I Carry The Bag

THE GREAT

drop-in DEBate it’s not relationship suicide, or is it?

Don’t Stop Wining 10 things the sommelier isn’t telling you

Fat and Happy Wholesalers the mirror may have a disappointing reflection A View From The Inside: The Anonymous Internal stuff they won’t tell you directly– but they’re sure thinking it!

articles on: Work/Life Balance Sales Skills Travel and more...

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Inaugural Issue | Summer 2010

3rd Quarter | SUMMER 2010 INAUGURAL ISSUE

Editor-in-Chief/Publisher Rob Shore

Table of Contents

Art Director

04

Lynn Lee www.lynnleedesign.com

Contributing Writers Mary Allen

Paul Bednar JB Bush Kathy Freeman Godfrey Kip Gregory Jim Manouse

Kara Newman M2M Diana Rowe DeeAnne White

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Please visit www.icarrythebag.com or call us at: 949-891-1117 For address changes, bulk subscriptions,

05

06

By JB Bush

Don’t Leave Your Career to Fate

By Kathy Freeman Godfrey

Up in the Air or Full of Hot Air

By Paul Bednar

10

The Great Drop-In Debate

I CARRY THE BAGTM is published quarterly 514 San Bernadino Avenue Newport Beach, CA 92663 tel 949-891-1117

Defining Your PVA

14

Hotel Heresy A Path Less Traveled

By Rob Shore

13

By Kip Gregory

Interview with Maryann Bruce

19 Things to Never Subject

Value: Dirty Word or Harsh Reality

media inquiries, general questions or comments call 949-891-1117 or email icarrythebag@gmail.com

By Mary Allen

08

16 Inside the Bag:

From Stress to Sanity Five Musts to Restore Balance Even If You’re Working Twelve Hour Days

Your Internal Wholesaling Partner to –And a Few Things to Always Do, Too…

By M2M

20

Your Invisible Ally: The Client Firm’s Home Office

22

23

By Jim Manouse

10 Dirty Little Secrets From Your Sommelier

By Kara Newman

Is There Life After Wholesaling?

By DeeAnne White

By Diana Rowe

I Carry The Bag is a trademark of Rob Shore dba shorespeak. All content in this publication ©2010 shorespeak and is protected by international copyright law. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Some photos appear under Creative Commons Attribution License: Food and Wine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vinofamily/3467201365/

Productivity and Technology: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanderingmagpie/3824791020/

Invisible Ally http://www.thegoldguys.blogspot.com/

Road Fit and Ready: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oter/3104958433/

Selling Skills: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdickert/2383258134/

Inside the Bag http://www.flickr.com/photos/vchub/4484339786/

Careers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kafka4prez/230696843/

Great Drop- in Debate http://www.flickr.com/photos/submarin/3172771781/

Lifestyle and Balance: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/4331097922/

M2M Anonymous Internal Wholesaler Inside Voices http://www.flickr.com/photos/cquarles/3340476607/

22 | SUMMER 2010 | I CARRY THE BAG

Have you ever had an ah-ha moment where you happened upon an idea and it just took off from there?

If you have, then you know what the last 90 days have been like getting this inaugural edition of I Carry The Bag ready to go.

The lifting has been heavy but the response from you has been tremendous - and that makes it all worthwhile.

In this first issue you’ll read: Our feature story about The Great Drop-in Debate. Is the drop-in relationship suicide, or a fine skill that, once perfected, will grow your practice? We’ll check in with wholesalers and managers and get their perspectives.

In our column Inside The Bag, our interview this quarter is with Maryann Bruce, currently President of Aquila Funds Distributors. She shares with our readers insights gleaned from over 25 years in the business.

You’ll read the first ever published piece from M2M, The Anonymous Internal Wholesaler. Working for a tier one asset manager, he hears and sees the most interesting and absurd things that his outside counterparts do and say. You’ll never get this kind of information directly from an Internal, but you’ll read it here.

Our wine and food columnist Kara Newman is taking the lid off of the inside secrets of sommeliers. Next time you’re handed the wine list, you’ll be fully prepared.

In this issue there are two articles of note about the notion of value. Sometimes the mere mention of the word is overdone - and yet we know how important it is to be more than your product and your credit card to advisors. Noted speaking professional and author Kip Gregory and our resident sales expert JB Bush both address the topic from different perspectives and offer extraordinarily valuable insights.

Do you dream of the things you will do in your life after wholesaling? Well, DeeAnne White did too. Perhaps the main difference is she is now living her dreams. Living in the UK, writing both for the web and a soon to be completed book, she is also coaching others on how to make the break - if that’s what you choose to do.

Every wholesaler I know, or have known, is in pursuit of some kind of work/life balance. That’s why I asked America’s Inner Peace Coach Mary Allen to write for this publication.

If she can provide you with even one tidbit per quarter to help you reduce your stress and increase your inner satisfaction, then we have done our job here.

If you have ever wondered if your career is on the right trajectory, then our column from Kathy Freeman will be of keen interest. She is one of the top executive recruiters in the country. Her work focuses on Senior Leaders, and we have her here to help guide you along the right career path.

Paul Bednar is “one of us.” As a working wholesaler he knows firsthand the challenges of entertaining, traveling, and making time to stay fit. He’s competing in triathlons when he’s not on the road.

Speaking of the road, Diana Rowe offers a bit of heresy to the seasoned traveler - skip the chain hotels for a more enjoyable experience.

Also in this edition, Jim Manouse will share his unique viewpoint. Having worked for leading Broker Dealers in their home offices, he offers a valuable article on leveraging the home office of your client firms to gain access to hardto-reach advisors.

I personally thank you for your trust and readership.

We know that launching a new publication is fraught with challenges and naysayers. We also know that this community of wholesaling professionals deserves the best information and intelligence delivered by experienced and trusted sources.

Once again, welcome to I Carry The Bag. If you enjoy what you read, please spread the word.

