Robert Paiva ⋅ Houston , TX U.S. Navy, Petty Officer Third Class ⋅ 4 years served

Sarah,

Congratulations and first I wish you all the best in your position as a financial adviser in your post-military career. Welcome back to civilian life - the fun is about to begin again, just differently.

First thing let me say this. You have been rewarded with many good replies to date and conventionally speaking, they are good answers from an academic perspective but in no way are any of these the path to high-level success. I say this because so far everyone has missed what it will take for you to DIFFERENTIATE yourself from the very crowded pack of FAs. What I will share with you now are just a few of proven tactics and strategies that previous, highly successful people have used to do exactly what I've pointed out - DIFFERENTIATE AND SEPARATE.

First, purchase and read the book (more than once) Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Once you've absorbed its message, sit down and create a plan using many of the strategies & tactics it provides but specifically designed around YOU and the city in which you live. Next, networking is so much more than most people actually realize. It is a lifestyle, not an act or accomplishment.

Networking should become a consistent & natural fabric of your every day regiment. Join clubs, high-end gyms & social orgs. Build long-lasting relationships by first volunteering with charities and non-profits that align with your beliefs and then when presented seek to start sitting on their board of directors. Become passionately involved with as much as your work load can handle and as much as your time allots.

Work with those in fields that provide you the best in prospects. Estate & Probate attorneys, successful tax attorneys, highly sought after business consultants and advisers, small private family offices, small & mid-sized business owners (private not corporate, publicly traded), private equity managing directors and up & coming analysts in the large private banking (Merrill Lynch, Goldman, etc.). University alumni functions (whether you're an alumnus or not), and any other sort of function whereby networking is the SECONDARY purpose of being there. This is where the real opportunity prospects will show up. Also, attend these RELIGIOUSLY, meaning be committed to make your presence expected. Make as many allies as you can, whether they become clients of yours or not.

Lastly, GIVE first and NEVER expect anything in return. This is where the cream of the crop live and where they appreciate others. Be willing to give until it hurts. The karma gods will eventually reward you. I promise you, it does come back to you.

If you'd like any occasional coaching or motivation from time to time, just shoot me a PM and I'll keep feeding you little nuggets to help your career along. Best of luck in ALL that you do, Sarah!

Cheers!

Stevie Ray ⋅ Burnsville , MN Stevie Ray's Improv Company ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi Sarah:
I teach networking as part of my living, and there are a few thoughts I would like to add.
1) There are only two reasons why people ask "What do you do?" One is because they don't know you and don't know what else to ask. The other is to decide whether to keep talking to you. It is the same for e-mail. We are all looking for an excuse to hit the Delete button. If you respond with "I am a financial planner," you have given the other person an excuse to hit the Delete button. The reason for this is:
2) When you network, you are marketing yourself, which means you are marketing a professional service. Marketing professional services must be done in a different way than marketing a retail product. If you simply state your title or the service you provide, the listener will experience two reactions
a) "I don't need that." If you hear someone say, "I am a real estate agent," you immediately think, "I don't need a real estate agent right now." At that moment, you have lost the connection.
b) "You are just like that other person." If you just tell people "I am a financial planner," we know a thousand of them, so you are just like the others in the market.
If you cause the two reactions above, you lose the prospect.
3) How you describe what you do must capture the listener. And, as Mr. Paiva suggests above, it must differentiate you from the crowd. To do this, you have to know exactly what kind of financial planner you are. Do you focus on the older investor? A beginner? Newly married couples. Knowing this helps you avoid just saying, "I am a financial planner," and instead say, "I specialize in helping newly married couples handle their money so they are ready for their kid's college."
It is very uncomfortable for people to do this because they think they will drive away all business that isn't in their niche. The funny thing is, the more you narrow your market, the more people outside the niche want in. When I first learned these techniques, I was skeptical, but the more narrowly I describe my professional services, the more people want in.
4) DON'T HAVE AN ELEVATOR PITCH. The most common advice these days is to have a prepared response for your service. This is the worst advice ever created because it misses a major point in human interaction; every person you encounter has a different set of needs. Even though you must have a narrow niche, you must describe it differently depending on the personality of the person you are speaking to. Try to avoid saying the same phrases over and over. It will begin to sound rote and practiced. Then you lose your genuine self, and networking fails.
Thank you for your service and I wish you great success.
Stevie Ray

