1) Is the job pleasant and rewarding?

• It is probably the most challenging type of creative selling: customers for insurance are not always aware of either their problems or the best solution.
• Consumer surveys show that most people, particularly people with college backgrounds, are receptive to Financial Planner and place a high value on the service that they perform.
• During the apprenticeship period, most agents find it necessary to work irregular hours and to perform repetitive tasks. These characteristics of the job disappear as Financial Planners gain skill and experience.
• Earnings closely reflect ability and growth. Those unsuited for the career discover it quickly and move on; those who are successful receive substantial compensation immediately.

2) Is it a job worth doing?

• Most people own insurance, particularly those with college backgrounds.
• Beside that, there’s a wide range of financial needs like Savings, Investment, Retirement, Business ownership and Estate Planning you can work on with your clients.
• Appreciation of the advantages of ownership increases through exposure to qualified Financial Planner who take a professional financial planning approach to the services they perform.

3) Is it a job that offers independence and permits initiative?

• Like a profession, there is a period of study and apprenticeship or internship under close supervision. However, agents move through this period at their own pace and become independent when ready.
• Although established Financial Planners are independent, they have the support of the home office and of the manager at all times.

4) Is it a job that encourages growth and development?

• Company and agency training programs are designed to give a new agent a solid foundation of basic knowledge and skill to achieve a satisfactory earnings level.
• A broad range of company and institutional education and development programs are available. Financial Planners are encouraged to use them, frequently at company expense. The problem-solving environment draws upon the agent’s total experience and education in order to assist clients in financial planning,
• The Financial Planner who enjoys marketing and excels at it may have an increasingly rewarding career; the Financial Planner with interest and talent in management finds many opportunities to take on such assignments in the sales environment and home office. A prerequisite, however, is a reasonably successful selling performance to demonstrate the capacity for assisting others.

5) Am I cut out to be a sales?

Just like you. I don’t believe in selling either. I am a trained professional engineer graduated with a 1st class honours in Electronic engineer. I have deep rooted values like integrity and ethic to follow. I believe the best way to be a representative of a financial consultant is to be there a professional planner. Always listening, always understanding is probably the way to do a better job. Usually in the first three appointments, I will devote at least 70% of time listening carefully to what my client wants and needs. I will always have an agenda to ensure we are never off track, sending out a meeting minute within 8 hours right after the meeting with client. For example, I met a good old friend today and he is concerned about his current financial burden like supporting his two siblings suffering from some form of mental disability and also supporting his two retired parents. We met up several times to ensure I have a good understand of his family’s situation. In a short one hour lunch meet up, I conclude to him he needs to set aside emergency funding and told him I fully understand his financial commitments. Then we proceed to discuss about his retirement plan in 20 years. He didn’t want to do anything about the plan. I reasoned with him and he was touched by what my attitude. I spend only the next one minute asking him if his financial commitment will become worse in next 15-20 years by not doing anything. Obviously, that set him thinking. I re-assured him I really don’t want him to have any commitment and it will be entirely up to him to also plan ahead for his loved ones.

To me, being able to there to walk the journey side by side with my client is the most important thing I am concerned about. Therefore, selling is definitely NOT the way and we need to carry out our mission with passion and commitment. This also mean that by giving yourself say only three months is definitely a suicide career move.

How can a 3 month job ever become a professional career?

6) Should I go for a salary based or commission based job?
Well, there is no definite answer for this. In term of monetary aspect, there are some who did well in a full commission career and there are also others who perform in a full salary job. Consider this carefully before taking a plunge as what’s important to others might not be of any value to you. Having worked as an application engineer and sales engineer, I like the stability of the job. After three years of work in corporate life, I realised I didn’t like the environment. It was an illness trigger by the office politics that forced me to resign. It’s only in that moment that I realised stability is just a mental state or, I should describe it as, an illusion. When my mum contracted cancer, I asked my engineering boss for help and he offered to lend me $300. When my boss accidentally made a mistake in his job, I became the best person to take up that “responsibility”. When I lost 10kg in just one month as I became the corporate victim, no one ever stood up for me, not even the boss when I sold my 18 hours per day life to the company that I work for. The ex-boss always told us that no one is indispensable in this world and it took me more than 2 years to realise it. As for a full commission career, the key is whether you have the ability as no company will hire people without the ability to perform the duty.

Enough of my sharing, the job is really rewarding as many are already aware of this fact. The key is to focus on risk, not the return (or commission). To get started as representative of a financial consultant, you will be given allowance and tuition fee assistance. This will certainly provide some form of essential security to your family and you. I have personally witnessed many fresh graduates entering the industry and earning 6 figures of income. The common traits that everyone have is the good attitude demonstrated in the duty as representative of a financial consultant. One of my siblings even earns a 7 figure annual income consistently as representative of a financial consultant Go for it while you are young and able. You will be rewarded for the right attitude demonstrated towards your trusted clienteles.