To your success,

Rob Shore Editor-in-Chief

I CARRY THE BAG | SUMMER 2010 | 33

From Stress to Sanity:

5 MUSTS To Restore Balance Even If You’re Working 12 Hour Days

By Mary Allen

In today’s busy world, “balance” is a long forgotten fantasy and stress seems to be a “natural” part of everyday life. Regardless of how hard you’re working, the crazy hours, and the never-ending demands on your time, you can transform stress to sanity by simply integrating these 5 simple steps into your life.

Don’t underestimate the power of each of these simple “musts.”

1) Breathing. The more stressed you are, the more your body contracts. Instinctually, your breathing becomes shallow. You practically stop breathing. With less oxygen making it to your brilliant brain cells, stress rises. Fortunately, the fix is simple. Bring your conscious attention to your breathing. Inhale with deep diaphragmatic breaths. Make your belly rise and fall with each breath. Try this… right now!

Take a deep breath in and H–O–L–D for a count of 1, 2, 3, 4 and exhale. Ahhhhhhh!

As you exhale, drop your shoulders. Repeat 3-4 times, until you’re breathing easily.

Ever wonder why smokers feel better after a cigarette? While they are out puffing, they are also taking deep diaphragmatic breaths, which relax the body. However, you can get the same benefits without

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jeopardizing your health. And, deep breathing is free.

Start paying attention to your breathing.

When you notice stress, just inhale deeply a few times as described above. You’ll notice you can melt away stress and restore balance in seconds.

2) FIVE minutes of Doing Nothing.

As a Professional Life Coach, I work with numerous over-achieving clients who are “super doers.” Yet, amidst all their success, they desire more balance in their lives and are intrigued with the idea of “being” more. “Being” meaning connecting more to themselves or their soul. Perhaps you, too, desire balance and more of that divine connection to YOU. Here’s your next assignment.

Take 5 Minutes each day for the next week, and simply do “nothing.” Yes, you heard me right. Nothing. Just spend time “being.”

That means you need to clear away the thoughts, stop “doing” and just be. It’s only for 5 minutes. No laptop. No iPhone. No reading. No thinking. Nothing. Just BE. No matter how busy you are, finding 5 minutes out of 24 hours a day for “nothing time” is doable. Are you mentally arguing with me? Maybe it’s 5 minutes before an

appointment. Five minutes at the airport.

Five minutes at the park before driving home to your family. The real question is will you actually claim 5 minutes for yourself - each day - for a whole week?

This seemingly innocent task provides an array of benefits, including a greater sense of peace and an expanded sense of time and balance. Claiming these 5 minutes is the first step in taking control of your life.

3) Get Physical. Just 12 minutes of cardio a day (done consistently) is enough to radically decrease stress and increase sanity. Studies reveal exercise stimulates the brain, reducing anxiety levels and increasing your happiness quotient.

Exercise also boosts your energy, promotes better sleep, can improve your sex life (yep!), helps you manage your weight, and combats chronic disease.

This is the only tip today that’s going to require you to schedule it into your week.

The dividends it pays in sanity, balance and inner peace are well worth the “12 minute” investment. If you’re already in the routine, congratulations! If not, it’s time to make this a priority – starting now.

4) Boundaries. One simple word restores balance and sanity more quickly than any

word in the dictionary. It has two letters.

It’s >>> “No.” You’re probably not using this word enough. Most people who are stressed have weak or no boundaries.

A life coach can help you identify and implement the perfect boundaries for you.

Where can you start in the meantime?

Stop answering your phone during meals or after hours. Carve out a day or week each month to not have appointments.

Don’t take personal calls during your workday. Don’t check email on weekends.

Claim 60 seconds to breathe, take your 5 minutes of “doing nothing,” and hold workout time as sacred. Look for opportunities to tighten your boundaries.

You’ll notice an immediate positive impact on your sanity and balance.

5) Gratitude. Appreciation is a free, fast, and effective way to transform stress and restore balance instantaneously. Write down 25 things you appreciate in your life right now. You can start with the basics -- your eyes, ears, health, a house to live in, family, your lucrative industry, and being alive.

Allow your feelings of appreciation to expand and deepen.

It sounds so simple, yet taking a few minutes to consciously connect with the abundance in your life radically impacts your well-being.

If you’re married, tell your partner 5 things you appreciate about them. Then switch roles. Commit to daily gratitude and you’ll notice more to appreciate each day…no matter how busy you are.

Value:

Dirty Word or Harsh Reality

By JB Bush

Value is a term that is becoming ubiquitous in business. It is interesting that value can either be a noun, verb or an adjective. Value has so many meanings to so many different people. Yet in the world of a wholesaler, it seems to me that the concept of value is more important than ever.

Let’s state the obvious that value and price are not the same thing. Value in a sales scenario is not the replacement cost either.

Value is actually more subjective than price.

The price of a product or service is based on real currency exchange. While price has a correlation to value, it is not the same thing.

I can walk into a store and buy a used book for twenty dollars. Should that book be special to me, for whatever reason, it could actually be worth much more than the twenty dollars I originally spent.

One definition of value is the ability to determine “under priced” options and take advantage of them. For example, securities are considered a good value when the price appears to be less than the ultimate worth

of security. How is that determined? It is often a combination of intrinsic and external factors along with acknowledgement of both tangible and intangible elements.

Value is always determined by the advisor or consumer, not by the wholesaler or the Firm.

Value is a customer specific determination.

How often have you observed people making a decision where they all come to the same conclusion yet for very different reasons? The difference lies in how the individuals determine value and how they apply those values in the purchasing decision. The highest value is not typically the lowest cost.

The fundamental components of value often include the company’s reputation, the wholesaler’s representation and the characteristics of the actual product.

External factors include the industry, the economy, and the competitive alternatives available.

Value is the relationship between the buyer expectation of a product or service’s impact and the price paid for the product. Value

continue on page 9…

These are just a few of the most potent and effective “sanity builders.” I look forward to sharing more in future editions of I Carry The Bag. Until then, you may visit www. lifecoachmary.com

Mary Allen, CPCC, MCC is author of The Power of Inner Choice, host of Conversations with the Masters, and leader for workshops and retreats, including the Inner Peace Immersion Retreat (4 days) and Awakening Beyond Achievement (1-day events in five cities). Mary is available for one-onone coaching – mary@lifecoachmary.com.

