Edward Jones vs Northwestern (2018 choice)
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Hello,
I'm in the final stages of both companies and would like some input with the selection.
My background is in business development and corporate finance. Technically, corporate finance is night and day different than personal finance, however from the relationship side of the house, in order to excel you need to be able to build a great relationship and present with internet, and external clients. I'm deciding to go the personal finance route as it seems like I'll be able to build a more meaningful career vs only a career focused on 10k's, shareholder and owner wealth accumulation, etc.
I'm not scared to prospect & sell, I've done both in various ways throughout my career.
I will be able to cover my living expenses no matter which direction I go, EJ or NWM, it will be tight, but I'll be able to make it.
All that being said, there are a few things that I'm looking for:
1) Income potential
My Yr 1 goal is $80k . . .
EJ - it seems that since they give you a salary starting off, you're paying for it in commissions, totally makes sense. I've read that people start with EJ, then leave after 3 years to go Indy. Is it possible, with the right amount of building, to make a health six figure income with EJ ?
NWM - zero salary to start, but very strong commission. It seems that with NWM, with the stronger commissions I'll be able to earn more. However, I'm also aware a bit of costs will eat up those commissions.
2) Brand Awareness
I'm going to build this thing hard. First, I'm going to wrap my personal brand around it (I already have a degree of credibility in my community) I want to align myself with a strong brand. It seems like EJ has more brand equity than NWM. A basic google trend search also highlights this. When it comes to personal finance, I'm not quite sure this really matters?
3) Product / Solutions
NWM - more insurance based, EJ more "holistic" planning. While NWM is saying they're really a wealth management company, it still seems to wrap around insurance, which is okay. Selling Insurance, or Investments are both fine with me.
I know a lot of small business owners, and very comfortable talking to other small business owners. This will likely be my primary niche. I'd like to go with a company that can best fit small business, and possible even sell group plans, etc.
4) Support -
Both companies have what appears to have great leadership. In corporate finance, you really don’t get trained on anything.. You’re sort of just setup to figure things out yourself, so I'm used to just getting in, building relationships with key stakeholders and asking for help.
Anyway, I've been doing a lot of research, I feel like I've read all of the threads out there, since 2014, there hasn’t really been any updates so I'm wondering if anything has changed with these two companies.
Well, just as a matter of update - incase someone finds this years later. I'm deciding to go the NWM route. I'll lay out the reasons below
Prospecting:
Although, I don't really mind door knocking if that what it takes, building through your warm market with NWM seems a little more efficient. I'm not right out of college, nor and I scared to ask for referrals.
Training:
I do believe EDJ 'likely' has a better training system, that being said I have a lite background in high ticket items (corporate consulting sales). I think for a rookie, EDJ sales training will provide more value, however that also comes at a cost in reduced earnings.
Earnings Potential:
Based on conversations with both companies, and people who are in the know - it seems like hands down a mutual insurance company is the company that will provide the greatest earnings potential out of the gate. EDJ, you're earnings is slightly less do to their investment into you, which is totally fair.
Just want to mention a few things aobut EDJ:
1) Their culture is top notch, EVERY person I spoke to within the company, both through the processess and reaching out to via linked in to get their take have been wonderful. It's no wonder they're number 1.
2) I believe with either company, you can do well personally and financially, EDJ for someone new to business, and or sales - is the company to go with, as NWM - although they do try to weed people out through the interviewing processess.. I do believe it will take a little more grit to build with them.