How to succeed as a financial advisor: BEST OR BUST

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter: Receive one actionable marketing tip each DAY!

February 11, 2022

Here’s a really simple take on how to succeed as a financial advisor. If I were to be on my deathbed, there is one thing I would say to my kids, and I know they would be okay in life without me: no matter what, be the best.

Not the fastest, not the cheapest, not the easiest, not the smartest, not the first one, not the only one.

The best.

BEST OR BUST

2022 is not the year to be mediocre

I need everyone reading this blog to understand something right now.

The way the economy is, this is not an environment that is going to have any mercy for the middle. Or the bottom.

The year is 2022. You see inflation? Do you see the economy what it is headed for? You see General Mills and whatnot charging $6 or whatever for a box of cereal?

You don’t see the CEO of General Mills complaining about that. They got the government bailing us out with checks and then they raise prices permanently after the checks stop, and they get away with it. They are just fine. The system is rigged in their favor. They don’t gotta worry about inflation prices. Or taxes.

If you are in the middle they are going to punish you with taxes. Winner takes all right now, you don’t want to be in the middle. You need pricing power right now. You need to be in control of your ability to make money. Or, you will be a casualty of the 2022 (and onwards) economy which will eat you alive from now on. You are absolutely caught in the middle. There’s no “go easy on me” okay that’s for Adele.

And I know there are some people who are going to argue with me until the end. You know what? It’s tax season coming up. You go pay your tax bill and then email me, okay, and we’ll talk.

Only the best are needed!

Listen despite what the therapists and the feel good people. say, second place DOES NOT feel good, nor does it pay. If you want to help other people to where your value is highly paid for, be the BEST.

So go out there and maximize your success as a financial advisor. Succeed more than you ever have before. Because guess what: only the undisputed BEST are desperately needed. BEST OR BUST. If you had a real problem, you wouldn’t want to talk to the second place person. You’d want to talk to the best.

Stop saying these derailing things to yourself!

If you are saying any of these things to yourself, get rid of them because they are just going to get in the way of you succeeding as a financial advisor:

At least I tried (Please. What a wimp motto)
I’ll try my best (NO! I’ll BE the best)
Don’t you think that’s kind of extreme? (YES! Because being #1 is an extreme remember it’s the highest you can go)
Is that really necessary (Not by most people’s standards, but most people are happy to settle for mediocrity)
I need my rest. (Why? You’re okay. Go to bed at 8, get up out of the bed at 6. Don’t be up late watching the Kardashians. Stop watching Basketball Wives until midnight. 10 hours is plenty of sleep. And go run for the money).
It’s on a best efforts basis. (Oh, that’s nice, but nobody gets paid for effort they get paid for effective.)
I don’t want to be selfish. (The government and the corporations are! Why don’t you? Hell, why not get what you deserve instead of them getting it?)
I’m past that point in my career. (No you ain’t. cause the government is coming for us all, and what public sector wont do with taxes, the private sector will do with price inflation).
I don’t want to look desperate. (what’s worse – looking desperate to a person who doesn’t care anyways, or looking uncommitted who does? if anyone looks at you like that, they are not interested in what you have to offer. It’s one thing to hound them and devalue yourself by going about this wrong, but if you are worried about putting yourself in the position of having to ask people for their attention, you don’t even believe in your own value).
And that’s a day’s work. (yeah? And so are you gonna get back on the computer at night after the kids go to bed? Because see, your living expenses don’t stop at night, see my electricity is still on at night, I’m still eating food at night, my rent is still being accrued at night, so why should you stop working at night?).
Be patient. (F patience, okay? I don’t tell anyone that because most of the time it is an excuse. Other than triple bypass I don’t know why anything would cause you to have to slow down like people seem to be wanting you to wait for your success.)
I can make it up later. (When? When you’re older?)
I don’t want to sacrifice my work life balance. (Oh so being at the mercy of the government is a good life? That’s quality of life, having to wait for the stimulus check? Like, oh I hope the mail isn’t late this week.)
Best to take the path of least resistance. (guess what- that gets you where everyone else is going, because that is what everyone else is doing! )

F THAT

You do not want to be with the pack right now! Get out ahead. This industry does not need more mediocre people.

Stop attacking the idea of being the best!

Being the best doesn’t mean not being humble. When you figure out how to succeed as a financial advisor you can also figure out how to do it the right way.

I don’t know whats wrong with the leadership in this industry but many of them seem to think the answer is in being a mentor, being overly nice, and being a coach to other financial advisors. That the more you talk to other financial advisors, the better financial advisor you will be.

No, the better they will be because you wasted your time talking to them and telling them the trade secrets!

First of all you don’t see my sitting around talking to other marketing people all day, starting up businesses with other marketing people, going to marketing conferences with other marketing people. I don’t need to sit around all day and talk to people on the same level as me, I want to talk to the CEOs.

Second of all, if I do, I don’t give away the good stuff. I don’t hand over my value on a platter, like, here take this! In fact why don’t you just come into my apartment and take all the food out of my refrigerator! Do you like tofu? Here here’s my wallet! The kids don’t eat much, don’t worry about us!

Look I don’t care if two of you are left subbing to my podcast and reading my blogs after I say all this. I believe what I am saying.

It’s only worth doing if you can be the best

If you’re going to do it, then do it better than everyone else. It’s not that I don’t care about other people’s wellbeing – but that’s what second place is for. I can be first, and they can be second and they’ll be okay.

Do you know how many self esteem problems are due to the fact that people are doing the wrong things with their time. Or that they want what they can’t have, just because they don’t know how hard they have to work to get it? On the other hand, can’t you see it in someone’s eyes when they want to be the best? You just know that they’re not going to accept second place. It’s incredibly powerful for your self-esteem but nobody wants to say that because they think the answer is yoga, herbal tea, and chia seeds! How about an elevated self-confidence because you know you went out there and proved your worth?

It starts today. Go send five LinkedIn messages to somebody you can help be better at their business goals.

Don’t listen to what the middle says!

As soon as you adopt this attitude people are going to get very upset and try to convince you that you are crazy. That’s because they love mediocrity and guess what – with inflation and the economy going where it is, the middle is going to get CRUSHED.

Be at the top not the middle, folks!

And now for the most important message about succeeding as a financial advisor

TODAY MEANS OPPORTUNITY. If you can read and write in America that is more than enough than what you need to be a financial advisor and succeed at it massively. There’s no medical school degree required, okay?

DO IT.

Enough talking, go get some new clients and if you want my help then work with me.

It’s on my website.

For those of you who are new to my blog/podcast, my name is Sara. I am a CFA® charterholder and I used to be a financial advisor. I have a weekly newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.” So please subscribe!

Learn what to say to prospects on social media messenger apps without sounding like a washing machine salesperson. This e-book contains 47 financial advisor LinkedIn messages, sequences, and scripts, and they are all two sentences or less.