The 500 day war (for rookies)
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My Branch Manager said that he went to a firm sponsored seminar when he was starting out and this "Bederman" guy spoke and asking for advice was what he taught at the seminar. I don't know where the wholesaler got the idea that we could find this guy on Google. Like I said at the time the wholesaler told us to look it up none of us did. After my Branch Manager explained what the process was and how he used it to grow his business I went and Googled it and found nothing then either. Fortunately my BM told me exactly what to ask people and he told me the most important thing was to ask them "what would you do if you were in my situation, who would you talk to" then shut up and let them talk. He said I don't care if you have to sit there for a full 2 minutes don't talk first, if you talk after you ask the question you lose. From what I gather this Bederman guy goes around and gives private seminars to firms, but my BM did act like "everyone" knew what he was talking about when he would say "I bedermaned" this guy. Sorry I don't have more info for you, I'll see if I can't find more out for you.BB,
The “Bederman Approach”? I Googled it, but can’t seem to find anything on it. Can you elaborate, or provide a link?
Thanks in advance.
I did some one on one coaching with PSB for a while with John Desenberg. Part of the coachings was exposure to PSB SMART program. I believe that does orginate from the PSB training. Asking for referrals in the context of asking for advice was part of the training they gave, they shared some entire psychology behind it and all, PSB are the first initials of 3 founders one of them being Beiderman. I believe they are all X-Merrill guys.
I think this is Biederman himself: http://www.psbtraining.com/psbprod/bio_larry_login.htm[quote=preluder]
I did some one on one coaching with PSB for a while with John Desenberg. Part of the coachings was exposure to PSB SMART program. I believe that does orginate from the PSB training. Asking for referrals in the context of asking for advice was part of the training they gave, they shared some entire psychology behind it and all, PSB are the first initials of 3 founders one of them being Beiderman. I believe they are all X-Merrill guys.
I think this is Biederman himself: http://www.psbtraining.com/psbprod/bio_larry_login.htm [/quote] That's the guy. PSB has a daily audio email that I'm currently subscribed to. They have some pretty good information. I don't know how much it costs, as I got a temporary free subscription for being on a Nationwide call.[quote=preluder]
I did some one on one coaching with PSB for a while with John Desenberg. Part of the coachings was exposure to PSB SMART program. I believe that does orginate from the PSB training. Asking for referrals in the context of asking for advice was part of the training they gave, they shared some entire psychology behind it and all, PSB are the first initials of 3 founders one of them being Beiderman. I believe they are all X-Merrill guys.
I think this is Biederman himself: http://www.psbtraining.com/psbprod/bio_larry_login.htm [/quote] Thanks preluder, I have been spelling his name wrong. I guess it would help if I could spell, but yes that sounds like the guy. It makes sense that my BM would go to a seminar put on by X-Merrill guys. Good StuffYes, I found him on the link to PSB. He is actually Larry Biederman.
Good stuff. Thanks.What's day 2, order American Funds brochures?Day 1: buy comfortable shoes.
Day 2: Use EDJ manual to learn to tie said shoes. American Funds brochures are like on day 43.
[quote=Indyone]
While this is all amusing, it would be better suited in its own thread...
[/quote] Actually, I was serious. Let me re-phrase my question: has someone run the numbers on cold walks compared to cold calls?Matt, it’s hard to compare the two. With cold-walking, it will all depend on the type of area you live in (i.e. dual-income working area, retiree area, etc.). Some people may say they go out all day face-to-face, but can’t find anyone home. If they had just gone from 4:30 - 6:30, they might find 30 people home. It will also tedn to be different in different areas of the country. My southern counterparts say doorknocking works like a charm - people love to talk, they like having someone come to their door to introduce themselves. In New England…uhhhh…not so much. I will say that face-to-face meetings with business owners works well, if framed correctly. You REALLY need to just introduce yourself and let them know what you do. Get the conversation going. I think that often works better than cold calls. On the flip side, you can’t go and see nearly as many people walking as calling.
Just some thoughts....[quote=BullBroker][quote=now_indy]Bull,
Great post. Did you come up with the advice question yourself? If so, you may want to look at: http://www.psbtraining.com/ They are a FA coaching company that HIGHLY recommends the advice question as a way to ask for referrals. They have some good stuff.[/quote] I can't claim that I came up with it all by myself. About 4 months in we had a wholesaler come in and take the young guys to cocktails and talked mostly about his China fund (which I'm sure has blown up since then). He talked about how he was a failed broker from the 80's where all he did was cold-call all day and he suggested other ways to prospect. One of the things he said was to "Google the Bederman approach, when you get back to the office". I think myself and everyone else blew him off and didn't look it up at the time. Then a couple of months later in a Branch-Manager-to-struggling-newbie meeting my BM mentioned he had used the bederman approach and I ought to try it. It's the only reason I am still employed and have a book of business today, I literally called everyone I knew, with money or without and asked if I could meet them for lunch/coffee and asked them for their advice. I am still a rookie and have not "made it" yet, but I am doing alright considering. Considering I didn't come from money, didn't come from a career where I knew money, and wasn't successful at cold prospecting. The thing I am struggling with most is just the mental games that goes on in a competitive office environment. I just get so frustrated with the other young guys who came from money and are praised by the seniors because of their production levels. When everyone knows they didn't go out and get it, the money just came to them. It's just something that happens in all of lifes situations, there will always be people that everything just comes easy to them. As for me I will keep asking clients, friends, strangers for advice on how to keep my business growing. Thanks for the support, Rookie just trying to survive[/quote] Bull, Your post is from June. I hope you are still around. My 2 cents: those guys that came from money will never feel what you feel knowing that you created your own wealth. I hope you are still at it and I hope you succeed the American way.[quote=B24]Matt, it’s hard to compare the two. With cold-walking, it will all depend on the type of area you live in (i.e. dual-income working area, retiree area, etc.). Some people may say they go out all day face-to-face, but can’t find anyone home. If they had just gone from 4:30 - 6:30, they might find 30 people home. It will also tedn to be different in different areas of the country. My southern counterparts say doorknocking works like a charm - people love to talk, they like having someone come to their door to introduce themselves. In New England…uhhhh…not so much. I will say that face-to-face meetings with business owners works well, if framed correctly. You REALLY need to just introduce yourself and let them know what you do. Get the conversation going. I think that often works better than cold calls. On the flip side, you can’t go and see nearly as many people walking as calling.