I CARRY THE BAG | SUMMER 2010 | 55

Don’t Leave Your Career to Fate

By Kathy Freeman Godfrey

Managing your career to achieve your greatest potential takes proactive effort. Over the years, many successful wholesalers have found that while they have crafted a lucrative income, they haven’t enjoyed broader career success. Often located remotely, field sales roles make it difficult to promote yourself to senior management and to get on the inside track for growth.

Here’s a brief, yet powerful, written check list that you should think about if you have a desire to build your career into the next level at your firm.

Communication • Consistently articulate your ability to impact your firm’s revenue and success up the food chain.

• Communicate a powerful and professional presence, in a subtle manner, to those at a higher level in your firm especially at company events.

• Communicate your reputation to those above you at your firm whenever you receive a thank you or endorsement from a client or prospect by forwarding a copy.

Keep Your Resume Updated Keeping your resume updated forces you to look at what you have accomplished on a regular basis. Sometimes folks look back and realize that a year or two has slipped away because they were simply ‘doing’ the job versus ‘creating’ the career. If you don’t take the time to reflect, and a resume is a good tool to do this exercise, then you can find gaps in your career where you realize

you were off your game and therefore not driving results.

Identify Mentors • It’s not just enough to say you have a mentor. You should be able to articulate to yourself what area(s) in your career you are looking to improve upon as a result of a mentor relationship and what it is you hope to gain from this person.

• If you think you’ve had mentors in the past, what have you implemented into your career that you have learned from them?

Mentors can’t be just a theoretical idea. You have to put their wisdom into practice. Mentors can also help promote your brand to a higher level audience. Pick mentors carefully and they can be worth their weight in gold.

Growth Plan • Identify the areas where you would like to increase your abilities, be it strategically, in leadership or via training and development.

• Don’t under estimate great books on the subject and start diving in so as to develop your own best ideas from what you read.

• If you don’t have the opportunity to implement what you are reading in your work environment, like managing a team, then apply the principles in less formal settings like a charity organization or in a team sport.

• Be prepared to convey your growth objective with clarity along with the work that you have invested into building your strengths in that area. Getting the opportunity for the next step means demonstrating you have the initiative to prepare ahead of time. continue on page 9…

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7

By Paul Bednar

Up in the Air or Full of Hot Air? Here’s a challenge to make this Tuesday morning different than the last Tuesday morning you found yourself in another bland hotel room.

listened for the 1,000th time to the safety speech, I had an epiphany. I suddenly realized I needed to take this simple idea and bring it to solid ground. I had to find a better way to let my weekends merge into the work lane.

Try this. When you get out of the shower, take a look at yourself in the mirror.

As I looked around my fellow passengers I realized not only did I want that for myself, I wanted to teach other people how to get there too. Just like I had been teaching advisor and clients how to get fiscally fit, I wanted to show them how to get physically fit too.

The full-length one.

Naked.

George Clooney’s character in “Up in the Air” might have made physical perfection and non-stop travel seem like two matching topof-the line Tumi bags, but if you’ve been on the road for awhile, you’re more likely to meet another lumpy road warrior in the hotel bar than a sculpted Vera Farmiga.

While we dedicate our careers to teaching people how more money saved and the less money spent is key to building a retirement fund, few of us give much planning time to how we will be living our retirement. All the financial knowhow in the world isn’t going to do much for our future physical health if we aren’t paying attention to it now.

As in, today.

As a wholesaler and recreational triathlete, my road warrior lifestyle was truly a battlefield. During the week, I fought against a constant barrage of cheesy pizza working lunches, boozy happy hours, carb packed dinners, and the most

But I digress.

How did you look naked? If you think Clooney’s got nothing on you, turn the page. But if you’re like I used to be, carrying 15 pounds in the middle, there’s no time like right now to take the next exit off excess highway.

convenient (read: tasteless, calorie laden) room service.

On the weekends, I detoxed with healthy food and lots of exercise.

And each Sunday when I packed for the week, I made yet another pledge to do better.

But the weekday life of excess on the road and weekends as Lance Armstrong was keeping me up at night. I didn’t need a psychologist to tell me that racking up frequent flier miles on the

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health rollercoaster wasn’t going to translate into financial or physical success.

Finally, there was yet another travel day from hell. You know the kind: you start off hung over and your flight starts off delayed. Before you know it missed connections and cross country re-routing turn into a middle seat with nothing but stale pretzels and warm beer for dinner.

This led me to something different.

As I sat scrunched in Seat B, and

No time to think, no time to rationalize. Just follow your gut to these 3 simple steps. Then email me and tell me if it made a difference in your week.

1. Run, jog, or even simply walk 3 times this week for 30 minutes.

2. Drink soda water and lime or lemon instead of alcohol at every evening event this week.

3. Practice your presentations in front of a mirror. With your clothes on. The mirror tells you two things: What your client sees when you talk to them about their fiscal

fitness; what you see about your own level of physical fitness. If you don’t like what you see, Steps 1 and 2 can help you change it.

In the next issue I’ll discuss how to carry the least amount of workout gear and still get the ultimate workout, right in your hotel room.

Paul Bednar is the Vice President of Marketing for D&L Energy Group and travels the western United States. He is currently juggling life on the road, a new baby, and a training schedule for the Silverman Triathlon in November. You can email him at pbednar@DandLEnergy.com

Value: Dirty Word or Harsh Reality continued from page 5… tends to be more futuristic in nature.

Selling in today’s economic climate is based on sound, fundamental principles. One such principle is “People make emotional decisions for logical reasons.” This speaks to the importance of engaging our prospects in the value conversation. While many things about how advisor’s “purchase” has changed over the years, the one true constant is still that all purchases need to be justified or rationalized in order to be executed.

As a result, it is critical that we understand how clients and prospects will make the value determination. Without this understanding, you are hoping that they will come to the right conclusion. It is like asking someone to find you without a map or any tools. Maybe they will but it is more likely they won’t!

The value question is: Is this worth it?

