that would be a great idea to tell people upfront what to expect....saves time, costs, energy n just so much better for both parties!

am in the same boat 3 months in.....slowly figuring out that cold calling seems to be the only way to go. am not afraid of the phone...but i just wish i knew, i might have had different expectations and a different strategy!

now that the panacea seems to be to cold call to save ur ass, I have a question.....i have been scouring the forum for tips n ideas...but what are the best palces to get cold call lists and how cost effective is this approach??

I'm interested to know how much research you did before you entered this profession?  I spent a couple of months doing research before even applied anywhere.   I spoke with FA's from several different firms and they ALL told me how much work I was going to have to do to make it.   Once I decided to make the jump and got the info for the regional VP's of the 2 firms I was interested in... both set up an introductory meeting just to try and scare me out of the industry.    I will be starting next week with one of those firms, and am only at the point of starting to study for the Series 7, but I can't fathom how you actually made it to the point of being a producing advisor without knowing that it was going to take an insane amount of cold calling or cold walking to make it.    From what I can tell... if you go the networking route and are lucky enough to have an EXTREMELY good network then you might make it.    If you go the cold calling/ cold walking route and put in the work, you have a much better chance.

As for your current situation:

Why are you spending time on here asking permission from us to quit?  YOU have to decide whether you want to be in this industry or not.   If you DO want to be in the industry then get your butt on the phone and do the absolute best job you can do until you either make it or get fired.  If you make it.... AWESOME!   If you get fired..... so be it.   Every one of those contacts that you made while trying to keep your job is a contact that might transfer with you if you go independent or join another firm or bank or whatever.   Just because you don't make it where you are right now doesn't mean that you have no options later.

If you DON'T want to stay in the industry then give up and surf the internet, because there is no way your boss will or SHOULD let you keep your job if you aren't trying.

I for one would learn from the mistakes I made in the past, bust my butt trying to make the numbers I need, and at the very least...... show my boss that I can learn from my mistakes and put in the effort to make a comeback.

Kletus, big mouth, let's see you come back here in 6 months talkin smack like that. We'll remember you...

Where exactly did I talk smack or say I was better than anyone else?   Where did I say I would have any more success than him?

I made 2 points:

1.  I asked a question about how you can make it to being a producing advisor without knowing you would have to cold call or doorknock.      Every single person I've talked to in the industry has pointed out to me how hard you have to work and what you have to do to succeed.    No trash talk there.. just a question.

2.  I told him to make a decision on what he wants to do... not ask others.  

You can feel free to read my comments as smack talk or saying I'm better than someone... but that doesn't make it so.  I am fully aware I what I'm getting myself into, what it will take for me to succeed, and what my chances of success are.   Only time will tell if I make it, but it won't be because I just decided not to work anymore and see if I get fired.

Kletus ... unless you are given $$$ you'll be on your ass in six months.

I don't have a problem with Kletus' post.. He did some research about expectations of this job(the other guy should have done some research).

Vintalk: Didn't they give you expectations on what number you had to hi... This isn't difficult..

[quote=JumpMan]

Kletus ... unless you are given $$$ you'll be on your ass in six months.

[/quote]

Thanks for your concern, but I'll take my chances.

I've got no issue with it either, I've just seen guys with his bravdo fall on their face way too often to take them seriously. 

I just think its funny that you have absolutely no clue as to my situation and yet you can determine that I won't be around in 6 months.

Will I be here in 6 months....... odds are near 100 percent.... will I be here in 18 months.... an entirely different question altogether.

Kletus, you can't get any love on either site. I would go back to AH. The atmosphere is more laid back once you learn the secret handshake

Squash 2 - Honestly no! Was hired in my first meeting and most of my interaction began after I joined. Though the nos even if I would have known them would not have bothered me..... My concern is not with hitting the nos....I think its a reasonable ask.

My concern is the approach....no one prepared me for what to expect! I was doing this biz in a different environment and cold calling is not what I had to do!

I have nothing against cold calling...its just not exactly a skill that 'I' have! I am more a consultative sales person...my approach is not aggressive.

So its a harsh realization that I need to go back to the drawing board and reinvent my style if I have to make it in this biz in this place!

[quote=vintalk]...my approach is not aggressive...[/quote] it doesn't have to be aggressive, just continuous

those are fair questions kletus...

yes i did research. i sat with 2 senior vps. they both tried to scare me out of joining....'its haaaaard work. blah, blah, blah.' it's one thing to hear it and another to work your arse off for 3 mo. and end up where i am at now. 150 cold calls a day sound easy until your sitting at your desk, its thursday, 450 calls behind you this week already, 69 in today and you just got hung up on by some righteous jerkoff, no REAL prospects this week and on top of all of that the appointment that you spent 3 hrs preparing for over the weekend cancels on you....you're trying to find every excuse to not throw your phone across the room! they never told me any of that in the interview and i would have to venture that most of the readers in this forum have had weeks like this. all i heard was 'hard work,' and that is something i can handle. this i just something totally different from my version of hard work i guess. then you have to do the same thing friday, and the next week, and the next and... you get the point. you need to be really headstrong to handle this biz. lots of ups and downs.

i started out with a well thought out and elaborate biz plan and was priased by the bm and training coach for how nice it looked. its out the window now. dial, dial, dial. that's all.

and fyi: i was not looking for advice on what i should do. i just wanted to know what typically happens given my circumstances.

BFP - I don't think Kletus was being judgemental, nothing wrong with his comments. I don't think he showed bravado either. He just stated his opinion as it relates to Pimp - his comments had nothing to do with his own chances of success. I give him credit for doing the due dili and knowing what he was getting into.

