Making the Most of a Mentor

Good chemistry between mentor and mentee is essential.

"Mentoring is about personal relationships, where someone feels comfortable enough to ask questions they might not ask in front of a large group, and discuss struggles they're having and areas in which they might be insecure," Newman points out.

To encourage such confiding, the mentee obviously must trust the mentor. Newman says that she provided "a very safe environment. People have to feel that they are not going to be embarrassed or looked at funny or criticized or meant to feel stupid." She'd urge them: "You don't have to sugarcoat it. Whatever you need help with, just tell me."

The ideal mentor needs to genuinely care about the mentee and, if compensated, not accept the role only for financial benefit. Indeed, some mentors, after a while, hand over smaller accounts to mentees. "If somebody is clearly willing to go that extra mile," Slater says, "we'll pass the account along and work in conjunction with them."

It's easy to see why the relationship between mentor — wise professional — and mentee — typically younger and new to financial services — is likened to that of parent-child. In the instance of Buckley Financial Planning, veteran advisor Fred Buckley actually is the father of his mentee, 29-year-old Sean. Each FA is independently affiliated with Securities America. Both the elder Buckley and the advisors' broker-dealer are mentoring Sean, who came aboard last March.

"My father is helping me on all cylinders — with developing a network [of prospects], investment policy, creating financial plans. He's given me goals. I've hit the ground running. But I know it's a marathon, not a sprint," says Buckley. "My dad constantly reassures me that if I keep doing what I'm doing now, it will happen."

In the Ohio father-son practice, the advisors are located in different cities 90 miles apart: Fred, in Cincinnati; Sean, in Columbus. However, they travel to observe and participate in each other's meetings. When that's not possible, the two employ technology. Recently, when Sean was presenting a recommendation, "I video-conferenced with my dad through the iPad, and he was right there with us," Buckley says.

Working in the same office with mentor Lykins, Jeffrey Dobyns sat in on hundreds of meetings. "Initially, I didn't say anything because I didn't know what I was doing. But what was brilliant about the mentorship was that over time, I was able to start to [participate] a little, then do follow-up work with the client, then hold meetings with Ron observing me. After a year of really good observing, I got to where I'd do all of it myself," he says.

With the industry's emphasis on client relationships, it is imperative that new advisors learn how to build them. And this is where a mentor's help can be tremendous.

Hubbard, for example, queries newbies: "'Tell me about your week, your meetings — what you and the client said.' I'm helping them reflect on what they're doing," he notes.

At Edward Jones, FAs try to launch a relationship each time they — literally — knock on a prospect's door. Mentors are often at their side.

"We teach the advisors how to make face-to-face contact," Hoffman says. Veterans and newbies take turns observing each other. Then the mentor critiques and offers suggestions for improvement.

"Lots of times new FAs ask questions that require only 'yes' or 'no'," Hoffman says. "So, much of it is teaching them to ask open-ended questions to keep the discussion going — not let it come to a dead stop — in order to learn more about the prospect's needs and concerns."

The best mentors try to keep rookies from making self-destructive mistakes. Operative word: try. Hubbard points to what he's dubbed "Do-It-Yourself-itis, a terrible disease," he says, that strikes when a new advisor, opposed to splitting commissions, refuses to pull into a case another FA with expertise he or she lacks.

"I had an advisor who never set up a qualified plan but then insisted on doing one alone," Hubbard recalls. "It was a substantial engineering firm account. I advised him to bring in somebody, but he chose not to. He got the plan but missed a critical ERISA deadline. Then he called and asked if I could come and help him save the case. But by the time he got back there, the firm was already moving the business. That really demoralized him. It took a long time for him to build his business. I've seen this happen 20 times."

In another cautionary lesson, Slater draws from his been-there, done-that to teach FAs, as he puts it, to "subtly seek rejection. I tell them not to be afraid to ask prospects the more difficult questions rather than be led along by someone who ultimately won't get you anywhere."

 Slater adds: "When you're young and struggling, and get someone on the phone who's willing to talk, and they talk a big game, you become a little scared to ask questions to see if they're really willing to [invest] with you. So, [often]," he says, "nothing comes to fruition — and the $5 million client, key to making your hurdle and that you thought was a sure thing, just sort of goes away."

MSSB's Newman has warned many a new advisor: "Don't call a large prospect your first month [in] production. First get comfortable and understand what you're doing. Just wait a minute — there's no rush," she says.

Kicking off an FA career has perhaps never been tougher — but never has there been more opportunity. Consequently, mentee Buckley serves up these encouraging words for fellow rookies: "Oh man, don't give up! It can be stressful trying to get clients. But if you're trained well and believe in what you do, you'll be successful."