Well, I’m sure its not typical to make 7 fig in mortgages either. If anyone can think of a better business to start in right now than be a FA then please, do share.

i dont know about that… what if your passion is finger painting? being that i’m not financially secure i feel like i dont have the luxury of pursuing a “passion”. feels like it would be putting the cart before the horse. many-a-homeless was homeless-a-made by the stubborn pursuit of a passion, sans financial security.

i dont know about that… what if your passion is finger painting? being that i’m not financially secure i feel like i dont have the luxury of pursuing a “passion”. feels like it would be putting the cart before the horse. many-a-homeless was homeless-a-made by the stubborn pursuit of a passion, sans financial security.

[quote=fritz]

Have a few buddies who 8-10 years ago when i started in this biz went to commercial real estate and mortgage business and I was absolutely left in the dust. They were all pushing 7 figure income at the peak of their run and that income in this business is almost impossible.



[/quote]



commercial real estate and mortgages?     hows that working out for em now?

i dont know about that… what if your passion is finger painting? being that i’m not financially secure i feel like i dont have the luxury of pursuing a “passion”. feels like it would be putting the cart before the horse. many-a-homeless was homeless-a-made by the stubborn pursuit of a passion, sans financial security.

wow, this is one discouraging thread. i dont understand why you’re all still in the biz if it’s as bad as you say it is, but im seriously considering rejecting my job offer now.

wow, this is one discouraging thread. i dont understand why you’re all still in the biz if it’s as bad as you say it is, but im seriously considering rejecting my job offer now.

The reason why everybody is telling you to find another job is because your chances of being in the business in 2 years is only slightly better than winning the lottery. Which means slim to none.



You are going to work harder than you have ever worked before and you are going to earn just above the poverty line… if you are lucky. The career has gotten harder, when I started the success rate was around 10%, now it is below 1% and there was only 3 or 4 wire houses and you had to buy from those wire house if you wanted a security. Now every bank, insurance company, online broker dealer and independent shop can sell you a security. I heard a stat that before the Glass-Steagall deregulation their was one broker for every 500,000 people and now there is 1 broker for every 1000 people, notice I didn’t say qualified investor, just 1 broker for every 1000 people. There are very few qualified investors and the qualified investor is going to have a lot of competition for their money.   The numbers are against you. However if you are one of the lucky ones who do build this into a successful career then you will have a great and enjoyable career.



Another reason why everybody is recommending you to find another career is you are passing up 2 maybe 3 years where you could be growing your career in another profession. You could be passing up promotions and pay raises that another career may offer.



I wish you all the success on your endeavors.



Read the post by the Judge, still the best post on the entire site



[quote=The Judge]

This is some advice that I would give to someone starting out for their first 500 days as a producing advisor. A new broker with no substantial contacts/connections; someone who is willing to put in the sweat equity to survive and eventual prosper. After all, survival is the key as any successful veteran broker will tell you. Some of these may appear somewhat controversal; it is simply my experience/view and what I would do. In no particular order:

- Speak to 25,000 people via telephone; business owners and corporate directories only. It will amount to 2500 leads and 250 new accounts (households). Average account should be 100k; that’s 25 million @ 1% paying you 250k gross on an annual basis.

- Make an effort to open all accounts over the phone; discourage appointments (we’ll revisit this theory later on) unless it is high 6 figures or a million dollar prospect. Takes too much time. With the travel, meeting time, etc; we are solely focusing on the numbers here. Eventually you’ll meet with them AFTER they become clients.

- Purchase a laptop for your contact management; have this in front of you at all times and place the firm workstation BEHIND you. Too distracting and you will rarely need it anyway in the first two years.

- Have all of the compliance approved marketing material as well as new account/ACAT documents available via email to send to prospects. Make every effort to utilize this at all times to speed up the process.

- On a monthly basis, send a blast email as well as a paper-based copy of some idea/market related info to all of your prospects. This is to be done on Saturday unless you can afford to hire someone to do it for you.

- If there is no “sale” on the first follow up call, make every effort to (politely) try and disqualify them. This is done to prevent clogging up the pipeline with nice people who are (in reality) not interest or not qualified. Or both.

- Don’t consider spending any of your time on seminars, networking, wholesalers. Too much time/effort with unpredictable results. These activities can be initiated after you’ve survived and have built a base to build on.

- Make 3 cold calls for every follow up call during the day. It insures you are always talking to new people and not getting comfortable/lazy speaking only with existing prospects who will likely treat you in a kinder manner.

- Don’t solicit or accept friend or family accounts. In addition, politely let them know that you are not to be called at work before 6 pm unless there is an emergency. No time for idle chit/chat and friendly calls often turn into long conversations. Keep up contact evenings/weekends.

- Plan the next day (in particular you call list) before you leave. 30 minutes after arriving to work you should be on the phone.

- Do not take active traders for clients, especially fee-based traders. Takes too much time and interferes with prospecting.

- Ask every prospect if it would be ok to call them on Saturdays; great day to call/reach people in a relaxed state; this is the only time I would call home #'s and only after they’ve given you permission.

- Use regular mail and email to keep your name in front of prospects on a regular basis. However, ALL outgoing phone calls should be dedicated to asking for orders.

- During the week, gather all research/articles/etc and put it in a pile; this is to be read on Sunday when you have time, and not interfering with prospecting efforts.

- Keep diligent notes on conversations with prospects; quickly peruse them before following up and mention previous things they’ve said. Sets you apart and will impress any prospect.

- Promote referrals immediately after the first sale is made. Something along the lines of sending them an additional brochure for someone they may know. Do not ask for specific names, simply let them know you would appreciate any introductions.

- Be the first to arrive and generally the last to leave. Do not socialize with fellow brokers as they want you to fail. Bust your tail and impress them via your work ethic and results. You are the only one who decides your paycheck.

- Find a city that you would like to visit often, preferably on the opposite coast (different time zone). Spend 1-2 hours calling this area every day. If you are on the East Coast and calling SF, this can be done in the evening (your time) while it’s still afternoon out there. Conversely, West Coast people can be calling east at 6 am.

- Keep a daily scorecard and be diligent tracking activity/results. Set ambitious (yet reasonable) goals and exceed them. Time management is crucial; waste one hour a day and you have just wasted 25 working days a year. Yeah, it’s that much.

- Assume everyone has caller ID and always leave messages for existing prospects; no messages on cold calls. Leave one message a week for a prospect. And when you get a new prospect, ask them what time and what # they prefer to be contacted.

- Work for today but keep tomorrow in mind. Try and build a business that is primarily fee-based/recurring revenue. It’s a great feeling to come into year 3 with 250k already “done” and to see dividends for years to come as a result of the 500 day war.

So there’s a start and I’ll try and add more as I think of them. In addition, I’ll post some ideas on what a broker in their 3rd year should start considering doing to grow the business.

last time i heard 36k-mid 70’s was the range for newbies at mssb depending on what industry and line of business you are coming from.  36k usually for right out of school.  a friend of mine just entered the business at ms less than a year ago.   he did had a financial background and he got the high end of the range above.  a lot of it comes down to what you negotiate and how well you sell yourself. 

I would agree with most of judges advice except for one. I have had better success gathering entire assets by meeting the prospect in person rather than over the phone. The phone sale might have worked better in the 80s and 90 but don’t think it’s as effective now.   

…  i cant understand why so many ppl want to enter the biz …

greetings im trying to find out whats in the online assesment..i know some of it its math and sales..do amy of your remember any specific questions etc? thanks