Three Thoughts, Three Lessons and the Key Mistake Many Insurance Agents Make; Musings of a Second-Year Financial Adviser

Before we stray too far into the New Year, I decided to get pensive like most people do, because quiet introspection can be very valuable.

1)     2016 was all in all a good year, and I’m immensely thankful; to God, to my clients, to the friends who have been a constant. My base evaluative metric is to look back and see how much I’ve grown as a person, and by most accounts I am happy. Happy, but not satisfied, because excellence is a constant pursuit that doesn’t get easier – we just get better at it. It has certainly not always been smooth sailing – I consider myself a pragmatic yet motivated and highly optimistic person, which tends to downplay the troughs I go through and falls I pick myself from. Still, there is no need to harp on the negative, and results at the end of the day are what they are.

2)     I’m happy to say that I rounded off the year by keeping a promise I made at the start to the man who brought me into this business, Colin Ong. That, and a little more, because contributing to the overall performance of my group is something I’m also happy about. After a particularly inspiring session by a platform speaker at an industry conference at the start of 2016, I wrote on a promise card that I would qualify for the Million Dollar Round Table – to be part of the top 5% of financial advisers in the world, in my first full year. A crazy idea at the time, but one client at a time you believed in me, placed your trust in me, and introduced me to your friends. It was gruelling, but we pushed through to to a full-RP MDRT, even ending off with a final push through the Centurion ranks.

When January 1st came the figures reset to zero, but I am blessed to have had this in 2016. I was more relieved than anything that I was able to keep this promise, and in truth I am wistful that I probably should have done better. I will keep going because excellence is something I stand accountable for, and while sales figures are merely that, they are also at least that – an indication and reassurance to my clients that I have no intention of leaving the business.

3)     I’ve also gotten myself a lot more organised. When I first started out, the first six months in 2015 were like being a new associate in a large firm; the focus was on learning the right habits and adopting best practices as I saw fit. The earlier part of 2016 was when it felt like I struck out my own, running the business like a sole proprietorship, taking ownership of my success, finding out what works and what can be done better, and so on. Towards the end of last year (2016 is last year already!), I began to view things from a the perspective of running a professional financial planning practice - making more refined tweaks to systems I’d put in place, and penning down possible improvements to take into this year. The best years are ahead, there’s much to do, and I have learnt lots along the way.

I also grew because I allocated up to 5% of my income for self-improvement, instilling a semi-regular-ish habit to read, and making a point to go for professional courses; the credentialing no doubt helped my branding and sharpened my perspectives.

Three Lessons from the Financial Advisory Business

If I were to highlight (and stop at) three lessons I’ve picked up about people and this business:

1. As a colleague of mine once wrote (and I paraphrase), “If you don’t do well, people will talk. If you do well, people will talk anyway.” That applies to life in general, but it’s especially obvious in the sales-oriented environment I’m in where the numbers don’t lie. If people are going to talk anyway, then you may as well give them something good to talk about. Worry about character and not reputation; Character is who you are, and reputation is merely what other people think of you. The beauty of this business is that it’s a line of work where how you grow as a person is innately connected to your business growth – because people will buy from people they like and they trust.
2. You will feel the stretch should you commit to achieving your stretch goals (that’s why they’re named as such). It’s not a pleasant feeling, and the stress can get immense, especially when you’re juggling multiple aspects of your life. Yet, when you look back after hitting your goals, it will all have been worth it, because you’ll find that you’ll have grown as a person.
3. People will be people. People will disappoint and they will surprise. The key is to not confuse a professional refusal with a personal rejection, and to compartmentalise. Once you can do that well, a sense of groundedness sets in. Some of the people who say ‘no’ to you and cannot differentiate the two will reject you as a person, simply because you’re a financial advisor. That is disappointing. But referral clients who accept you simply because you’re a financial adviser will also become loyal friends you are thankful for. Not everybody has the stomach for this, and so this career is not for everyone. But from this side of the fence, I can certainly say this has all been worth it.

The Key Question We Don't Ask Ourselves Enough

I have been asked of a number of occasions by newer agents about tips or the 'secrets' to doing well, and I'm always happy to share about how I build my practice, though I must add that I myself still have very much to learn. The short answer is, while the non-negotiables are having the right habits and the right systems in place are a given, I think a fundamental issue many of us don't ask ourselves often enough is this - "Why should people buy from you?"

To be direct about it, we often lament how people don't value us enough, how they are nasty to us and play us out, how they don't see the 14-hour workdays. And it's true that we experience very acutely the ugly side of human nature. This cannot be helped, but at the same time, it's really a two way street. The bad apples spoil the industry for us, but at the same time, what are we as collective individuals doing about it? We can follow the systems taught to us and have our 15 appointments in a week, but while activity is everything, there's no point in the activity if it's a wasted appointment.

I always tell my clients that my job essentially is to save them time and money - time from trying to figure about how to think about their personal finances and having to worry if their planning is properly done up, and money from making the wrong financial decisions. In order for me to save them this time and money, behind the scenes I make it a point to constantly improve to be the subject matter expert at what I do - it is imperative for me to inspire trust, That, to me, is the difference between an insurance salesman and a financial adviser. To answer the question of "Why should people buy from me?", they do because they like and they trust me, and a big part of this involves being credible and highly competent.

The nature of financial services is changing - in an highly competitive environment where change is the only constant, new products are rolled out ever so often, regulatory requirements are ever evolving, and the advent of insurtech means roboadvisory could potentially look like a threat. Yet, because insurance is a product that is sold and not bought as people don't see the need enough, there will always be a place for the human touch, and for a trusted adviser. Instead of viewing fintech as a threat, we should look towards using it to enable us, and constantly upgrade ourselves to hedge our business, stay ahead of the curve and add value to our clients through professional advice.

If you made it to the end, thanks for reading, and I hope you could somehow relate, whether or not we're in the same line of work. I wish you a fruitful 2017, carpe diem!