What Makes an Advisor Successful?
I have been around Financial Advisors for so long that I have created hierarchies. I categorize advisors economically and professionally. I’ve done this for so long that I can usually spot a successful Advisor from across the room. Of course I get fooled sometimes, but not very often. I’m always a bit incredulous when I do this. What is it I spot?
Listen to this audio podcast or read the transcript below, adapted from the audio, to hear what I think makes an Advisor successful and what makes a successful Advisor.
There is a phrase we use when trying to define something that lacks clearly defined parameters: I know it when I see it.
That phrase definitely applies to that certain something radiating from outstanding Advisors. We know they have something, but we can’t quite put our finger on it. The French call this ‘je ne sais quoi’, a noun meaning a quality or attribute that is difficult to describe or express.
I know it as soon as I meet great Advisors and I know what it is: They don’t just believe, they know. We’re here. They’re there. What is a belief to you and me is knowledge to them. We believe we are going to get the account. They know they are going to get the account. They don’t merely know what to do. They also know what they are going to do will work. People want to follow them anywhere.
I was in a conversation with two Advisors. One Advisor did $500,000 in GDC last year. The other did $2,000,000. The Advisor who did $500,000 said to the other Advisor, “I can’t imagine doing $2,000,000 a year.” The other Advisor said, “I can’t imagine doing $500,000.” Fittingly, he was not being sarcastic. He was being genuine. Je ne sais quoi, indeed.
This aura begins to emerge once one has mastered the basics. You know what to do. You have a repeatable process that withstands Presidential elections and fiscal cliffs. What you do with that knowledge is a function of how hard you are willing to work. How hard are you willing to stick to the basics?
This level of confidence comes over time. As my associate Marvin Brown so capably explains it, you don’t memorize how to be a great Advisor. Like golf, you take a lesson and go apply that lesson. When you have that lesson down pat, you come back for another lesson. With enough lessons, tons of practice and lots of time, you can get very good. Learn the basics, stick to the basics and commit to the long haul. Although that is not easy, it certainly is simple.
Then, to be truly successful, you must go to the level after that. You must get to the point where you can read people quickly, sizing them up, knowing how to proceed, knowing exactly what to do.
A treatise written by Edmund Burke in 1757 was the source of an anecdote Edgar Allen Poe related in The Purloined Letter. Poe’s main character told the story of an eight-year-old boy who excelled at a guessing game called Even and Odd. He could nearly always tell if someone with a hand behind his or her back was holding an even or odd number of marbles. When asked the secret of his proficiency, the boy said, “When I wish to find out how wise, or how stupid, or how good, or how wicked is any one, or what are his thoughts at that moment, I fashion the expressions of my face, as accurately as possible, in accordance with the expression of his, and then wait to see what thoughts or sentiments arise in my mind or heart, as if to match or correspond with the expression.”
Some may be born with that gift, but for most of us, it comes with experience. Meet enough people and you too will establish hierarchies. Talk to enough young couples with two children and you’ll have an absolute feel for their needs and desires of young couples with two children.
I believe hard work and persistence make for a successful Advisor. You become a successful Advisor the same way you become a successful pianist. You take the talent God gave you and work for years to turn that talent into a skill. Derek Jeter was born with talent. He was not born a great shortstop. In his first year of professional baseball, he had 52 errors. He worked on his fielding every day for the rest of his career. Work hard, stick to the basics, develop your people skills and learn to ask for what you want. And always remember, excellence takes a big chunk of time.
*This audio episode was previously published on Don Connelly 24/7 – a learning center for Financial Advisors, designed to help you become brilliant at the basics and take your business to the next level.
