Financial Advisor or Financial Salesperson?

Hello and welcome.

It is Mr. Stillman's opus John Stillman here with you. As always doing today by very special guest dialed up the Skype machine and Kurt Arsenault joins us from what Buffalo Grove, Illinois at Reichert my home today song from Wood Dale, Illinois today with Bill Illinois.

Go will have the right state, at least if you hear airplanes in the background close to the airport that would be O'Hare or Midway.

Yes sir. Okay, very good for your plane will know what I should say about Curtis. He's now a financial professional about to move to the Atlanta area that Reichert that's correctly, the Georgia County, Alpharetta area with small kids so school districts up there so you'll be working face-to-face with clients.

Just as I do, but prior to this, you've been working as a coach for other advisors right and you did that for how many years been doing that until recently for the last 15 years so I'm interested in your perspective on sort of the different worldviews at different advisors have because there are some people out there who are really good advisors good at putting together a plan.

Caring about their clients meeting their goals and then there are people who are product salesman and some of the product salesman are good. It disguising the fact that that's all they are, some aren't as good at disguising it. But what I'm hoping you can do is give us some insight. How can the consumer tell if they're dealing with somebody is just a salesman versus a good advisors. Let's start with the good advisors. One of the characteristics that you be looking for an somebody like that.

So what I did before this call I actually looked up in Wikipedia under good advisors and it just popped up your picture secondhand sample is that your name in were good so just follow what John says appreciate you being on podcast this week.

Kurt will talk to you next week and what I would say is there's about five characteristics. I was really looking for a good advisor. The first thing is I was trying to find out how trustworthy they were. I think trust is the major factor determining who you can work with so when that person stick to their word really keep their promises.

No, what kind of charisma do they have that would create a trust when I was looking for an advisor that may work with us. Second thing I would always look for is how open are they to looking at new in learning new opportunities. It was a big deal.

You know, can I go out and get another degree can I go out and get another designation.

What can I do to take my level knowledge to another level and then you have holding himself high standard.

You'll find a way to meet those tough goals. There always a expected best out of themselves. Just creating a very high standard for themselves and the people around them in the last two are really an excellent listener to very important to listen, like you are right now. John just listening to me not saying anything and then action oriented, not enough to simply have great ideas you know you really need to have some kind of action behind a plan what what you guys can do next for that client nor you take into action reducing handed off to your junior guys and let him handle being involved in all aspects is very important. Being a good advisor.

So if you're meeting with an advisor for the first time of the second time how can you tell how can you grade them on these these areas.

It might be a little harder to notice on the surface I maggots or something like do they keep their word or not that's that's pretty tell if it like facing the first appointment. Alright I'm going to do this for the second meeting and then they haven't done it.

Well, that's a red flag exactly a red flag. I think the other parts of that are you, can you check on an advisor, you can go to the offender website. See if they have any complaints. Bynum is waiting find out if the really telling the truth. Find out what's in the background.

If if you want to go that far, but I think it is really come down to trust your gut. I think that we all have a good barometer of trust and how that relates to our lives. So if you trust your gut. I think you'll you'll do just fine. Ask around. Some people are working those people so referrals are always tough to ask her if he asked advisor Hague Matthew referrals will do you think is really and give you some bad ones so you know, ask around, look on LinkedIn. It's a social world now so you can find out a lot information about people.

What about the advisors who are just salespeople and how do you identify that person pretty quickly where it's okay. I'm just being sold product here. There's no real retirement plan being constructed for me.

Yes, one of the questions we are just training guys. Willie said to start with. Hey, what brought you to see me today, and that opened up a good dialogue.

Find out what was happening in that person's life. If somebody comes and it just starts with their agenda in regards to hey you came in you attended my seminar you heard my radio show you sent in the lead.

You want to hear bad news. Let me say about this annuity. Why don't even know if this annuity fits this client. You know could be in different annuity with a different company so being pushy is a definite red flag right away. Always say forcing squares through those round holes.

You don't annuity is the right answer, but the guy has amassed enough business information from the client and then when he does get to that information.

He tries to still force annuity down of that person's throat or life insurance down that person's rotor managing money down that person stroke is not a good fit for them.

You know they may be 80 years old and having money in the market may not be a good idea for them so trying to force things on people's not a good good idea somebody who does the bait and switch.

And I said that some marketing and when they come, and you don't even talk about that and I see a lot of things where it's like, hey, get 4% CD rate will they come in and try to sell them something else, not us a CD.

I think those are the main things really honestly that's what I see a lot in the industry. The bait and switch anything. I think that would cover most bad salespeople also if you're in a meeting with somebody and it's it's very apparent that okay I'm is being sold product here are the questions you should ask to try to clarify for sure okay does.

Are there any other tools in the tool belt here, or as I walked into a Honda dealership and hope that they'll sell me a Toyota. The first thing I'll probably ask is, are they fiduciary, you know that that somebody is held to a higher standard. Somebody still trying to sell something on your throat. You should deftly ask if it's been the cooked all the way you feel like you're being pressured into buying something that you know you just tell people tell advisor, that salesperson you know I think we need take a step back.

Not here to buy anything today really want to get to know you get to know who you are and I think we start off on the wrong foot so that your option to stay there early, but calm people out of the road so to speak is is very important. One of the common types of things that are going to get sold as products. You mentioned annuity's life insurance Army if you're dealing with somebody who's really pedaling a product. What are some of those other candidates likely to be annuities and life insurance being two of them is life insurance, long-term care, disability, there's some long-term care alternative products out there that act as annuities and life insurance as well as long-term care final expense insurance funeral trusts, Medicare supplements, you know that there's a lot of products out there, mostly insurance products needed to the manage money products. You may see some reads trying to be pushed doubtful that the push stocks on English are going to a Merrill Lynch or somebody like that with her so on their own products and don't have the full gamut of products that are available or stocks or mutual funds against social watch out for insurance products. They have the fit they believe are insurance products you dissected, be careful, somebody is trying to put a lot of your money and insurance products because they are contracts, mutual funds, to there is a mutual fund store right when you think they're trying to sell you mutual funds that your question I think I think that's what they do think that something less than the 65 exam testing right exactly. So just wanted to give a little insight there to the industry because I it just concerns me how many people say they have an advisor and they don't have an advisor. They have a salesperson and so many people know the difference and it drives me crazy. A lot of people do have salespeople. It is working with her Northwestern Mutual gather MetLife and now the dishonored product answers always get more life insurance not that simple. In the real world folks so keep that in mind Kurt really appreciate it. Good to talk with you and talk to you long time talking let's stay in touch and do nothing to do it again sometime this Kurt Arsenault this is Mr. Stillman's opus will talk to you next week