Each individual involved will have an individual answer: • Is the “price” worth the investment? This can be measured in the actual cost of the product (loads, fees, rider costs, insurance costs, etc.)

• Is the risk worth the reward? Is the product that the wholesaler is showing in-line or more (or less) risky than its competitive universe?

What are the risks of the advisor using your firm versus another with like products?

• Is the effort worth the impact? This might be the most important question of all. It takes effort for the advisor to learn your product, your firm, the paperwork and/or the order entry process. What will the net gain be for them?

People make decisions, not companies. Can each of your prospects answer those questions favorably for your products and services?

Mastering the value conversation with your prospects is a skill that is no longer optional. It is

all about asking questions, as we all know that selling isn’t telling. Value is much too subjective in nature to be able to profess and not facilitate.

• If we move forward, how will you measure the impact? Can we quantify this?

• If this relationship is successful, what will the impact be on your business?

• How do you justify the change in product partners?

Value: dirty word or harsh reality? The truth is that value is a determining factor in the decision making process. Your clients are faced with a vast array of decisions and opportunities that are competing for funds. Their personal assessment of value will determine their willingness to understand the business impact and the differentiation of your offerings.

Embrace the concept of value, engage in the value dialog with your clients and uncover the energy that leads to deeper, more profitable relationships.

JB Bush has more than 20 years of success in senior management and executive sales positions with established companies as well as start-ups. He has successfully navigated the complexities of nearly every type of sales challenge. By leveraging his expertise as a build-out and turn-around strategist, paired with his belief that training should be fun, JB arms his clients with solid education, sales-ready messaging and the confidence that they can win.

JB joined ValueSelling Associates in 1999 as a managing partner. Through this relationship his consulting clients include Cisco Systems, Gartner, Motorola, Monster, Dell, DST-Output, Silver Peak, VeriSign and Wind River. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and trainer who can deliver highimpact results by maximizing and leveraging his clients’ investment in the ValueSelling Framework and Essentials, a series of leading edge web based training modules on essential sales skills. jb@ jbbush.com

Don’t Leave Your Career to Fate continued from page 6…

Giving Back • Contributing to the community or a charity in your region is a good way to demonstrate your bigger picture outlook. Executives look for individuals to promote that are going to be good representatives of the firm, whether internally or externally.

Realizing the importance of giving back to the less fortunate, while building your career, sends the clear message that you have the ability to think beyond your own needs.

Managing your career to its maximum potential takes proactive initiative.

Whether you find yourself carefully calculating each next step or just being open to opportunities that are presented to you, be cognizant to develop your own brand.

Leveraging any or all of the steps listed above makes absolute sense towards building out your true career potential.

Kathy Freeman Godfrey is the President of The Kathy Freeman Company, a retained executive search practice she opened in 1992 to focus her work exclusively within the investment industry. Since that time, she has completed hundreds of assignments working with premier firms across the country in asset management, wealth management, service provider organizations and investment technology.

Functionally, Kathy works with senior sales and marketing executives where she can leverage her extensive assessment process to ascertain for her clients, best in class talent for their firms.

I CARRY THE BAG | SUMMER 2010 | 99

By Rob Shore

A

s a wholesaler, you know your most precious commodity is time.

How often do you use drop-in appointments as part of your wholesaling practice?

How you manage that time during the day will determine how many dollars you raise, where you stand in the sales rankings at the end of any given month, and ultimately how well you succeed in your territory.

In addition, when done properly, they can become a powerful prospecting tool. Lastly, drop-ins may be a great way to reconnect with “fallen angel” producers in the region.

Yet just as I challenged my manager about drop-ins all those years ago, today they are no less contentious a topic.

Caring for that commodity while trying to fit in five, six, or even seven appointments a day is always a challenge. Especially since the appointments that you diligently prescheduled don’t always go off as planned because of cancellations, schedule changes, and a host of other unforeseen changes in the advisor’s calendar.

The issue of drop-ins is so sensitive that Investment News suggested, via a LinkedIn group question, that it is one of the eight ways to get blacklisted from an advisor’s office.

However, that “finding” seems to have been based off of one lone advisor who commented, “Dropping by without an appointment is a sure sign of an amateur.”

Occasionally = 62%

That’s where the whole question of drop-ins comes into play.

Really? I Carry The Bag disagrees.

Never = 23% The thought of dropping in unannounced makes me uncomfortable

Should you perform drop-ins as a part of how you manage your territory?

Our respondents answered: Frequently = 15%

Almost one in four wholesalers are not comfortable with this potentially powerful business building practice.

10 1 0 | SUMMER 2010 | I CARRY THE BAG

Can drop-ins be used to increase existing client sales, turn over rocks in pursuit of new sellers, and properly manage the precious amount of time that you have in any given day?

Back in the mid 90s I had a sales manager that insisted we perform drop-in appointments.

At the time I debated with him, thinking that drop-in appointments were an unwelcome interruption in a broker’s day, and that I would never be so rude as to drop in on any rep during my entire wholesaling career.

As I began to mature in the territory, I came to realize that drop-in appointments can be an extremely productive tool for staying connected to my best advisors.

And so do more right-minded advisors.

Rich Arzaga, the CEO of Cornerstone Wealth Management, believes that, “While on the surface wholesalers who drop in unannounced and [with whom I] do not have a current working relationship has been more surprising than annoying, I want to give these people credit for doing something that most people would not imagine doing.” Rich goes on to say, “In one instance, I originally met the representative briefly at a trade show. He was kind enough to give us T-shirts for our para-planner and two advisors. When he popped in unannounced a month later and we happened to have the time, we met [with him.] The bottom line is that he ended up with a fairly sizeable transaction that would have been otherwise hard to place because he had one unique feature that we could not find elsewhere.”

And so the great drop-in debate continues.

How do wholesalers feel about this technique?

During the last week of April we ran a one question poll on the subject at WholesalerMasterminds.com. We asked: How often do you use drop-in appointments as part of your wholesaling practice?

Our respondents answered:

broker stick their head out of their office door if they’re not busy. This gives him an opportunity to shake the hand of the broker and schedule a confirmed visit.

