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37 Rules for Wholesalers (and counting)…

This post used to be called A Lot More Than 10 Rules for Wholesalers.

An odd title for a post, I know.

You see, it started as a Sunday Night Email (it’s received by over 4000 11,000 wholesaling folks – get on the Free Email Updates list) which read:

The wisdom of our elders.

A few weeks ago I was speaking at the CFDD Conference in Chicago and was introduced to a long tenured wholesaler.

He’s been around so long that telephones with a dial (versus crank) had just come into vogue when he started his career!!

As we spoke over an adult beverage he told me he had 10 Rules Of Wholesaling.

I insisted that he share them with me so I could share them with you.

Here they are – in the exact format I received them in:

#1 DON”T WHOLESALE DURING FAMILY TIME!!!!! ( on vacation, etc. )
#2 Don’t spend ANY time dissing the competition.NADA.
#3 Don’t eat alone ( makes you look like a loser).
#4 Don’t swear- no matter how much you want to. no F bombs.
#5 Send your expense account weekly. Absolutely NO padding.
#6 Keep your car clean.
#7 NEVER TELL ANOTHER ADVISOR WHAT YOU ARE WORKING ON.
#8 Be discrete and moderate at ALL company sales meetings.
#9 Treat your internal with respect, kindness and professionalism.
#10 NEVER tell anyone how much you earn. never. ever.

If you have more to add to the list (I do and they’ll be published soon) reply to this email and let me know.

Go be amazing this week,

Rob

So folks started sending in additions to put on the list – some similar, some new, all good and all appreciated.

And I’ll still be publishing my list soon…

From our readers:

Joe N:
  • Limit your drinking 1 or 2 drinks with Advisors, home office and colleagues stay in control at all times
Brian L:
  • If you don’t have an answer to an FA’s question: State that’s a great question and at this time I do not have the answer. I will have it for you by the end of day/close of business tomorrow.
Greg J:
  • Don’t drive a flashy car. At one point in my career I was an advisor and I remember seeing a wholesaler driving a Audi A8 – then later that week I saw another driving a Camry.  All things being equal investment wise and I liked them both, I gave my business to the Camry guy because I figured the A8 guy was doing just fine.
  • Never and I mean NEVER complain about your comp being down compared to last year.  It has been really tough on advisors these past few years and they do not want to hear about how you use to make $500k but now only make $400k – this will fall on dead ears and create resentment.
Dennis S:
  • Always, always be on time
  • Shine your shoes
  • Limit yourself to ONE drink…regardless of where you are and who you are with.
  • Never ever, never date the assistant.
Greg H:
  • Build on a personal brand – you are what makes the difference.
  • Always follow up on request with a personal note or call to make sure the request was fulfilled
  • Listen to what your clients want and give them the best that you can do
  • Walk in your clients shoes and know their challenges
  • Your clients will have good and bad days but you can only let them see your great days
Mitch M:
  • Never cancel a meeting (unless illness or emergency)
  • Never be late to a meeting
  • If you are late – call yourself; it’s better than your internal doing it
John B:
  • The one key piece that has worked well for me over the years has been, get to know the assistant.
  • The second key is be good to the receptionist. Once you know the gate keepers, getting a meeting is pretty straight forward.
Neal T:
  • Introduce yourself to the branch manager, out of respect for his position and tell him that.

If you have still more to add put them in the comments section down below.

What are your doing to make this year your Career Year?

Let’s talk about what we can do to make the year ahead the best it can possibly be.

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Comments

  1. Comment via email from Wendy:

    “#3 Don’t eat alone ( makes you look like a loser)”

    Good tips—but I am not in agreement on this one—a person comfortable in their own skin and have a great time eating alone reading and/or people watching. I do it all the time!

    The “keep your car clean” is so true– so why is mine always a mess?

  2. * Goes without saying, but remember that you are GUEST in every office you’re visiting.

    * Don’t park in the firm’s parking slots for customers placed directly in front of the office. These are for the clients-often ones who have a hard time getting around.

    * Ask FIRST if it’s ok to make a “few extra copies” for a meeting-highly preferred that you did this at Kinkos before coming in. And for god’s sakes, never walk away from the copier you jammed up. FIX IT. (If for no other reason than to have a new “skill” to add to your resume! I know my way around a Canon, Ricoh, etc!)

    * If you’re doing a one-on-one lunch with a Producer away from the office, once in a while, ask if you can bring something back for their junior broker or assistant. Usually they’ll say “no thanks”, but it’s appreciated. If they say yes, see it as an investment in your business partnership.

    * Never do a walk-thru when another Wholesaler is scheduled in the office. Show respect for the time allotted to your competition-goes both ways.

    * Say hello to the Wholesaler leaving out the office when you are going in. Exchange business cards. You never know if they’ll be a colleague or boss in the future. It shows class, as well. It’s a small world.

  4. Hi Rob!
    This is a hard one- so here goes; document and report to personnel unethical behavior
    such as harassment to attend venues/events you wouldn’t want published on the front of your local newspaper, witnessing unethical sales practices or being subject to intimidation.
    Most people have a normal built-in behavioral barometer, so when the hairs on your neck start sticking up or your instinct tells you things aren’t right, listen to yourself before get caught in someone else’s web. Bad bosses are a dime a dozen in this business; the jewel managers are rare. I have worked for both; and, who you work for in a direct report can often make a break your income and quite possibly a career.