Disability Attorneys Can Help You Get Compensated

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Filing for disability claims can be a complicated and confusing process. This is because most of these claims have complex procedures to follow, including the qualification requirements and deadlines to comply with. When you have no idea how these processes work, you can get easily intimidated and can decrease your chances of receiving a just compensation.   [Read more…]

The Pros and Cons of Being a Financial Advisor

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If you’ve ever considered a career as a financial advisor, there are some things you’ll want to consider before jumping in headfirst. There are definitely some perks like being your own boss and earning what you’re really worth, but there are some pitfalls too. Here’s a look at some of the pros and cons of being a financial advisor to help you make your decision.

The UpSide

You can be self-employed

While working for a firm, either public or private, is an option, so is working for yourself. You can set up an office at home to save money on office rental and even set your own schedule in a way that works with your lifestyle. If you don’t want clients coming to your home office, you can set appointments at their home or office and go to them.

There’s no salary limit

Working in another field usually comes with a salary based on your experience and the company’s pay schedule. As a financial advisor, you set your own fees for the services you provide and can even earn commissions on the products you sell. Your earning potential is up to you.

Start-up costs can be low

If you’d like to be self-employed, this is definitely a plus. Of course, you’ll have to pay licensing and other business fees, which can be a little costly but are usually a one-time or annual expense. As far as your monthly expenses, you can keep these to a minimum, especially if you work from home. Monthly website fees and a little online advertising can cost about $300 – $500 a month. Be mindful of Errors and Omissions Insurance (E&O). You must be cognizant of fees assessed by your firm, if you decide not to work for yourself.



You get to help others

Whether you’re working with individuals or small families, you can help them reach their goals of buying a home, saving for their child’s college education, or putting money away for retirement instead of living paycheck to paycheck. A job where you get to do something useful and help others is a great way to spend your days.

Get your own finances in order

As you’re developing your practice, as well as going through the licensing process, you’ll have to learn a lot about finance. Every part of the “financial journey” needs to be an area of expertise. When you’re helping others meet their goals, you’ll be able to get your own finances in order using the knowledge you acquired.

The Down Side

There’s a lot of stress

In order to be successful, you have to be great with numbers and a pro at multitasking as you’ll be switching from one thought to another all day long. The only way to make more money is to take on more clients, which leads to more stress. You have to learn how to manage your day instead of letting your day manage you.

It’s a lot of work

Depending on where you live, your state and even your county will have licensing and certification requirements that you will have to meet. You may need a college degree or special training. And in most cases, you will need to be sponsored by a brokerage firm which means you’ll need to work for one for a bit. You’ll need to acquire a lot of knowledge about finances, as well as sales, marketing, and psychology. Continuous prospecting and licensing are needed to propel your business forward.

You have to be a people person

While you’ll begin receiving referrals at some point, finding clients of your own will be difficult in the beginning. You have to be committed to going to networking events, calling people, asking for referrals, and marketing your services. This can mean working a lot of hours when you’re just starting out.

There are certainly some great perks to being a financial advisor, but there are some challenges to consider before deciding to make this your career choice.

Related Reading:

Hiring a Financial Advisor

5 Questions You Should Ask Your Financial Advisor

Different Ways Financial Advisors Charge

5 Questions You Should Ask Your Financial Advisor Now

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5 Questions You Should Ask Your Financial Advisor Now

The coronavirus pandemic shook the financial lives of many. The stock markets took major tumbles, and unemployment claims reached the 40 million mark. Which is creating a lot of uncertainty. Financial planning during tumultuous times is always challenging. Adding to it, the COVID-19 situation and the instability of the current economy. Trying to figure out what to do for your personal financial health is even harder. Luckily, financial advisors can help you navigate these seemingly treacherous waters. However, you do need to make sure you ask the right questions, ensuring you get the information you need. If you are scheduling a meeting, here are five questions you should ask your financial advisor now.

[Read more…]

Client Experiences

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Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of stories and I’ve seen client after client make mistakes that set them back. Today, I want to share some of those with you in hopes that you will learn from them.

Obviously, I won’t use the actual names of people in order to protect their identities.

Can’t stop using credit cards

I have a client (Bob) that had a lot of credit card debt. Unfortunately, this debt was accumulated prior to him becoming a customer of mine.

Anyway, he had over $20,000 in credit card debt. One day, he decided to take out a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to pay off that debt, as well as finance some home repairs.