Senior leaders and long-tenured wholesaling professionals have important views to consider.

approach the rep with, ‘Bill, I was visiting Carol down the hall and she suggested you would be a great person to meet. I know you are busy and I wanted to schedule some time with you for my next visit to this office, two weeks from Thursday.’”

“Dropping by without an appointment is a sure sign of an amateur.”

Frequently = 15% Occasionally = 62% Never. The thought of dropping in unannounced makes me uncomfortable = 23% Almost one in four wholesalers are not comfortable with this potentially powerful business building practice.

Behind the numbers Some wholesalers believe that drop-ins can be effectively used to get an initial appointment.

A member of Wholesaler Masterminds explains, “If I find myself driving by an office that is new to me, and I know the firm has a selling agreement, my approach is to leave the suit coat in the car and grab a business card and a generic sales idea. I approach the receptionist in the office for no other reason than to introduce myself and say that I’ll be calling back to get an appointment.” This wholesaler says that in his experience there is an easier glide path to getting that appointment when he calls back.

Another wholesaler, using a similar technique, suggests that frequently he’ll actually have the

Jim Jesse, the President of MFS Fund Distributors, says, “In the hierarchy of scheduling the day we’d really like our wholesalers to be 8590% scheduled out, but if they have a canceled appointment, doing a drop-in beats heading to Starbucks to spend time on the laptop. We do have wholesalers that use drop-ins to meet new advisors. Importantly, if you do drop in you need to be attuned to reading people and offices. In fact, you could learn a lot about the office by observing what products are displayed or if there is a seminar invitation among the marketing materials.”

Jim adds, “Perhaps the best use of this technique is to simply secure a future appointment, as I believe it would be a mistake to try to drop-in and start a product pitch. If done properly, the drop-in should result in getting a scheduled appointment.”

Jamie Atkinson, National Sales Manager at Sentinel Investments offers, “My preference is that if I’m dropping in on a busy advisor, I’m best prepared by having a great reason and a third party introduction. It could be that I am a wholesaler working a wirehouse and

Another take on the prospect drop-in is reserved for prospects that are not calling back. The thought is simply that you have nothing to lose.

While not for the weak of heart, it is a strategy that can pay dividends. In fact, one wholesaler says that he picked up his third best client ever using this particular method. By performing a drop-in, he got the time and attention that he could not secure via email or phone.

Other wholesalers have told me that they reserve drop-ins for their best clients. Knowing the tempo of their top producer offices and how the offices’ days are usually planned, they can execute a drop-in and bring a great idea, a cold beverage, or a hot snack at the end of the day.

Thus, they find themselves in a position where they’ll be able to have a productive, businessbuilding conversation. Brant Owens, Divisional Sales Director with Protective Life, says, “I often drop-in. With top clients, if they’re not on my calendar this time around the loop, I’ll drop in and bring cookies or snacks to say thanks, and [I] usually get a few minutes of their time at least.”

Still other wholesalers I talk to, as reflected in the

I CARRY THE BAG | SUMMER 2010 | 11 11

survey results, are fundamentally opposed to doing drop-ins of any kind.

Some feel that it’s an extraordinary imposition upon a broker, insurance agent, or advisor’s day. Others indicate that they feel like doing drop-ins actually makes them feel disorganized, believing that if they had a cancellation in their day, maybe the time would be better spent returning phone calls or reading analysts’ reports.

Questions to consider Are some firms more amenable to drop-ins than others? Are firms like Edward Jones, whose brokers are known to walk the community and knock on doors, more open to accepting drop-ins?

Are some channels more open to drop-ins? One wholesaler we spoke to indicated that he had been in the territory longer than many of the reps in the bank branches that he called on. This put him in the unique position of having the branch manager, whom he had known for years, make the introduction to the hard-to-reach advisor.

Are you doing drop-ins simply to pad your call report? The art of the drop-in is perfected when the call is executed with the right business intent in mind. To simply drop-in to be able to bump your appointment count is a waste of time.

How well do you manage time? Don’t do drop-in appointments if you are not a good time manager. It is far too easy to let the appointment take you out of your rhythm of the day. Drop-ins can take you off your plan or your focus if not done correctly.

Documented success How well can a skillfully executed drop-in work?

Here’s a prime example of a real email exchange that was sent to I Carry The Bag. We edited this version to offer complete anonymity to all parties.

The wholesaler writes to the advisor: From: The Wholesaler Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 10:01 PM To: The Financial Advisor Subject: Appointment Hi Tom, I stopped by your office today and had the pleasure of meeting [a member of your office team].

I would like the opportunity to schedule an appointment with you to share with you [our firm’s] Investment Management story. I have attached a piece from Barron’s that highlights our success.

I will be in [your town] April 29th and 30th. If one of those dates works, I will let you select a time that is best for your schedule.

Thank you in advance for your time, and I look forward to hearing

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back from you.

All my best, Mike And the advisor replies: From: The Financial Advisor Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 9:09 AM To: The Wholesaler Subject: RE: Appointment Mike: I’m sorry I missed you yesterday, but things have been a little hectic. As you know, I’ve used [your firm’s products] in the past, but out of sight out of mind, does enter into my mutual fund selections. I don’t have time at the end of any month for visitations, but I would suggest that you call [office team member] to set up a dinner meeting with the office. There will be possibly 3 to 5 brokers that will attend, and I would look forward to re-establishing a relationship with [your firm].

Thanks, Tom Notice that in this case the drop-in was accompanied by a follow-up email with a specific appointment request.

In summary Attitudes about the drop-in are as varied as the wholesalers and advisors who share them. While not for everyone’s practice, consideration should be given to the benefits of adding this approach to the overall mix of appointments conducted in the region.

When performed in the right manner, drop-ins have the ability to open new doors, reach hard to get producers, and deepen relationships with your existing top tier of advisors.

Perhaps Jamie summed it up best when he said, “If I’m going to garner the respect of that advisor, especially via a drop-in, I need to be respectful and professional.”

Rob Shore is the CEO of Wholesaler Masterminds® and shorespeak®.

