Next Generation Planner: February 2021
Rafael Bernard, MSFP, CFP®
www.linkedin.com/in/rafael-bernard-msfp-cfp%C2%AE-48a8b78b/
If you want to know the secret to becoming as funny as a professional comedian, pay close attention: there is no such shortcut. It takes years of trial and error to learn how to keep a crowd laughing. Comics know that having lots of resilience and devotion to their craft is more valuable than misadventures for ‘trade secrets.’
When I considered becoming a financial adviser, I thought I needed the special sauce of financial planning: a knack for picking stocks. But I soon realized that successful advisers were simply passionate and gritty.
Passion and grit lead to success for young advisers—but it’s difficult to maintain these qualities in the face of daunting adviser attrition rates.
A method I used to overcome this was to study other non-traditional careers. I had the utmost admiration for stand-up comics. I was struck by how similar their career path is to ours. If you’re a new adviser, recognizing these similarities will, hopefully, help restock your passion and see the value in identifying a career benchmark:
(1) Reframe Barking
‘Barking’ is when aspiring comics stand on the street, handing out flyers and begging strangers to see their show. It’s brutal watching people repeatedly crinkle and throw out their flyer.
Prospecting for clients can be a similar experience. Without pedigree, young advisers often must visit worksites, handing out flyers that describe their services. The rejection is persistent.
But comics frame this as an opportunity to recommit themselves to the profession. When we don’t have a lot of clients to meet, we may lose sight of our value, burying ourselves in printing flyers and taking CEs. Barking forces you to publicly reaffirm your value proposition. It can build your commitment to the profession until your book becomes profitable.
(2) Avoid Shortcuts
In my second year as an adviser, I was watching “Crashing,” an HBO series about a talented semi-seasoned comic. As the protagonist finishes a terrific comedy set, a stranger sardonically comments, ‘He’ll be funny in three years‘ (see the episode titled “Too Good”). It’s known that, even for gifted comedians, it takes about five years of barking and testing out material to become really funny.
Similarly, if you’re a brilliant young adviser, it still takes about five years to make it independently. You need time to craft your value proposition, meeting process and salesmanship. Paying dues for this long gives you an edge over those rising through the ranks in back-office positions. It expedites acquisition of crucial skills. Remember that incredibly successful people often began their careers by patiently jumping in with both feet.
(3) March to Your Own Drum
Comics recount social pressure they experienced early on. Family members nagged them to find real jobs. They watched friends ascend the corporate ladder as their own bank accounts dwindled.
These are experiences often felt by young independent advisers. To become a comic requires incredible bravery, publicly working out your career. It takes similar bravery to become an entrepreneur, the primary hat worn by independent advisers. Recognize that many could never tolerate the financial risk and lack of structure you have already experienced. That you were able to embark on this path indicates you have what it takes to succeed.
Whatever happens, it’s OK if you don’t make it to year five as an independent adviser. You will have acquired more qualifying skills for advanced roles when compared to those in adviser-support positions. Although not lucrative, the years I was independent were crucial to my career, fitting me for positions more aligned with my interests.
‘Victims’ of the high adviser attrition rate seem taboo, even anathema—the failed ones. But we weren’t banished to compliance officer purgatory as many would imply. Many of us just found other compelling positions.
Rafael Bernard, MSFP, CFP®, is an alumnus of Bentley University’s financial planning program and Kansas State University’s financial therapy program, and a member of the FPA of Massachusetts chapter.