Taking out the HELOC was a good choice for paying off that debt, but the home repairs weren’t necessary. They were wanted and should’ve waited.

Not long after he got the HELOC, he started accumulating more credit card debt. It got to the point where he was back over $20,000 and had to take out another loan to pay that debt off. The most recent loan he took out while a client – and he still is my client. We will see if he can restrain himself enough to not use his credit cards.

There are two things I want you to take away from this.

One, if you take out a loan to pay off credit card debt, you better be darn sure you won’t accumulate any more. Paying off high-interest debt is great, but only if you stop buying with your card.

Two, had he not racked up all that debt in the beginning, he could’ve saved up for those home repairs. That’s the biggest advantage of having a rainy day fund, it’s there when you need it.

Bad financial advisor

I have a client couple, John and Jane, that became a client of mine several years ago. Before me, they had another advisor.

They had an extremely bad experience with this advisor, and it’s because of him my profession gets a bad rap.

This advisor (George), acquired John and Jane’s assets and helped them establish a retirement account. George charged them a fee of 1 percent annually to manage their accounts.

Once the paperwork was signed and the account was set up, George, seemingly, didn’t do another thing for John and Jane.

He let their account sit and collected his 1 percent per year fee. Obviously, John and Jane were upset and lost a lot of money.

Two takeaways here.

One, this is your retirement savings at stake. When hiring an advisor, you really need to do your homework. Have multiple meetings with him/her. Get an idea of their character and what’s important to them. You owe yourself to be picky.

Two, fees will crush you. Every. Single. Time. A trusted advisor should be transparent with their fees, and the fee that they charge should correspond with the services they provide.

If they’re full service, 1 percent is justified. If they only perform a select number of services, then their fee should be less.

Risk-averse client

Barbara has only been a client of mine for a few years. When we first met, she had all of her money in a savings account. All of it!

She was fully invested when the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) took place, and she lost a significant amount of money. So she pulled it all and stuck it in a bank account.

You know as well as I do that had she kept the money invested and rode through the GFC, she would’ve come out so much farther ahead, but the brain doesn’t work that way.

Her psyche was damaged from experiencing those losses to the point where she was no longer willing to take risks.

Thankfully, she’s slowly investing her money and hopefully, will continue to do so.

Making up for lost time

This last story, unfortunately, is all too common. Rick is in his fifties. He hasn’t had the best saving habits, so his retirement account is underfunded.

He still has time to save more and beef up his account, but he’s worried and rightfully so. Everything is expensive, and if you’re not able to work, the money has to come from somewhere.

Along with increasing his savings rate, Rick decides he wants to be more aggressive. Someone in their fifties should have a 50/50 stock/bond allocation. This is a general recommendation, actual allocations will vary by risk tolerance and time horizon.

Rick wants an 80/20 allocation. In my professional opinion, it’s far too risky. I do my best to nudge him back the other way, but he’s insistent and at the end of the day, it’s his money.

In this situation, I’ll have the client sign a consent form stating that they are choosing to not take my advice and that I won’t be held accountable for excessive losses if they occur.

Conclusion

Mistakes happen all of the time. Unfortunately, some happen much more often than others. Part of my job is to recognize those mistakes and correct them before they do too much damage.

Learn before you commit the same errors.

Related Reading:

How To Save Money Effectively

The Psychology Of Money

Why Asset Allocation Matters

Financial Mistakes To Avoid

Hiring A Financial Advisor

5 Lies Bad Advisors Tell Clients

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I don’t know about you, but I hate liars. Sadly, there are liars, and then there are really, really good liars. Financial advisors talk all day, so guess which type I saw? Like every industry, the financial planning and advising profession includes great pros and horrible charlatans. Sadly, there are enough charlatans out there that some in the public begin to view every apple as a bad one. In fact, some of the charlatans have been telling themselves these fibs for so long, they THEMSELVES believe the lie.




But if you need help, you shouldn’t shy away from a competent financial advisor. After you observe the office and staff, ask good questions and hire an advisor, watch out for these pitfalls. These are signs your plan might not be as great as you’d hoped:

1) “We expect the markets to….” This may be a clue that your advisor thinks she can call market fluctuations. That’s what many clients want, but something that advisors are unable to deliver. I prefer advisors who admit that markets are largely unpredictable and who helped clients plan for unpredictability rather than guessing the next turn.