Through his blog at www.wholesalermasterminds.com/blog he offers instruction, commentary and insights on the great profession of wholesaling, a community he has been a part of for over 20 years.

For information about group peer coaching, individual coaching and onsite Wholesaler Masterminds LIVE! visit www.wholesalermasterminds.com or call Rob directly at 949-891-1117

By Kip Gregory

Defining Your PVA

W

hat’s your personal value added (PVA)—the unique package of abilities and resources you bring to the table that make advisors eager to do business with you?

Forget product performance. You don’t control that. And even if you did, it’s only the ante into the game. In a market of 10,000+ funds, hundreds of your competitors can legitimately lay claim to being a top decile performer. You need something more.

Financial support? Not enough. Anyone can fund a round of golf or stroke a check for a fancy night out.

What I’m talking about is what you personally bring to the table—the reason why people want to, like to, NEED to do business with you.

Not your company. You. If you’re smart, one thing is an arsenal of ways to generate new business. Because in nearly three decades in this industry I’ve never seen

a time when more advisors were more hungry for practical sales ideas than they are today.

Back when business was booming, most advisors didn’t give client acquisition a second thought. It just happened. But then the market collapsed and revenue fell through the floor. Now everyone, even 20and 30-year veterans, is scrambling to refill their pipeline with new accounts.

to help advisors connect with trusted accountants, attorneys, realtors, business consultants, golf pros, car leasing agents, and other service providers you know who can be a resource to those advisors’ current clients, and a good source of cross-referrals.

Think of it as creating a “golden rolodex.”

2. Catalog the bright ideas and best practices you hear in your travels.

Here are three things you can do to help them.

1. Learn to leverage social networking sites, LinkedIn in particular (and where appropriate and permissible, Facebook (http://www.facebook.com).

At 65 million users, LinkedIn (http://www. linkedin.com) is the web’s oldest and largest business networking community, a perfect place for keeping up with clients and prospects who are affluent, web-savvy executives and business owners.

One way to add value using LinkedIn is

Advisors, like most of us, love to know what’s working for others in the industry.

And if they are successful, they usually don’t mind telling you why. What do you do with those insights? Are you collecting them in a way that you can easily access and share them when needed? If not, you’re missing a huge opportunity.

Years ago I developed a concept called “knowledge journaling” as a means of capturing just that type of information, the critical stuff I wanted to keep at my fingertips. You can do the same thing.

continue on page 15…

13

PACK YOUR BAG

The Path Less Traveled

By Diana Rowe

S

tepping off the brand-path and out of your comfort zone to uncover new hotels might just surprise you. After all, there is more to business travel life than Marriott, Starwood and Hilton.

As a seasoned traveler, if you make this move you won’t sacrifice quality or a restful night. In fact, you might even discover fresh neighborhoods and uncover hidden gems, still convenient to your business, by booking at non-brand properties.

How to find these gems?

• Once you have a destination on your radar, sit back and browse through your favorite travel-related publications – either online or print such as the New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Departures, Vacations, and your local newspaper’s travel section.

• Be on the lookout for publications (whether business or leisure, print or online) that offer special features on destinations or hotels, such as Business Traveler (www.btusonline.com), Budget Travel (www.budgettravel.com), Sherman’s Travel (www.shermanstravel. com), etc.

• See what other travelers have to say by reading their hotel reviews.

You can search by destination or specific hotel. TripAdvisor.com is often the first stop, but there are others that offer honest reviews, such as Oyster.com, TravelPost.com (by Kayak), and JoeSentMe.com.

• Let search engines such as Google or Bing guide you. Searches can uncover hotel information/news on your destination. For example: Bing.com search for “boutique hotel Denver” results: Hotel Monaco or Hotel Teatro, both catering to the business traveler.

• Cure “boring travel” by perusing websites like tablethotels.com, which is all about offering other options for travelers “tired of the predictability of brand-name chain hotels.” The goal of these sites is to make the busy traveler feel more comfortable stepping out of their brand or chain “comfort zone.” Other recommended sites: hotelinteractive.com, hotel-online.com, or other hotel hospitality web sites will give industry insider recommendations.

• Have you considered hotel groups outside of brands? For example, Preferred Hotels® & Resorts (www.preferredhotels.com)

14 1 4 | SUMMER 2010 | I CARRY THE BAG

are worldwide, business-friendly, luxury and iconic hotels, such as Montage Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach, CA; The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, CO; The Carlton, New York City, NY; and the Peabody Orlando, Orlando, FL. -- Sign up for Preferred Hotels complimentary rewards program (www.iprefer.com), which consists of earning rewards with every stay such as room upgrades, complimentary internet, priority early check-in/check-out, and an Online Booking Reward, unique to each hotel, when you book your stay online at IPrefer.com.

-- Just like your brand and chains, add and redeem points through the Preferred Hotels’ travel partners: www.tinyurl.com/ pref-partners • Consult your corporate travel department or a travel agent with intimate knowledge of those cities you frequently visit. No matter how efficient internet web sites are, travel agents have access to publications not available to the general public; they often receive press releases listing business-travel-friendly hotels and good values.

Already at your destination?

• Ask the locals -- your bartender and wait staff at your hotel or other restaurants. They’re often the best and most honest source of anything local. Avoid asking the concierge as his suggestions may be tainted by referral incentives.

• Do research the old-fashioned way – hit the sidewalks. It’s good exercise and an excellent way to get out and see the neighborhood, no matter how much or how little time you have.

• When you’re hailing a cab or hitting the sidewalks, take notice of new construction and read the signs. Many notify passersby of the hotel name and estimated opening date.

• If you see an interesting hotel, don’t be afraid to step inside. If it fits your needs, ask for a brochure. Look around. If it intrigues you, ask to see a room. Ask the concierge or clerk for best room recommendations and write them down.

Defining Your PVA continued from page 13…

I’ll describe journaling and its benefits in detail in a future article but if you want to get a head start on setting one up visit http://www.winningclients.com/ excerpt.php and download the PDF file posted there.

It will walk you through the entire process from start to finish.