Pimp - You certainly didn't start out on the right foot. Whats done is done, like everyone pretty much said, you need to decide for sure if you want to do this, and if you get fired, you'll have to find another place to do it. But if you are a professional, you won't let the uncertainty get in the way of you doing what needs to get done. Focus focus focus.

The football analogy is BS. Mark Sanchez looked horrible last year. Nobody would have blamed the coach if he was forced to sit. He knew it. He knew he was losing games for the team. But he just stayed focused and took to the playoffs and lit up the place.

If you do decide to stay in this business, BE A PROFESSIONAL - no excuses, asking for mulligans or other crap. Just do it. Control what you can control. Put the rest out of your mind.

[quote=pimpin_aint_easy]i started out with a well thought out and elaborate biz plan and was priased by the bm and training coach for how nice it looked. its out the window now. dial, dial, dial. that's all.

and fyi: i was not looking for advice on what i should do. i just wanted to know what typically happens given my circumstances.

[/quote]

you can dial, walk around, bribe your friends and family, whatever it just doesn't matter. The point is you need to find 200 people with an average of 100k to give you. The sooner the better. However you want to do that is up to you. The Judge already showed us the numbers, call 200,000 phone numbers, talk to 20,000 people, set 2000 appointments, get 200 clients. Its as easy or hard as you make it. If you are making the calls your manager will get your back, of course to a point.

Remember 200 people with an average of 100k each. Find 100k per week and you will get a second chance.

good luck!

So you think 20mm is a good book?  I'm confussed.

no no no, 20mm is when you can stop, take a breath and decide how to run YOUR business. Until then, you are just a squirrel looking for another nut and trying to prepare for a cold ass winter.

You go to the "traiining class" of ANY program. Every one of those folks, no exception, will adamantly CLAIM that they "did their homework", will be some sort of stand out, know what they are doing, blah, blah, blah... Every time I hear from one of those folks, I'd really like to ask how many cold calls they've ever made... So, with Kletus, seeing him "give advice", to someone that is ACTUALLY in battle, from the safety of some training class, is just a wee bit irritating. Instead, Kletus should learn that what's coming his way, MIGHT, be much harder than he thought, and prepare for it. The many months of study, before you hit the streets, could be spent really getting an exceptional calling list put together. Studying the years of archives here, might not be a bad idea, in the benefit of investigating a small number of successes, amongst a great big sea of failure/failures. Just a word to the wise to the "trainee" class of 4th qtr 2010.... But hey, it's just free advice and all....

[quote=BigFirepower]

You go to the "traiining class" of ANY program. Every one of those folks, no exception, will adamantly CLAIM that they "did their homework", will be some sort of stand out, know what they are doing, blah, blah, blah... Every time I hear from one of those folks, I'd really like to ask how many cold calls they've ever made... So, with Kletus, seeing him "give advice", to someone that is ACTUALLY in battle, from the safety of some training class, is just a wee bit irritating. Instead, Kletus should learn that what's coming his way, MIGHT, be much harder than he thought, and prepare for it. The many months of study, before you hit the streets, could be spent really getting an exceptional calling list put together. Studying the years of archives here, might not be a bad idea, in the benefit of investigating a small number of successes, amongst a great big sea of failure/failures. Just a word to the wise to the "trainee" class of 4th qtr 2010.... But hey, it's just free advice and all....

[/quote]

While I understand where you are coming from, I think you need to go back and look at the advice I gave with an unbiased eye.   It doesn't matter whether I have any experience with the finance industry at all... my advice translates to any job.  I may be new to the Finance industry, but I do have 10 years of experience as an engineer (4 as a supervisor as well).  I've dealt with situations like the OP's both from the boss and employee perspective.

The OP has three paths he can take:

1.   Stop working hard and definitely get fired.

2.  Stop working hard, hope he gets an extension, and then be way behind on his goals for his extension.  (In my mind this just leads right back to #1, but I could be wrong.

3.  Learn from his past on what HAS and HAS NOT worked for him so far.   Take that knowledge and dedicate himself to doing the absolute best he can with the time he has left.

In my humble opinion, #3 is the best option for the following reasons:

1.  Regardless of the outcome you have the pride of knowing you didn't give up.

2.  You may impress your boss and get that extension you want.

3.  You stated you want to stay in the industry... so this is a no pressure way of working on your prospecting so that you hit the ground running at your next job.

4.  You just might start a couple of great new relationships that either transfer with you to the next job or become clients when you start your next job.

As you can see BFP.....  this advice has absolutely nothing to do with whether I am any good as a financial advisor, whether I'll make it as an FA, or even whether I'll make it through my training.  Its just regular common sense that applies to all industries.  I've lived it and breathed it, which I feel made me qualified to chime in. 

"Kletus should learn that what's coming his way, MIGHT, be much harder than he thought, and prepare for it. The many months of study, before you hit the streets, could be spent really getting an exceptional calling list put together. Studying the years of archives here, might not be a bad idea, in the benefit of investigating a small number of successes, amongst a great big sea of failure/failures. Just a word to the wise to the "trainee" class of 4th qtr 2010"

This is actually VERY GOOD advice and I appreciate it.   One of the reasons I come to this forum and the "other" forum is to research the best proven methods that are in use by those that have already made it.   I'm working hard on formulating my prospecting plan, and developing options in case those don't work for me.

The next 10 weeks of my job are dedicated to studying for and taking the Series 7 and Series 66.   In that time period I am also working to determine exactly who my initial targets will be and how to contact them.