Honest advisors will hedge their bets (and yours!) by using stop losses, wide asset allocation, or a series of other defense mechanisms. Advisors who don’t have a serious defensive strategy for your portfolio are putting your money at risk.

2) “I have a portfolio that’s unique to you…..” I was guilty of this when I was first practicing. I thought that every portfolio needed to be tailored to each individual’s unique goals. While this is true in a perfect work, about my fifth year of practice I ran into the reality of being a good advisor: people hired me NOT to make recommendations but to help them HERD their flock of investments. How can any advisor know what’s going on in 200 different portfolios? There’s not enough time to successfully manage this effectively. I was inefficient until I created a series of model portfolios and then tracked the investments instead of the clients. If something happened with a particular position, I could quickly call up all the clients who owned that investment and contact them to determine our next move.

3) “I’m a fee-only advisor, which makes me better…..” While I appreciate the fee-only, fee-based, and commission advisor argument, and could make an incredible case why fee-only or fee-based advisors are often the ones to hire, I’ve heard some horrible advisors tell people that because they were paid a certain way, this made them better.

While an advisor’s compensation factors into your decisions, it isn’t the only factor and doesn’t make someone “good” at their job. It just defines their pay.

“Better” is defined by the thoroughness of the plan, the accuracy of the milestones, and the defensive strategies the advisor helps you create. It isn’t created by a pay model.

4) “We’re watching your investments constantly…..” So here’s how my model week was planned: 12 – 14 client meetings a week, tons of emails and calls, internal staff meetings to plan strategies for clients, meetings with mastermind groups to discuss events across the different financial sectors, and marketing meetings (even top advisors have to bring in new clients to replace the natural attrition in a practice). I looked at the state of the financial markets twice a day, max. Once a week I received a detailed report on the performance of all the investments we recommended. Barring a major move in the markets, I RARELY KNEW how your investments were doing on a day-to-day basis.

If an advisor tells you that, she won’t be business long. If they’re “watching your investments” they aren’t completing the tasks that allows them to service client needs.

5) “I will be the only one in the office you talk to about your planning….” sadly, this one might be a truth, but shows that you have a bad advisor. If I was scheduling meetings, calling about tweaks, and chatting, I’d never have time to make sure my client’s money was safe. Every great advisor I know makes sure every client receives top notch service by delegating non-urgent correspondence to members of the staff.

My clients knew to talk to Tina about scheduling meetings or calls. They could call me, but learned quickly that if they called Tina, they’d get an answer more quickly…or me on the phone more quickly. Emails also were usually a quicker way to get a response, because I could pound out an answer to the question. I avoided the phone unless absolutely necessary because I love to talk to people. It was a time suck because of all the pleasantries. I didn’t have time for “How are you?”

My junior planning partner, Todd, knew who we recommended for mortgages, tax prep, and even car repairs….he processed all new accounts, helped clients add and take out funds, and set up any client-requested changes. I didn’t get involved in any of that. Would you want your expert advisor filling in names and social security numbers or in a meeting about new tax law changes?

How did I learn that these five areas were signs of a bad advisor? Being around some talented advisors. Their main job was to counsel clients….not be the only person they’d talk to…. You can’t handle everything and be a star advisor. Any great leader needs systems and a fantastic team.

Photo: jepoirrier

Okay, those are my five. What are the biggest lies people tell in your industry?

In The Trenches: New Advisor Tales

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I’ve been traveling across the country this week, so I haven’t read enough blogs to decide on a Blog Post of the Week! Instead, how about if Uncle Joe tells you a story about the good ol’ days….

I’ve had requests from people who read this blog for stories about how advisors are trained. I obviously can’t put a dot on “the one way” people are trained. Even within the organization I worked in, some were trained well and others poorly. Some came with great skills and others with none.

Here’s how my journey began:

I always imagined that anyone working in the financial planning business spent most of their day either in meetings with clients or in a room full of computers drawing up strategies or watching them unfold.

Yeah, that stuff happens.

In fairy tales.

Nope. Conditions in my office were so bad initially that I’ll tell everyone reading this not to follow my route. It was an ugly way to start a career.