Just some thoughts....[/quote] Good stuff. Thanks!Day 500: Quit because you can't afford new shoes.Day 1: buy comfortable shoes.
[quote=B24]Matt, it’s hard to compare the two. With cold-walking, it will all depend on the type of area you live in (i.e. dual-income working area, retiree area, etc.). Some people may say they go out all day face-to-face, but can’t find anyone home. If they had just gone from 4:30 - 6:30, they might find 30 people home. It will also tedn to be different in different areas of the country. My southern counterparts say doorknocking works like a charm - people love to talk, they like having someone come to their door to introduce themselves. In New England…uhhhh…not so much. I will say that face-to-face meetings with business owners works well, if framed correctly. You REALLY need to just introduce yourself and let them know what you do. Get the conversation going. I think that often works better than cold calls. On the flip side, you can’t go and see nearly as many people walking as calling.
Just some thoughts....[/quote] It's not hard to compare the two... It just doesn't work well for EDJ.. Using your example.. Someone doorknocks all day long and gets 3 contacts. But at 4:30-6:30 he gets 30.... So 33 for the day... Someone who calls during the day, can cover more ground and get more than 3 contacts, and at night still get a good portion that the doorknocker got. I think you can just cover more ground calling vs knocking ( I have done both)..Squash, I don’t think this is an issue of anyone vs. Jones. I was talking about pure logistics. Some will tell you they knocked all day and got nothing, another will tell you they knocked for 2 hours and got 30. My point was simply that you have to compare apples-to-apples.
And I was not commenting on the merits of calling vs. walking - just the challenge with discussing the comparison of the two. I know some people taht love to cold walk, and I know some that love to cold call. I'm not sure what you mean by It doesn't work at EDJ. Plenty of us cold call (or have cold called). I personally think cold calling is much more efficient. The other thing I didn't mention (to the detriment of cold walking). Where I live in New England, there are like 5, 10, 15 houses on each street, or one house every 1/4 mile. Get back in your car, find another street, repeat. In many parts of the country, there are developments with literally hundreds of houses within a few square miles, all stacked on top of each other. You can hit 100 in just a few hours. That just doesn't exist up here. So walking is REALLY inefficient. Once I finished the larger neighborhoods in my area, I sort of gave up walking, as it just took too damn long to hit enough houses.I meant the comparison didn’t work in EDJs favor…
I camed to the same conclusion you did and that is cold calling is more efficient(summary of my post).[quote=B24]Squash, I don’t think this is an issue of anyone vs. Jones. I was talking about pure logistics. Some will tell you they knocked all day and got nothing, another will tell you they knocked for 2 hours and got 30. My point was simply that you have to compare apples-to-apples.
And I was not commenting on the merits of calling vs. walking - just the challenge with discussing the comparison of the two. I know some people taht love to cold walk, and I know some that love to cold call. I'm not sure what you mean by It doesn't work at EDJ. Plenty of us cold call (or have cold called). I personally think cold calling is much more efficient. The other thing I didn't mention (to the detriment of cold walking). Where I live in New England, there are like 5, 10, 15 houses on each street, or one house every 1/4 mile. Get back in your car, find another street, repeat. In many parts of the country, there are developments with literally hundreds of houses within a few square miles, all stacked on top of each other. You can hit 100 in just a few hours. That just doesn't exist up here. So walking is REALLY inefficient. Once I finished the larger neighborhoods in my area, I sort of gave up walking, as it just took too damn long to hit enough houses.[/quote] B, Other than the cold walking, do you find the 500 Day War to be a good template for this business?Well, maybe it would have been if I had discovered it earlier on in my business. The bottom line of the War is that it's all about the numbers. Not to say that quality doesn't matter, but you can't get 100 clients if you have only talked to 30. Talk to 1000, and you'll get 100.
What I have found is that the simple (yet so elusive) act of talking and meeting a lot of people just results in business. Activity breeds results.
One caveat to the 500 Day War (for me). I simply cannot open acounts over the phone with people I have never met. It doesn't match my personality, and it doesn't match how I do business. So some of the specifics of the War need to be modified for individual circumstances. But the premise behind the whole thing is activity, and lots of it (prospecting activity, not research and portfolio reviews, etc.)