Bob Molluro ⋅ Wilmington , DE Benchmark Consulting Services ltd. ⋅ 30 years experience

Sarah I reread your request and let me offer a few other suggestions. First you are doing it the good old fashion hard way which is what financial planners have been told for years. Let's face it at your stage of your career, your experience level you really don't have much to offer. Consider this fact. In every agency in the US that I have worked with (more than 134 to date) there are always many experienced producers. Since they have been successful they will have the following characteristics. Their business has plateaued because they are trying to fulfill the service needs of way to many clients, sometimes 1000's. They have stopped prospecting because they don't have time. Less than 4% have a good referral system that they use religiously to get better prospects. One of the answers is for them to team up with a young highly energetic person like you who could begin to work with their B clients. This is a win for both of you. First the experienced producer will stop worrying about the poor job he or she is doing in trying to service a large client base. And secondly they can begin to focus on working with their A clients who are their best referral source. This will allow them to make a production break through. For you the win is all the time you are currently wasting trying to "network" is replaced by being able to work with the B clients of the senior producer. There is business there that a less experienced person is able to handle. Since you are working with a senior producer, whenever you find a situation where you are in over your head you will be able to reengage the senior producer. In addition you will learn the business much faster by working with a senior producer and you will see more complex cases and learn how to deal with them much sooner than if you go it alone. I referred you to Mike Amine earlier. He understands exactly what I just outlined for you. Teaming is becoming a major strategy in the financial services industry however less than 4% of the management really understands what it takes to implement this very effective strategy. The rest are still selling the idea of the "solo-entrepreneur" where you join them and have your own business. That idea is as dead as George Washington. The overall results of that strategy compared with Teams is shocking. People on Teams after five years will outperform their peers who are not on teams by 250% or more. These are the facts that very few people know. Let me know if you would like to discuss this in more detail.

June Webb ⋅ Washington , DC Healthie Success ⋅ 14 years experience

Use your time wisely when networking. Figure out who your Niche is that you want to capture as clients. Go to networking events that provides you with the best opportunity to reach out and be around your niche. There are a lot of financial planners out there so always remember that you are in competition.

James Bishop ⋅ Columbus , OH Morgan Stanley ⋅ 8 years experience

The best advice I saw above was high, very high levels of activitity. You need to know when you say "Financial Planner" you may as well say Xerox, the word is really generic and open to each person as to what it is you do. Try answering what do you do with, "I coach people on having a successful retirement" and be prepared to answer how planning is a colobrative effort with people at being successful reaching their financial goals.

Somebody mentioned the chamber, someone else meetup.com, everything is good and everything is bad. You will go to the chamber meeting and have 100 people try to sell you their product, so what. Your goal at events is to find one or two people (not 20) who you can engage. You are not there to sell planning but to offer help, as you meet people at events you can introduce people to each other. The more value you offer in this way the bigger attraction you can be to people you want out there helping you.

Get out there every day. You already know its hard, keep going.

Henry ("Dr. Hank") Stevens ⋅ Fort Lauderdale , FL Human Resources Quality Assurance, LLC (Now Retired) ⋅ 50 years experience

I'm thinking target acquisition.

Who is it that you are going after and what is it that YOU can give THEM that they will find of value? Thinking about my own living environment, I would think this be a ripe group. That is, I live in a 55+ community. Additionally, because it is a cooperative (and not a condominium), at least in this circumstance, mortgages are not permitted. Thus, the 337 families who live here CAN afford this environment. There is an investment advisor here whose schtick is to lecture about why he hates annuities. That subject gets a crowd. [Wanna bet he sells many of them?]

Is the 55+ person a good target for you? Just who IS your target? How do you get in front of them? What can you give away that they will find of value, and come to you for investment advice?