 

How We Spent Our Days

 

My early clients would never want to hear that I didn’t have time to prepare adequately or follow up enough with their plans. We spent about 80 percent of our time making phone calls. By “we” I mean me and about 12 other brand new recruits who were trying to break into the business. We’d gather daily in a large conference room, pop a film like Rambo or Wall Street on a television and call as many people as possible.

 

Young Financial Planners

Why we wore suits is still beyond me. I could have been in sweatpants and felt more comfortable while I cold called hundreds of people a night.

 

Why didn’t we work on strategies more? The reason is simple: I couldn’t survive on three or four clients and the management machine knew it. Sure, I was ignoring my early clients, but I needed to still have a job in the future if those first clients ever expected to get decent help from me.

When people tell you that you should hire an advisor who’s been in the business 10 years, it’s for two reasons: first, they’ve been in the trenches and have probably seen damned near everything. Second, they don’t have to worry so much about marketing and actually DO spend time on client strategies.

When did we work on a client’s business? Maybe for about an hour each morning. They weren’t very well thought out. We had calls to make.

 

Our Marketing Strategy

 

The call strategy, no longer used by the company I was with, was called “A/B.” On call A we’d offer free literature about tax planning, retirement planning, or college planning, whichever the victim of my call thought might be most helpful.

How did we get names? We used phone books.

If someone took us up on our offer, we’d call back after sending them a generic brochure to see if they had questions about the literature and just exactly “why they requested it.”

Here’s a typical call. This happened about 24 Million times:

Me: So, why did you request the information, sir?

Them: I didn’t request the information, you called and asked if I wanted it. I said I don’t care.

Me: Well you must have thought tax planning was important at some point.

Them: Listen, I just declared bankruptcy. I don’t really care about taxes.

But, once in awhile, I’d hear this response:

Me: Why did you request the information.

Them: I’m not happy with my financial advisor and I was hoping your firm would do better.

Me: (pause. I’m pissing my pants. Somebody said something positive.)

Them: Hello? You still there?

Me: Uh…yeah. We’re really good advisors. (why did I say that? I’m such an idiot.)

Them: Can I  come in and meet with you?

Me: (I just want to do a dance right about now) Sure. When would you like to stop by?

Them: I’m sure you’re pretty busy. What times do you have open.

Me: Pick a time next week and I’ll be here waiting.

I was that desperate.

So was everyone else in the room. Most people washed out.

Why did I stay? How did I make it?

It was because of a woman we’ll call Renee.

 

Renee’s Story

 

I earned the nickname Gepetto because Renee, this older, gray haired Russian woman who sat next to me during the end of my first year, was a liar. She escaped to her car a few times every day to drink vodka, and come back glassy eyed and give every guy in the place back rubs. It was more than a little uncomfortable.

Worse? Wait til you hear what she’d say to clients on the phone.

Renee: What rate you get on CDs at you bank

(everyone in the room would stop talking because we knew there was a whopper on the way) She’d listen on the phone, unaware that we were all hovering around.

Renee: 4 percent? You get 4 percent? We give you 6 percent. Guaranteed. I guarantee you that when you come in, you get 6 percent here.

(I’m not making fun of her accent here…there was plenty about Renee that I could make fun of, but the way she spoke wasn’t one of them.)

I felt bad for her, so I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. But on the other end, being one of the senior people in the room (I had the second highest seniority in my office once I hit the one year mark), I had to help her learn that it wasn’t acceptable to just throw out a rate of return. Plus, we were planners, not brokers. Regardless, I didn’t know of ANY CD at the time that paid better than 4 percent. Anywhere.

So, to save her feelings, I started to call her Pinocchio. It was a way of hinting at the fact that she might not be entirely truthful.

So, the crazy people I worked with started calling me Gepetto.

By the time she was fired, this woman had eight clients. Eight people had sat across from this woman who CLEARLY lied and definitely was drunk a fair amount of the time and said “She’s the kind of help I need.”

So when people ask me how I succeeded and made it through the system without any really successful planners to emulate and only spotty product training, for the most part it was because of Renee. I knew if I worked hard enough, no matter how bad things got, that I was better than Renee and she had eight whole clients. If she can get eight, I should have 800.

It’ll work for you, too. I think in any field if you work hard and realize that life is about pressing on, you can find your opening and build a career.

How about you? Any horror stories about where you work/worked? Let’s hear about some in the comment section. I’d love to know how you got started in the trenches….

 

Photo: Businesspeople, Businessman: Victor1558