Now that you’ve passed all your licensing exams and eager to launch your financial planning career, you realized that there are tons of things that needs to be learnt and to be done. Many people get stuck in the complexity, have misplaced priorities, eventually tire out and fall off.
To get off the starting blocks fast and right, here are five things to work on:
Tip #1 – Check you are Facing the Right Direction!
Bang! Goes off the starting pistol, and you get into a momentum very quickly, only to realize you are heading the wrong way! Not only have you wasted valuable time, but energy as well.
Make sure you have worked out your marketing plans with your coach. It should outline a simple three year target to move away from cold-call or canvassing, and towards your ideal target markets (Direction) via quality referral leads. Work out a suitable pace that stretches you, and not burn you out (Pace). Concentrate on doing, don’t over-think (Focus).
Tip #2 – Overcome Transformation Pains
The first 30 days is all about getting the work routine and work habits right. We all carry some baggage, that is why you should be unlearning all the negative habits and assume positive habits required for success.
Do the things you don’t like to do first, and get it out of the way. Most of the time, it’s about making the calls, and prospecting. No one likes to be rejected and snubbed, but it brings you closer to the next “yes”.
“I only reason why I am more successful than you, is I faced more “no’s” than you.”
Tip # 3 – Plan the Run and Run the Plan
Whether it is cold-calling, canvassing, direct mail or any other sort of marketing, you’ll need to exercise your plans. If you have to get 2 appointments a day, and you need to make 30 calls to get it, then finish your 30 calls before you leave your office. Don’t worry, you’ll get better at it soon.
As a good practice, you should apportion uninterrupted time to do your calling, do not stop if you are on a roll or facing difficulties. Stop only when the pattern is broken. This will ensure you ride on your winning streak and don’t quit easily. Have short breaks in between to re-charge.
Plan your time well, such that you spend most of your time actively marketing your services. If there are mundane things like hand-writing letter addresses, hire your niece who is on holiday to do it for you.
Reward yourself if you had a good week by taking a short break, but complete your weekly goals without excuse.
Tip #4 – Record and Review
Spend half an hour daily to record down your activity effectiveness, and think about things that have gone well. As for the things that have not gone so well, Give Thanks! They are “learning opportunities” for you to get better.
“What I can measure, I can improve.”
Go over the week with your coach. This is an important accountability factor that many financial advisers neglect. Learn from those that have been there and done that. This will shorten your learning curve tremendously.
Tip #5 –Your Only Competition is Yourself! Focus on the Fundamentals
Usain Bolt, the fastest man on Earth could have clocked 9.55s in the 100m Olympic race according to physicists from University of Oslo, had he not glanced back at the pack while finishing. Roger Bannister first broke the thought barrier of the four minute mile only in 1954, and five others re-wrote the record in the next 10 years.
Why bother about how well others are doing? Focus on getting your fundamentals right: Calling/Contacting, Mastering Communication and Influence, Presentation of Ideas, Closing the Sale and getting into the right Mindset. You’ll be presently surprised that you’ve exceeded your initial goals, and possibly created a record.
Next installment of articles will be talking more about the five important aspects of: (1) Goal setting & Achieving, (2) Motivation and the Success Mindset (3) Mastering Communication and Influencing Others (4) Making Effective Presentations (5) Become a Prospecting Monster.
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