With 77 Million Baby Boomers contemplating retirement, the
employment outlook for personal financial advisors is
excellent! With this massive generation being, for the most
part, unprepared for maintaining their lifestyle, many are
looking for the assistance of a financial advisor.
Significant income potential, prestige, career security,
and personal satisfaction are among the reported benefits
for those seeking this career opportunity.
There are two separate pathways that lead to becoming a
successful financial advisor. One is a more difficult trail
with obstacles along the way. It begins with an MBA degree
in personal finance or economics followed by intensive
study for one or more NASD examinations to become a
registered representative.
Then, in order to launch your career as what was known as a
stock broker, you'll need to seek employment selling
securities for a wire house, broker/dealer, or insurance
company. Despite significant competition and regulatory
compliance oversight, you'll build your "assets under
management" in order to satisfy your employer and/or
qualify for assistance with expensive advanced
certifications.
Another path is not nearly as long, difficult, or stressful
but just as rewarding.
For the Boomer, a fifty-something with the life expectancy
of a Galapagos sea turtle but with less than two years of
income saved for retirement, it's no longer about
accumulating a portfolio of assets. It's about the other
three quadrants of his or her balance sheet which have gone
largely ignored.
1. How to get the most sustainable lifetime income from the
existing portfolio of assets.
2. How to eliminate hidden and/or and unnecessary expenses.
3. How to eliminate all debt before retirement.
A true financial advisor should address these areas of
concern and, to do so doesn't require a life changing
career experience. There are new and innovative financial
products and services which effectively address these
issues, but are not securities and are not regulated by the
NASD and SEC.
If you're contemplating a lucrative and rewarding career as
a Financial Advisor, Here are some tips to help you down
that path.
1. Be independent. No one financial entity that has all of
the right solutions to all of the financial problems out
there. As an Independent Financial Advisor, you'll have the
freedom to choose the best financial products and services
from a variety of carriers.
2. Be independent but don't walk the path alone. You need a
system. Join an Independent Marketing Organization. They
will, in exchange for an override commission from the
carriers, provide turn-key systems including advisor
training, product access, provider contracts, and
assistance with licensing, marketing, and regulatory
compliance. Many have spent years developing effective and
predictable systems to support their network of advisors.
3. Build a professional referral network. Your clients will
seek advice on a range of financial subjects including real
estate, taxes, insurance, legal contracts, mortgage and
consumer finance. Team up with some qualified specialists
in your vicinity. Refer your clients to them and they will
refer their clients to you.
4. Don't worry about your sales skills. Many successful
advisors are numbers people and couldn't sell snow cones in
Death Valley. It's all about positioning. The model of all
successful business is the same. There is a problem. There
is a solution. When the solution to the problem goes
through you, you have value and the public will seek that
value.
5. Don't talk about yourself or your business. Focus on
your prospect/client and ask the right questions. How do
you feel about ....? What do you plan to do about ......?
If there was a way to ......, would you .....? By asking
questions you uncover needs, remove resistance, create
interest, establish credibility and rapport, and gain
control.
6. Stay in touch with your prospects, clients, and referral
partners. Set up an email system to keep them informed of
the latest developments in your industry.
7. Test the water, first. Some new advisors run into
difficulty because they get excited and spend too much
money before they start making money. Keep your start-up
expenses under $500. The worst case scenario should be that
you didn't make a career out of it but got a very
inexpensive financial education.
We are at the brink of the largest wealth transfer in
history. There is a tremendous need for qualified financial
advisors to lead this history making generation down the
path to financial security. Those that choose this path
will discover a career that offers an abundance of personal
satisfaction as well as significant income potential.
----------------------------------------------------
David Haslett is Senior National Marketing Director of
Freedom Equity Group. Want to learn more about this
lucrative and rewarding career opportunity as a Financial
Advisor? Want to know the inside secrets of Million Dollar
Financial Advisors? Request now by clicking
http://www.YourFinancialAdvisorCareer.net
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