It sounds great to be a professional financial advisor. Few “professional financial advisers” are qualified to sell an investment in fixed annuity income. It is simple to sell a fixed income plan to a qualified prospect.
You did not ask me. You ruled me out of a fixed annuity plan based on your guideline statistics. Your assumptions got you in trouble because there was no competition that required spreadsheets or company comparison analysis. There would have been no need to overcome objections before making a decision. If you don’t know how to spot a potential sales opportunity, it is impossible to have one. Can you still be called a professional financial advisor after all of this?
The first mistake you made When your sales manager directed you to sell financial products, you were instructed on the best people to spend your time with. Most true advisors to investors and agency-crowned financial representatives are located in the suburbs of major metropolitan areas. The rep will be close to their clients’ homes and work.
WRONG Sending out cold calls and mailings to freezer-burned investors could bring in a steady stream of potential investors with large assets. Representative after representative keeps knocking on their doors. You would be surprised at how many unique businesses can operate from any part of the United States. Their business is located in a small town that is still accessible and away from the concrete jungle. Their business is located away from rush hour traffic so their home is also less populated. Follow the example of your predecessors to avoid prospects who are too far away to be considered.
The second mistake assumption You want to only work with executives and owners of businesses at a certain level. You give instructions to a list broker to target zip codes with an average income of over $100,000, a house worth more that $500,000, and personal liquid assets similar. Zip codes can give inaccurate information about fixed income. As an example, a $100,000 income can mean that a $100,000 income is equal to $50,000. It is possible that there are many manufactured home communities where residents earn an average $25,000 but conceal higher earning people. It is possible that you are wrong in believing that zip code selection is a good strategy for generating fixed annuities.
The third mistake When you receive a guide or list showing the highest-earning workers in a particular area, it is a bad assumption. The top prospects would include attorneys, doctors, and owners of physical stores. It’s natural to assume that anyone who is not on your list of occupations or a wealthy senior over 65 should not be pursued. Non-workers are usually lazy, stuck in middle class or dependent on others’ income. What about those who are disabled on social security or have inherited wealth? It is easy to overlook the possibility that these people exist.
I have proven that I am not a wealthy suburb. My zip code includes a few small-scale manufactured homes and many homes from the USA, as well as a number of lovely lakefront homes. My income is lower because I am on Social Security Disability.
How could you have wisely found me My homestead lies on 55 acres in a zipcode of lots that average a quarter to full acre. You could have found me by looking at a plat map. The tax rolls would also show me the high homestead taxes I paid. It is possible to have seen dividends from mutual funds that I used to own twice as much. You could search the internet to find out that I have more than one property. If you wanted to check for Corvette owners, you could do so and find that I have several.
These are simple clues that a flood professional financial investment advisors couldn’t figure out. If even one of these clues had been known before the economic downturn began, they would have made a valuable fixed annuity income sales. Another underground way to find leads is this: Take a look at newspaper obituaries that describe funeral services at high-end facilities. This is not digging. There are many names and cities that could be inherited or who will soon change their lives.
You must be able to do business differently to make money as an investment advisor or in insurance.
