12 Characteristics of a Good Financial Advisor or Insurance Agents
Know the characteristics of a good financial advisor or financial planner and insurance agents before investing and buying insurance.
Let us now study the characteristics of a good financial advisor, financial planner and insurance agents. In financial world, it is not easy to sell financial products especially to people who are not familiar in insurance and investing or not interested. To sell successfully or let just say to become a successful financial planner or insurance agents, you must possess these good characteristics.
Before we proceed, let us know first the difference between the financial advisors, financial planner and insurance agents.
See Also: 11 Questions to Ask a Financial Advisor
A financial planner is the one who evaluates the investing and financing options available to a firm, he is helping the client/investor to “plan” financial future. A financial planner must be registered and has licensed. A financial advisor is the one who help the investor/client about the available financial instruments such as investment or insurance, some financial advisors are not required to get licensed, but make sure they are affiliated with financial firms such as insurance companies.
An insurance agent is the one who sells insurance products such as auto insurance, home insurance, business insurance health insurance and life insurance. An insurance agent that is offering a life insurance can also considered a financial advisor.
Related: How to Find Financial Advisor in United States
Now you know the differences. Remember, when you want to plan your financial future, make sure your mentor is a “registered financial planner”, and if you want to buy an insurance make sure the agent is really affiliated in a financial firm or insurance companies. Insurance companies addresses their agents as “financial advisors”.
Characteristics of a Good Financial Advisor
Going back to the topic, what are the characteristics of a good financial planner, financial advisor and insurance agents? If you are a financial planner, advisor or insurance agent, have these characteristics so that attracting clients and making sales is very easy. Of course, more sales, means, more commissions and more money you can make. Okay let me just sue the word “financial advisor”.
Professional and Ethical
A financial advisor must be professional. Wear business attire, look, act and talk professionally. I don’t emphasize this characteristic. I know you know what I mean when I say “be professional”. If a client is expecting you to submit a quotation, submit it right away even though you think the client is just making a “comparison”. Be ethical, one best way to become ethical is to not say “bad or negative words” about the other company. There are many incidents that a financial advisor became unethical, watch your actions and words.
Has Hands On Experience
If you speak on “retirement”, are you planning your own retirement? Do you have your own investment or you just read on blogs, books or just heard on seminars about retirement, but the truth is, you don’t have any investing experience. You knew life insurance is very important, you stressed insurance is a PROTECTION, but you yourself isn’t insured. As simple as that, make sure you have your own hands-on experiences. If you have experiences or you are using the products and services you are offering, promoting or selling, you can become more comfortable and confident in presenting your offers to the client.
Creative and Observant
A good financial advisor is creative, in such a way that he can present the products or services to the client not just verbally, why don’t you have take your laptop with you and make a powerpoint presentation or have a form ready to filled out by the client such as financial goal or risk profiling questionnaires. A good financial advisor must be observant, he should observe the present market, the ups and downs of stocks or insurance industry, etc. That way you will never tell any “lie” to a client just to make impressions. Make sure you know about the recent updates about the financial market.
Resourceful
A good financial advisor must be resourceful, financial is very broad. What if a client ask you about “the future worth of his investment” assuming he wants to buy an insurance plus mutual fund investment, can you answer the client right away? What if a client ask you about the exact meaning of insurance? Can you answer the client right away? Try to have your financial tools like compound interest calculator on your mobile apps.
Well Trained Financial Advisor
A well trained financial advisor is always ready and he is knowledgeable not only about the company but also about the financial products he is offering.
Sales Driven Person
Although, a financial advisor has a monthly salary, he always make sure that he is getting a clients or an investors in a regular basis. He is willing to do whatever it takes to increase his sales and achieve his sales quotas (I am not sure if there is a sales quota in selling a insurance).
Ready to Meet Rejections
Remember, if you want to succeed in selling (actually any types of products or services) a financial advisor or an agent must accept rejections and take this rejections as an opportunity to improve his selling techniques.
Make Constructive Criticism
If you have a client belongs to poor or middle class, try to make your client think by making a constructive criticism, thin ideas how to criticize the situation of your client especially finances.
Has Passion to Help
Although a financial advisor wants “sales”, his priority is on how to help his client, how to meet the client’s needs. A good financial advisor must not suggest or recommend to a client a “quick” decision. Beware, do not act or speak as if you are a scammer. You know the attitudes of scammers, right? They are always in a hurry!
Must Know Exactly the Importance of Insurance and Investing
if you know the importance of insurance and investing, you will be more likely to become an effective financial advisor. Try to read books about business and finances, also you can expand your vocabulary by reading a lot of financial terms.
Enthusiastic and Knowledgeable
As I have said awhile ago, you must be knowledgeable about the products and services you are offering or selling. It also helps to become an enthusiastic, just be lively but not over confident as if you know everything. Do not spend your whole day doing your job that only be found at financial advisor job description, do another task that makes yourself productive.
Rich and Has a Millionaire Mind
This is the most important, you must be rich if you want to become a good financial advisor. Not only you increase your target market (poor, middle-class and the rich people are now your target market). Do you think a rich client will listen to you if you are not rich? Chances are too low, but if you are rich, well, I guarantee you, a client will feel how blessed he is because he has a financial advisor to become a “model”. A client will get motivated and will have more interest in finances because he is talking to a financially successful advisor. Do not forget that, make yourself rich.
Now you know the characteristics of a good financial advisor! I hope you do enjoyed this article. I will be glad if you like InvestmentTotal Facebook Page or share this article to social networking sites. Thank you for reading.