Glen Alleman ⋅ Longmont , CO Niwot Ridge LLC ⋅ 30 years experience

In most cities there is a Meet Up group https://www.meetup.com/
This site hosts dozens if not 100's of like minded people in an organized manner. I'd start there to see if there is anything of mutual interest.
Then of course there should be active veterans group - Veterans helping veterans is a local one here

Greg Buxa ⋅ Oconomowoc , WI Thrivent Financial ⋅ 4 years experience

Sarah, I did the same thing, just in Wisconsin. A couple a key points, I learned. Activity drives business, sitting in your office won't bring you business. Get active in your community, church, BNI, etc. will introduce you to new people. Note that the first year or two will be rough, income low, know your budget, expenses, etc. because money will be tight. Having a mentor within your company who has gone thru the start, been successful, etc. is very helpful. Providing financial workshops on topics of interest can also help you launch your business. Good luck & God bless, Greg

Ed Roddy ⋅ Lynden , WA Whatcom Educational Credit Union ⋅ 30 years experience

Sarah, lots of good advise from previous comments. As a former financial advisor I found one of the best sources for networking was mortgage loan officers. I would suggest you contact some in your area and ask if you could meet to discuss each others business and how you might work together. Mortgage loan officers have tax returns and usually the investment statements of those they are making loans to so they know who prospective clients might be for you! They are in a unique position to ask their clients as they gather information if they are happy with their current financial advisor or what they are looking for in an advisor. Don't spread yourself too thin with networking events or civic organizations. Best wishes for a successful launch and career!

Nicole Winston ⋅ Eden Prairie , MN (Healthcare Industry) ⋅ 15 years experience

I think your Meetup.com answer is probably the best one I can think of. (I am an organizer with Meetup.com myself.) As far as genuinely social-networking options besides that, does your city do Break the Bubble events? What about Young Professionals (networking) events? Have you also reached out to others in the field you are trying to get into and asking them for their suggestion on ways to network regarding this information? it might sound odd, like almost a cold-call for help, but it can't hurt. Small business owners are generally really helpful.

Good luck and thanks for your service!

Gail Baccetti ⋅ Lake Geneva , WI Retired ⋅ 42 years experience

Sarah, I know a woman who is a Financial Planner, and has been for almost 10 years. It was not her first career, so she had to build her business. She has said she would be happy to chat with you on the phone, and/or by email. Her name is Vicki Nielsen, and her company is McHenry Financial, based in northwestern Illinois. You can reach her at 815-385-1331 or vnielsen@mchenryfinancial.com. Best of luck with Vicki, and in your new venture! Gail Baccetti gbaccetti@hotmail.com

Rabi Singh ⋅ Orange Park , FL Deutsche Bank ⋅ 21 years experience

Try the Chamber of Commerce. They might have some of these professional groups Drew mentioned and already have a large network within the community. Here in Jacksonvile, the Chamber's IT Council has 100+ people at their monthly meetings. Network After Work is another option, if they do it in Grand Rapids. Also, when you go to any meeting, ask those people if they know of other meetings.

Drew Schildwächter ⋅ Wilmington , NC Salesforce ⋅ 7 years experience

Sarah: I find that the key is finding venues where you can talk about work and advertise your value without being annoying: people are there to network. It becomes hard when you're trying to share in other venues where people might feel as if one is intruding on whatever else they're doing. I'll give you two examples which might be useful, but neither is specific to your new home in Michigan.

First, when my father transitioned out of the Navy into financial planning he found a lot of benefit in organizations like Rotary. Through clubs like Rotary, FGBMFI, Toastmasters, etc. he was able to present his work and value prop in a receptive context and actively acquire new clients.

Secondly, I've had good value from those same venues but I'll add professional networking groups as an occasional win from my own perspective. Here is my local group, Port City Young Professionals (http://www.pcypapp.com/), for comparison; you may have something similar there.

Best,
Drew

Lubov Bogopolskaya ⋅ Staten Island , NY A/Z BOOKKEEPING ⋅ 11 years experience

I use the Shapr and Slack apps on my phone.

You can also check what events the local chamber of commerce has.

Jim Rohrbach ⋅ Evanston , IL ⋅ 22 years experience

Hi Sarah! Email me your resume. I may have some networking contacts for you in Grand Rapids.

Jim "Da Coach" Rohrbach
Coach@SuccessSkills.com
http://www.SuccessSkills.com
847 982-3268

Dean Goodrich ⋅ Cape Coral , FL Consummate Solutions, Inc. ⋅ 34 years experience

Thank you for your service to our country!

Having been on the other side of this scenario, I have met with multiple financial planners over the years. Many helpful replies already, but from your customer's perspective, I always have my go-to question to help me decide with whom to engage for this service.

