New Financial Advisors: 7 Ways to Avoid Failing

Being a financial advisor can be an extremely rewarding career, but it’s not a simple one. It’s best if you go in with eyes wide open, prepared for the challenges that may come. We want you lasting far longer than a few years in this space, and we believe that if you follow some basic rules, you can succeed. Here are seven tips to help you stay in the game as a successful financial advisor.

1. Create and Maintain Business Goals:

You need to have a clear vision of where you are headed in your career.  You need to have goals and a concrete plan to make sure that you meet them.  Without these, you will lose focus and flounder.

2. Keep Language Simple:

Don’t show off and use unnecessarily complex financial terminology. You may find yourself overcompensating for your lack of experience as an advisor by using complex terms and ideas when talking to prospects. Most prospects will feel more connected and comfortable if you can communicate at a layman’s level of financial understanding.

3. Optimize Time Management:

Create a process for everything. This will keep your schedule proactive and productive.  Make a list of your typical daily tasks. What activities make you drag your feet and take up more time than they ought to?  Do you have to do all of these tasks yourself? Or could they be delegated to others?

4. Follow Up:

Prospecting is one of the fundamental parts of building your business. And a fundamental part of turning a prospect into a client is the act of following up. If you don’t prospect and follow up on your contacts, you will put your business in jeopardy. When you establish a new client, you need to work to keep them. Make sure that you consistently follow up and return calls or emails in a timely manner.

5. Show Your Humanity:

When you make human connections, you cultivate loyalty. It’s important to show that you are a person beyond just being a financial advisor. Open up enough to share your authentic personality. You should also cultivate the skills of listening and remembering. Listen to your clients. Validate their concerns.

6. Pursue a Specific Market:

Pursuing a specific market will help you narrow down what kind of potential clients you prospect for. It will also help you market the right skills to appeal to your target audience. Ask yourself if you feel especially connected to a specific market, how your experience lines up with this market, if there’s money in it, whether it is growing, and whether you have the resources to pursue it.

7. Consider Finding a Mentor:

Finding a good mentor can accelerate your success. They can give you advice on scaling your business, share insider information, and tell you about their mistakes so you can avoid making the same ones. Ups and downs are part of financial advising, but if you can learn to fail quickly, learn from your experiences, and grow beyond your mistakes, you can become a successful financial advisor.

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