Prospecting as an Advisor
What have you found the most effective way of getting clients? I just graduated from college got my Series 7, 63, 65.. what’s the best way to get clients besides family and friends? Help!
Not an advisor but I did intern for one while in college before and he had a book of about 25mm+ and he actually taught me alot. Your firm should have a script they give new advisors. If not, they should be providing you with sales training, if not. Jump ship asap. Its a numbers game really. Out of 100 calls, you should be able maybe prospect 5? As most of the time, people will just hang up on you. But just keep dialing that phone. The more calls you make, better chance of finally getting a client.
hey man, I'm going to give you an unpopular opinion, you shouldn't be prospecting alone as a 22yo. this business is immensely difficult and if you want to built long term relationships in a hurry, you'll need a little help. I personally only could do cold calling - friends & family had no money, in a new city, etc., so that's what I believe in.
many companies in your area will likely have their phone number listed and you can prospect them all day long, just see who works there on linkedin and build your list that way. purchased lists are usually dogshit because everyone's used them to death.
on the help aspect, if you have a 40-50 something advisor or a branch manager who's well dressed, I would bring him/her in on meetings. just say "hey, I don't expect you to do anything, but I just need some gray hair in this meeting so they take me seriously, I'll split whatever I get with you 90/10 my way."
if you get an opportunity to go present to a larger group, bring some gray hair with you, do all of the work, just have them bring the gravitas. once you get some reps in, some wrinkles, and some male pattern baldness, you won't need the help.
finally, prospecting is all about outworking the competition. if getting rich people to move their money was easy, the business wouldn't pay so well. you will need to put in long hours and make assloads of calls (think 25,000 a year or more) before you have a practice that can give you a decent income. but if you work hard enough and aren't a total moron with selling/presenting, you can make it.
more on the math. there's 52 weeks a year, assume you take 3 weeks off total (yes you can do this even as a rookie), that's 245 working days. your goal should be 200 calls a day or more. there will be some where you'll hit 400 and not get a single person to answer the phone, there will be others where you don't make any because you have appointments all day, that's fine!, the key is to average 1-200 a day and be constantly making calls or cleaning up your list when you're not meeting with people. if you do 100 calls a day on average, that's 24,500 calls every year. do that for a couple of years, you'll be the one giving advice on PWM here.
best of luck
Prospecting doesn't have to be a fixed activity, Realistically cold calling should be a supplement to outside community involvement. I started off at Jones, and spend my first year door knocking, but my business took off when I joined a cycling club. Find an activity you would be doing despite the job, and the success will come. People enjoy doing business with like minded people. Once I had some money coming in I got really involved in car clubs, and that's what made the majority of my book. Supplement things you enjoy with the call sessions, and store front visits. Once you've found your niche, and built your base always ask for the referral, don't wait to feel like you've earned the right to ask, your in the business of helping everyone you can until you can afford to become selective. Building a book will take 3-5 years to do it right. Make the journey enjoyable, otherwise you'll wash out. Don't lead with product, lead with interest in the prospects, and build relationships. The book will come in due time. Good luck on your endeavor, it's worth the effort.
Similar to you I started off in this business as a 19 y/o. Like the brofessor said, early in your career it helps to have grey hair at the table, especially if you look young. Once the trust has been established, age is just a number, but the optics and age discrimination is real. It's not crippling, just get over it and move on.
At the end of the day, in your prospecting days, it's a numbers game. Read anything by Nick Murray, especially "The Numbers game" and "Behavioral investment counseling". In that order. This in my opinion should be mandatory reading for any green advisor in the business and treat it as gospel at least for the first few years. (also, don't just read books for the sale of reading books to avoid prospecting!!)
fwiw - I'd stay away from family and friends as clients, or at the very least, tread water very very carefully. (that's my own personal rule.) Yes, they would be willing to help, yada yada, but with the high failure rate in this business (95%+ after 3 years for newbies) and money being a relative taboo/sensitive subject for the masses, it will save you a lot of awkward conversations at family and friend gatherings. In my opinion, those relationships are not worth burning over a couple bucks and typically friends/family have a hard time disassociating with the "friend/family you" vs. "advisor capacity you",
Best of luck!
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