Depending on their reply to the "How much do you charge for your service?" question often times the conversation ends then and there if I am unable to receive a clear response. Too many times I have then been asked or told 'We will know for sure when you transfer to us all your accounts, by the way how much to you have?'. Those don't earn my business, let alone 5 more minutes of my time. Those who are able to provide a clear answer, as in 'x% of the value of assets we manage' helps me to understand what the costs are to be. Then the conversation moves into how they can help regarding my specific scenario, goals and expectations.

Be unique and able to clearly define your value and reasons to hire you, also be clear on what is the rate for which you are paid.

Howard Goldsmith ⋅ Walnut Creek , CA ⋅ 20 years experience

If you are still in Grande Rapids - leave. Go to a larger city and join a small financial planning group, even if you have to intern with no pay for a while. Second, there is a national financial planning group, you can join at a lower rate as a student. See if you can go to local meetings and volunteer to clean up and do office work. That will get your name out there with the membership

John (Casey) Roach ⋅ Greenwich , CT Merrill Lynch ⋅ 45 years experience

Sarah,

I have been in the financial world for a number of years. I started after serving as an officer in the Army. Others have given you excellent thoughts. I would start by saying Get Involved ! Join organizations where you are asked to help raise money for the organization. You will get many phone calls unreturned, but keep trecking...... . In addition, call the local firms and make an appointment to introduce yourself. Always be sure to send a person thank you note not and email. Any questions arise, be sure to get the answer and communicate.
Now Grand rapids has several good sized banks, some furniture companies and you are not far from Notre Dame. Also, plan to rent a small cottage on the lake for next summer. As you can surmise, I've been to Grand rapids many times albeit, not in many years. If you are a tennis fan and or play, plan to get involved with the tennis world in Kalamazoo. They hold the junior championships there every summer. Where there are junior championships, there are parents and they need the help of a good planner who served our great Nation. In addition, get involved with the local colleges and see what you might do to help the students who are considering serving .
Not to scare you, but it is a tough job. It takes time to learn the lingo and the various products. Go to the local library and read as much as possible. In addition, subscribe to the Wall Street Journal and read it cover to cover every day. If you apply yourself you will do very well. We want to help so do not be a stranger- call and email

Casey Roach veteran (Captain US Army) and Financial Advisor
203-861-5934
Insofar as I do not type very fast, I'm still a hunt and peck type, I suggest you call and we can speak for a bit.

Anthony Millsap ⋅ Spanaway , WA U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 12 years served

See if there is a RP6 team through USO in your town, also check out REBOOT at http://www.nvtsi.org, they do transition stuff in that area. Also leverage veteran groups on LinkedIn for additional support. Any further questions email me anthony.millsap1@gmail.com

Bob Molluro ⋅ Wilmington , DE Benchmark Consulting Services ltd. ⋅ 30 years experience

Sarah another good contact in your area is Mike Amine who is a Managing Partner at the Securian agency. You can get more information on him by going to Linkedin. Please feel free to use my name if you contact Mike, as I did some work with him when he was at New England Financial. He is an outstanding leader and I know always runs a very successful agency. Since I believe he is building this Securian agency, I am willing to bet that a top priority is finding new talent. Let me know if I can help.
Warmly,
Bob

Bob Molluro ⋅ Wilmington , DE Benchmark Consulting Services ltd. ⋅ 30 years experience

Why not contact an agency in your area and ask to speak with both their recruiting manager and a few of their younger producers. One of the best in your area is Mass Mutual Financial Group. Mass Mutual since recently acquiring the sales force of MetLife is the largest and since it is a Mutual Company has the staying power that a young person should be looking for. Go to their website and you will see multiple ways to contact them. They are always looking for good people even if you are just exploring the possibilities.

Kenton Tjarks ⋅ Grand Rapids , MI Allstate Insurance Company ⋅ 5 years experience

You may want to find a consistent weekly networking event, such as BNI or a similar group. Not only do these formal meetings lead to business referrals, at the same time the format teaches you how to network effectively. The key is givers gain.

Find out everything you can about others when networking. Find ways to help them by referring them business first when you can. They will reciprocate and refer clients your way.

Oh goodness, your in Grand Rapids!