11 Reasons You'll Fail As A Financial AdvisorNOTE: If you’re a new financial advisor, make sure you check outYour First Year As A Financial Advisor,where I reveal several things every new financial advisor ought to know. Up to 90% of financial advisors fail within the first three years of being in business — that’s a scary statistic, but it doesn't have to be that way.
1. You Won't Prospect.You won’t make it in business if you don’t get clients, and you won’t get clients if you don’t get prospects. Shocker! 2. You Won't Follow Up.Follow-up is everything. People are busy, and your best clients will be the ones who are difficult to reach. How many times have you talked to someone for the first time and they said, “Oh, by the way, I want to let you handle all of my investable assets immediately! Where do I sign up?” ALSO READ: Financial Advisor Follow-Up Tips That Won't Annoy Prospective Clients 3. You'll Let One Bad Experience Throw You Off Your Game.Did you have a bad day… or did you have a bad five minutes that you feel like is your whole day? I hope you memorize that sentence, because it changed my life. ALSO READ: A Day In The Life of a Financial Advisor 4. You Won't Decide To Be Great.Oh yeah, you have to decide you’ll be great. 5. You'll Think It's Too Competitive.I didn’t say you’ll fail because the financial advisor market is competitive. I’m saying it’s likely if you think it’s too competitive. ALSO READ: 5 Best Niches For Financial Advisors 6. You'll Make The Same Mistakes Over And Over.When you fail to convert a prospect, do you ask why you didn’t get their business? Naturally, most people don’t. It’s painful and uncomfortable, and it forces you to acknowledge you’re less than perfect. 7. Your Outlook Will Be Too Short-Sighted.If you’re just looking for the next deal to put food on the table, you risk cutting corners or making decisions that aren’t in your best interests for the long-term. 8. You Won't Choose A Target Market.Do you know how much easier a target market makes prospecting? With an occupational niche, for example — whether it’s nurses, chiropractors, engineers or executives — you could go on LinkedIn, type in your target occupation in the search bar and connect with tons of potential customers. Because you have a defined audience, all your marketing can revolve around your target. It’s so easy, it feels like a cheat code. That means if you don’t have a target market, you’re making a devastating mistake. If you need more proof than this website and my Inner Circle newsletter that I practice what I preach, check out my podcast, “Financial Advisor Marketing.” In that podcast, I consistently share stories about how financial advisors can choose niches and become better marketers. In fact, I use the advice I give to attract - you guessed it - financial advisors! Sure, some people don’t bother with my content. But there’s a clear pool of people who love what I put out, buy my products and support my work. That’s my niche — those are the people I go after. ALSO READ: Should Financial Advisors Start A Podcast? 9. You'll Underestimate The Effort Required To Scale A Business.Optimism is a fine personality trait. With that said… it can also sabotage you. Here’s what I mean: When you’re trying to grow a financial services business and figure out your marketing strategy, optimism is one reason most financial advisors fail. The hard work that goes into getting clients is just that — very frickin’ hard. In the beginning, your business requires the same tremendous energy you’d need to engineer a train. But once you’ve got some momentum, it’s much easier to keep your business going; all you have to do is stoke the flames here and there. Until then, roll your sleeves up and get realistic about what you have to do and how long it’ll take. If not, you’ll fall prey to the planning fallacy. This phenomenon is when someone predicts how much time they'll need to complete a task. Because of their optimism bias, they underestimate the process. When you fall into the planning fallacy trap, you won’t be able to handle the time and effort it takes to grow your business as a financial advisor. That’s why my rule of thumb is to double your estimates. If you think it'll take three follow-up attempts to reach a prospect on the phone, plan for six. If you think it’ll take five months to get your first referral from a strategic alliance but you plan for 10, you won’t get discouraged after three months. There’s nothing wrong with being optimistic, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your efforts to build your business. However, if you see the glass half full instead of empty, your best bet is to just stay in this sweet spot: Plan for the worst, but hope for the best. You’ll still be an optimist, but you’ll also have plans in place just in case the you-know-what hits the fan. ALSO READ: 10 Catastrophic Ways Financial Advisors Sabotage Their Success 10. You Won't Invest In Yourself.If you don’t invest in yourself, how can you advise your clients to invest in index funds, mutual funds or annuities insurance? Chances are, you don’t do it as well as you think, and your clients can tell. When you don't invest in learning new skills, you limit your ability to succeed. You always need to expand your skillset to learn new ways to succeed. By investing in yourself, you can follow proven paths rather than get stuck looking for answers to questions about building a business that have already been found. Don’t try to figure it all out yourself — use the time to gain knowledge that grows you externally. 11. You'll Foster Limiting Beliefs.The foundation of everything you believe in comes from what you feel deep down inside. Believe it or not, your internal beliefs are often more important than skill. The difference between your performance with and without investing in yourself is evident when two financial advisors try the same material but get vastly different results. I have the perfect example: After a financial advisor purchased my products, I gave him an exclusive cold calling script I’d never shared. He used it and got incredible results, so I ran a brief experiment. I gave the same script to another advisor, who I considered a pessimist with many limiting beliefs. As you might’ve guessed, when he tried out my cold calling script for one week, he got no results. Why? Internal hang-ups. We’ve all been there, so it’s nothing to feel ashamed of. Heck, I built a successful business, but I’m still working through my limiting belief that making money has to be hard. Still, don’t let this be the reason you fail as a financial advisor. Final Thoughts: Follow The Rules👑I’ve worked with countless financial advisors over the years and while there are lots of reasons why they fail, these are seven of the most common. A lot of failure within the financial advisor industry comes down to either not knowing or not practicing the fundamentals. For example, every financial advisor should prospect and follow up - that’s a fundamental thing. However, when advisors don’t prospect, they put themselves in danger of failing. I talked about this in the first episode of my “Financial Advisor Marketing” podcast, which was called “Rules for Successful Financial Advisors”. Because just like with anything in life, there are rules you have to follow and if you want to increase your odds of being a successful financial advisor, you should learn and follow the basics. If you want to subscribe to the podcast, simply search “Financial Advisor Marketing” wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes go live every Monday. Remember that nothing happens until you set an appointment. Also, new advisors often fail because they’re impatient and want to get immediate results. Yet, in order to succeed you need to develop a predictable and repeatable process you can use to set appointments and get clients. |
FAQs
11 Reasons You'll Fail as a Financial Advisor? ›
Financial advisors are most concerned about business development. Nearly 80% cite the challenge of finding “ideal” clients (Exhibit 1). While an “ideal” client will vary among financial advisors, sourcing them instead of less preferred clients is a big deal.