3. Become an expert at uncovering sales opportunities online.

In mid-2008, the Internet quietly surpassed a staggering milestone: one trillion pages of content.

Some would argue that number is the very reason to avoid the web as a black hole that can suck the time out of your day. But top wholesalers recognize ability to navigate the web deftly to unearth hidden intelligence on markets and people their advisors target (and to be able to show those advisors how to do that for themselves) is a ticket to the rarified level of true business partner.

Finally, create a computer file of your research. Include those newly released hotels and/or jot a few notes about their web sites. If your travels take you to several key destinations, break those files into sub-headings based on your frequently traveled cities.

Like anything new, be aware that you are taking a slight risk. However, for frequent road warriors that do their homework, it’s a great opportunity to expand their business travel hotel portfolio.

Stepping away from the brand or chain hotels gets you out of your comfort zone, but more importantly, the experience will make your business travels that much more interesting.

Diana Rowe (dianarowe.com) is a Denver-based writer inspired by the sheer adventure of traveling. For more than 13 years, Diana has published and/or edited hundreds of print and online articles for various industries including: travel (business and leisure), tourism, golf, rodeo, technical, business, technical, and commercial. A member of SATW (Society of American Travel Writers), her travel articles can be read in Business Traveler, Corporate & Incentive Travel, Yellowstone Journal, JohnnyJet.com, The Broadmoor Magazine, GolfViews, Motorcycle Rider News, American Cowboy, Examiner.com, and TravelingMom.com. She shares her passion of travel for business and pleasure on several blogs including www.

TravlingInHeels.com.

They learn their way around sites such as Google News (http://news.google.com), the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com), the ASAE’s Gateway to Associations (http://www.asaecenter.org/Directories/ AssociationSearch.cfm), and TSNN (http://www. tsnn.com)—which offers a searchable calender of events by location, date, and industry. So that when an advisor says “I’m looking for potential clients who look like ‘x’,” they can respond, “Let me show you a few resources that can help you find, and give you better insight into, folks like that.” Talk about powerful.

Carrying simple ideas like these in your bag will put advisors on a shorter path to the type of business they really want. And that’s the definition of personal value added.

Kip Gregory is the founder of The Gregory Group, a Washington, DC-based consulting firm that helps wholesaling organizations and their distribution partners improve sales productivity and profitability by unleashing the power of resources they already own. You can reach him at kip@ gregory-group.com or connect with him via LinkedIn at http:// www.tinyurl.com/link-to-kip.

© 2010 Kip Gregory, The Gregory Group. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

I CARRY THE BAG | SUMMER 2010 | 115 5

with Maryann Bruce ICTB: The name of our publication is I Carry the Bag. When we interview industry executives, we talk to leaders that excel in their current role, in your case, President of Aquila Funds Distributors, but also know how to carry the bag. Where did you carry it, and when did you carry it?

MB: I was a wholesaler for OppenheimerFunds from 1987 until 1990 before I moved into senior management.

ICTB: You enjoyed some great success, isn’t that right?

MB: When I first started at OppenheimerFunds, the Southeast territory was very small, doing less than $1 million a month. By the time I finished a very short stint in that area, I had doubled production. The real increase came from when I started covering Tennessee North. When I had taken over the territory, sales were $4 million a month and by the time I left, they were $20 million a month.

ICTB: Tell us about what you’re doing today, and about the position you had before that, so our readers get a full flavor of your background, please.

You moved from wholesaling to management with OppenheimerFunds, is that right?

MB: I wanted to become a national sales manager. OppenheimerFunds had determined that they wanted to start a bank division and because I was the wholesaler with the most success in banks, they turned to me, and asked me if I wanted to lead that effort. So from 1990 to 1998, I was the Director of the Financial Institutions Division.

ICTB: You eventually went to Evergreen Funds where you became the President of their distributor. Is that correct?

MB: Yes, I was President of Evergreen

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Investment Services from 1999 through July 2007. We covered all channels.

ICTB: And what about today?

MB: At Aquila Funds, I am also the President of the distributor. Aquila Funds is a boutique company, and I’m responsible for sales, marketing, new business development, product management, and operations and client servicing, etc.

ICTB: Given all of that experience, what do you think are some of the biggest differences between wholesaling ten years ago and the demands of wholesaling today?

MB: To me, wholesaling is a combination of art and science. In the old days, we didn’t have any science. By that I mean we didn’t have access to information or sales reports in a timely way, or technology like you have now. That’s why I feel wholesalers of today are so lucky – as there are so many more tools and business analytics available to help run your territory like a business.

Since everything today is automated, you get to spend more time focusing on strategy, business planning and opportunities and less time on what I would call the “administrivia” side of the business.

ICTB: Who was your mentor in the business?

MB: I had several. My first mentor was a gentleman from J.C. Bradford who had been in the business forever. Allan Erb had a lot of academic experience. Not necessarily firsthand experience, but he had tons of credentials. He was a financial planner before people even knew what a financial planner was. He had his law degree. He had an MBA. He actually was the person that literally taught me the business from the ground-up.

The second mentor I had was Jon Fossel who was the President and CEO of OppenheimerFunds. He actually recruited me to OppenheimerFunds.

ICTB: What were the qualities of those individuals that you decided, now some years later, made them important mentors to your career?

MB: They were very different personalities.

That was part of what attracted me. Allan was much more prim and proper, very by the book, intellectual. Jon was extraordinarily bright and capable too. However, he had one of the best personalities I have ever met. He was “Clintonesque” in that whomever he was talking to was the most important person in the room. Jon just made you feel special and he encouraged you to excel.

ICTB: Let’s talk about wholesalers today. Do you think that enough wholesalers today have mentors, and do they have the right mentors?

MB: It really depends on the individual. I’ve seen some wholesalers that don’t believe in the mentoring concept at all and others who have mentors, but don’t necessarily have the right ones. I’ve encountered situations where some wholesaler’s mentors were forced upon them, which is never a good strategy in my humble opinion. And there are a very small few that probably have mentors and have the right ones.

ICTB: What constitutes the right mentor?

