One of the good and bad things about being a product wholesaler is that you get to meet a lot of different financial advisors. Some become friends. Some you wouldn't trust with a $2,000 IRA contribution. It takes all kinds.
As a former wholesaler, one statement I can remember hearing over and over again from advisors went something like, "I'm a great salesman. If you put a potential client in front of me, I know I can sell them!" When you read between the lines of this statement it says, "Why can't I get prospects to meet with me?"
Those of you that are successful advisors know that, as in any sales position, the hardest part of the job is not selling a client … it's getting them. No matter how gifted you are with your "features to benefits" talk, if you can't get backsides in the seat, you're toast.
So, if being a good salesman isn't the most important part of being a successful advisor, what is? I would submit to you, it's being a good marketer. Being able to get your message out to the masses, in a compelling enough way that they want to put their backside in your seat. That is the key.
Last month I wrote about how advisors should beware the Apple App Store. That eventually, someone will write a Mac app that will make advisors obsolete. No sooner had the ink dried on that article, than I met a neighbor who had actually made several Mac apps. When I told him about my prophetic article about ominous apps, he said, "Let me show you what I'm working on."