What do financial advisors struggle with most? ›Financial advisors are most concerned about business development. Nearly 80% cite the challenge of finding “ideal” clients (Exhibit 1). While an “ideal” client will vary among financial advisors, sourcing them instead of less preferred clients is a big deal.
What is a red flag for a financial advisor? ›Red Flag #1: They're not a fiduciary.
You be surprised to learn that not all financial advisors act in their clients' best interest. In fact, only financial advisors that hold themselves to a fiduciary standard of care must legally put your interests ahead of theirs.
What is the hardest part about being a financial advisor? The hardest part about being a financial advisor is often the constant need for client prospecting and business development, especially in the early stages of one's career.
How many people fail at being a financial advisor? ›2. The Statistics: 80-90% of financial advisors fail and close their firm within the first three years of business. This means only 10-20% of financial advisors are ultimately successful.
Why do so many financial advisors fail? ›A lot of failure within the financial advisor industry comes down to either not knowing or not practicing the fundamentals. For example, every financial advisor should prospect and follow up - that's a fundamental thing. However, when advisors don't prospect, they put themselves in danger of failing.
What are the weaknesses of being a financial advisor? ›- Building an advisor practice and growing a client base may be challenging.
- Completing the necessary requirements to get certified and licensed can be time-consuming and costly.
- Working hours are often long, particularly in the early stages of growing an advisor business.
- "I offer a guaranteed rate of return."
- "Performance is the only thing that matters."
- "This investment product is risk-free. ...
- "Don't worry about how you're invested. ...
- "I know my pay structure is confusing; just trust me that it's fair."
Unethical financial advisors usually have warning signals including inconsistent reporting to clients, product pushing, and guaranteeing future results. Ethical financial advisors prioritize learning about your personal history, explaining unfamiliar financial matters, and planning for their succession in they retire.
How do I know if my financial advisor is bad? ›- They are a part-time fiduciary.
- They get money from multiple sources.
- They charge excessive fees.
- They claim exclusivity.
- They don't have a customized plan.
- You always have to call them.
- They ignore you or your spouse.
What type of personality does a financial advisor have? ›
Financial advisors are enterprising and conventional
If you are one or both of these archetypes, you may be well suited to be a financial advisor. However, if you are realistic, this is probably not a good career for you. Unsure of where you fit in? Take the career test now.
- Wealth Management. Wealth management is one of the highest-paying financial advisor jobs. ...
- Investment Banking. Investment banking is another high-paying financial advisor job. ...
- Certified Financial Planner. ...
- Insurance Sales Agent. ...
- Brokerage Firms.
Over 90% of financial advisors in the industry do not last three years. Putting it simply: 9 advisors out of 10 would fail!
What is the average age of financial advisors? ›According to various studies and publications, the average age of financial advisors is somewhere between 51 and 55 years, with 38% expecting to retire in the next ten years.
Do financial advisors get fired? ›Financial advisors get fired all the time. It can sting when it happens to you, but understanding why you were dumped will help you succeed. Studies show that most advisors aren't fired over market losses. Important relationship factors are often more crucial to keeping a client within your firm over the long term.
How many clients does a good financial advisor have? ›What is a good advisor-client ratio? It depends on who you ask but a typical answer is anywhere from 50 to 150 clients per advisor. Having 50 clients could be enough if you're focusing on high-net-worth individuals.
What are threats to financial advisors? ›Significant loss threats include advisor death or disability, key person loss, an unexpected disaster (natural or otherwise), lawsuits, and failure to plan for business succession.
Are financial advisors struggling right now? ›“Right now, many advisors are struggling to find the time to deliver the level of hands-on service they know is critical to growing their business.
What are the ethical issues with financial advisors? ›Unethical financial advisors usually have warning signals including inconsistent reporting to clients, product pushing, and guaranteeing future results. Ethical financial advisors prioritize learning about your personal history, explaining unfamiliar financial matters, and planning for their succession in they retire.
What is the most important thing for a financial advisor? ›- Getting clients and having them stick with you and then later recommend you means putting them first.
- Meanwhile, you must have a deep understanding of the markets, analytical skills and training, and a passion for finance.
- Soft skills are as critical as hard skills, like investing skills and market timing.