producer, feel good that you sit on top of the food chain. You absolutely have my respect. I congratulate you on all of your success. You are in an elite club.
Most importantly, being a top producer means that you provide an excellent service to enough people to make a difference. More people are hopefully becoming more profitable in their retirement accounts, investments, and protection of their assets. That's a big bravo!
Now I'm going to shift gears on you. Ready? There are two types of top producers.
Serious, but Not Committed (SBNC)
There are top producers who feel they have earned the right to be on cruise control. They come into the office whenever they get there, do what needs to get done to support their clients (maybe), stay in the know, and go home. These are the top producers who are content with their assets under management (AUM), renewals, or any referral business that happens to come in. They have plateaued.
And you know, all of this is just fine. These top producers have earned that right to keep the button set on cruise control. They paid their dues.
If this is you, all good in the hood!
Serious, but Committed (SBC)
If you're a top producer and you're serious about continuing to learn, improve, grow, set goals, produce, or at least teach junior producers how to do the same, the ability to network should be important to you.
I know this because when I get hired by a firm to deliver a seminar on networking, many of the top producers come out of their corner offices and participate in my program. And it's usually not required of them. They're serious about growing their business and simply see the value.
In my seminars, the serious top producers tend to ask the most questions, take the most notes, pay the most attention, and plan to implement the most ideas. These are the top producers who get to the top and stay on top – the heavyweight champions of the world.
If you happen to be a top producer, which one are you?
If you plan to become a top producer, which one will you be?
The Difference Between New Producers and Top Producers
Beyond production level, that is. Here's the difference in the value of networking for both new and top producers. Newer producers or financial advisors tend to have more time on their hands than market (business). Their focus is to fill their time with more prospecting related activities like networking to develop their market.
The more seasoned advisors and top producers have much more market than time. They're looking to invest more time so they can leverage their market and potentially scale their practice into a business – a money‐making machine that doesn't require them to be at their desk or on their phone all day every day.
Make sense?
For new advisors, seasoned advisors, and even grizzled veterans, networking can lead to growing your business and, more importantly, creating a more secure life for yourself and others.
Why Financial Advisors Don't Network
Or network much. I lead networking events in two major cities (soon to be more) at least once a month. I'm amazed that more financial advisors don't come out of the woodwork to learn more about attending my events. Of course, some do. Out of almost a hundred attendees at a given event, I may have six advisors in the room. I don't look to have many more advisors at my events, but given the opportunity to connect with quality people in a vetted community, I'm surprised there aren't more who at least inquire.
Here are some possible reasons.
Don't See the Value
Networking requires a lot of time and a lot of work – there are entire books written on the topic. Many financial advisors are so focused on the next sale that they simply aren't willing to put in the work or the time that it takes to develop important relationships. The irony is that you can't be successful as a financial advisor or most types of sales producers if you're not willing to establish the important relationships required to get you there. The payoff to networking is usually not immediate so it's very difficult to see the value when you're so focused on making the sale. Most people you meet at networking events are not there to find a financial advisor to invest with or purchase life insurance from. Harsh reality!
Not Encouraged by Their Firms
The reason most financial advisors fail at being financial advisors is because most should not have been recruited by their firms in the first place. Many firms are simply looking to hit their recruiting targets. Hopefully this is not you! Outside of that, the reason most financial advisors fail is because they don't see enough people and set enough sales appointments. The reason there aren't enough sales appointments scheduled on the calendar is because advisors (especially new sales producers) are not encouraged and taught by their firms how to meet people, establish important relationships, and get referred to those who need a financial advisor. Networking!
Don't Know How to Network
We are taught at a very young age not to talk to strangers. That wiring carries through to elementary school, high school, and beyond. Naturally, it's great advice not to talk to strangers when you're a child, but when that programming translates to the business world, it becomes problematic, especially when our programming dictates that we stay focused on our cell phones every moment of every day. Our phones become the excuse not to talk to people who are in the same room with us. Look around you right now. How many people do you see looking at their phones? Not even talking on the phone but looking and tapping. It's amazing how many people are glued to their phones when sitting down for dinner at a restaurant, walking with their friends, crossing the street, and even when driving their cars. We all do it. But the first step in learning how to network is to let go of social media and texting and be present to those who are in the same room with you. Smile. Connect. Start a conversation. Pay a compliment. Be interested. Be intentional at learning about people. It's a lesson I teach my own kids. And it should be taught and encouraged in firms that are serious about developing their sales producers to succeed.
Personal Fears
Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of public speaking. Fear of making a mistake. Not knowing what to say. Not knowing what to do. Not knowing how to ask a question. Answer a question. Start a conversation. Have a conversation. End a conversation. Make the intro. Ask for the intro. Ask for the business. Offer the business. Take the job. Leave the job. Pick up the check. Offer money. Take the business card. Give a business card. Laugh. Cry. Smile. They like me. They don't like me. How do I follow up? How do I follow through? Should I follow them, or just walk away? Do I get there early? Leave early? Arrive late? Stay late? What should I talk about? Not talk about? Am I wrong? Am I right? Are they a prospect? What if they start selling me their product? What if I know I don't know? What if I see them again? Did I forget their name? Did I forget my name?
The first step is not to care. The second step is to be intentional about simply having a nice conversation (that's all it is) and exchanging ideas with the intent to learn. It's like just learning the jab in boxing. Just focus on getting confident and getting good about the basics. All of your punches come off the jab. The rest will come.
Not Connected to a Goal
Yes, got to have a goal, man. And the goal can't be, “I'm looking for more business.” That's pretty obvious when you're in sales. But what kind of business are you looking for? What industry, profession, market segment, niche, dynamic, and geography are you targeting? (I'll get into all of this in a later chapter.) Given the type of business you're looking for, what are you hoping to accomplish by attending this cocktail party? This conference? This association meeting? This chamber