MB: The most important thing when looking for a mentor is you need to have somebody who wants to be engaged in your success. It has to be a two-way street. Good mentors recognize that they learn as much from the relationship as they give.

You have to be compatible, and you have to

have somebody who is going to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly. You don’t want somebody who is just going to be reactive to your questions. They have to be invested in your success.

business. This business changes so rapidly. One of the things you need to do today, that you didn’t necessarily need to do back then, is the whole portfolio specialist concept, along with the notion of helping brokers build a business.

Whether it’s meeting once a week for a Monday morning coffee chat, or via phone, it’s critical that both sides are engaged; that the mentor is willing to tell you what’s working and what’s not working. More importantly, the mentor must be willing to guide you, not do your job for you.

They have to give direction, provide suggestions as to how you can improve, and support and encourage you.

If I was a wholesaler today, I would make sure that I designed my business plan around the three key ingredients that an FA focuses on.

Those three things are educating/retaining clients, acquiring new clients, and building a business practice. I would want to make sure that everything I did was to help that FA in one of those endeavors. That’s how you’ll create value. Notice I didn’t say anything about a specific product or a specific fund or a specific annuity. That comes after the relationship is established.

ICTB: What’s the biggest challenge wholesalers face today?

MB: The biggest challenge, in many instances, is that they still cover too wide a geography, or have too many people to call on. I’m a big believer that you can only have meaningful relationships with 250 individuals maximum.

Yet many wholesalers have territories today that have 2,000 to 5,000 FAs in their territory. As a result, they are spread too thin which means they sometimes take the path of least resistance and go for the quantity of the relationship instead of the quality of the relationship.

ICTB: If you were to go back in the field today, what three things would you do differently?

MB: I would really focus on getting some type of education in psychology as well as sharpen my active listening skills. At the end of the day, the best wholesalers are those that can be chameleon like and understand the needs of their client.

The best way to create value (not add value, I don’t believe in the ‘add value’ phase; I believe in creating value) is to understand someone else’s goals and objectives and figure out how you can support them in achieving them. The only way you can do that is if you really understand people, how to read people, how to get the most out of people. You don’t learn that skill by studying economics, math, or history. You must study people and communication skills.

ICTB: Anything else?

MB: Every conversation is a communication. I believe some wholesalers are too focused on, “oh, I have to give a public presentation, so I’m going to be this person for a public persona, and a different person for a one- on-one meeting” and I feel that’s a big mistake.

The third thing is being a student of the

ICTB: Let’s switch gears. What’s your philosophy when it comes to managing wholesalers?

There are managers that have a ‘leave them alone’ philosophy, and there are the managers that have a ‘production speaks for itself’ philosophy. Then there are managers that have a ‘watch them like a hawk’, micromanagement philosophy. What’s your philosophy?

MB: I believe it’s a delicate combination of all three. I grew up in a world where wholesalers were given a “sink or swim” proposition. Nobody really managed you. If you were managed it was only around issues such as, did you get your call reports and T&E expenses in on time, did you stay within budget, and are you hitting your sales and asset goals?

To me, the best managers are really leaders, and leaders help wholesalers do their job better. So what does that mean? As a leader, I have to give my wholesalers tools or ideas that are going to help him or her succeed.

More importantly, I have to take all of the obstacles out of the way that are preventing them from achieving their full potential. So whether it’s coming up with sales ideas, best practices, new marketing materials or helping wholesalers gain access to hard to reach FAs or branch managers, leaders help them enhance their skill set. The last thing a leader needs to do is to challenge the wholesaler to not rest on their laurels and be the best they can be.

ICTB: Last question Maryann. Think about wholesaling ten years out into the future, what do you see? Do you think there will still be wholesalers, like there are today, and why?

MB: I do believe that there will be wholesalers 10 years out. In many aspects, it will be similar

to what it is today. It will also be different. What I believe will be similar is that our business is extraordinarily complex and there are lots of products and services. It is very hard to cut through the clutter. The FA gets bombarded 24/7 from so many people that there’s just no way that it’s humanly possible for them to comprehend all the products and their bells and whistles. So there will still be a value proposition for wholesalers and it’s a touch proposition. You know, there’s nothing better than touch. Hightech support is great, don’t get me wrong. But high touch is also important. That’s what I think will be similar.

What I think will change substantially is the territories that people cover and the compensation that people are paid. I believe the territories will shrink significantly - back to my earlier comment that you really can only have meaningful relationships with 250 people.

And I think the compensation will decline dramatically.

ICTB: What in your opinion does “dramatically” mean?

MB: I believe it’s going to decline dramatically because of the evolving business model. Do the math. If there are 20,000 FAs that the company is focusing on, and we’re only developing deep relationships with 2,000 out of the 20,000 that means 18,000 aren’t covered. That’s not a good model. So whether the model becomes more like the old Planco approach, before the recent crash, where you had 200 wholesalers on the

continue on page 18…

I CARRY THE BAG | SUMMER 2010 | 1 17 7

Each quarter we’ll feature stories submitted to us by your wholesaling peers – and we have collected some doozies.

In some cases the contributor has signed their name, and to protect the innocent, we’re not going to print it!

If you have a story about wholesaling send us an email to icarrythebag@gmail.com. Perhaps it will appear in a future edition.

Bruised and Bloodied It was a Tuesday in mid February in Greensboro, NC...my first week with my company, and my first week as an external.

After watching a beautiful snowfall all evening, I called it a night, hoping that my 7:30 flight to Atlanta didn’t come too soon.

On Wednesday, I had a branch lunch at one of the wires - my first visit to that shop.

At 3:00, the room phone rings. It’s my travel agency telling me that the 7:30 has been cancelled, but that the 6:00 and 10:00 are still open. I choose the 6:00, roll out of bed, press my shirt and head to the car, briefcase and two-suiter in hand. In the parking lot, I hit a patch of ice... and I go ass over teakettle, hitting the ice-covered pavement first with the back of my head followed by my shoulders, then the rest of my rather substantial body.

After quickly popping back up, my hand goes to the back of my head to come away covered with blood! After refusing the hotel’s recommendation of an ambulance ride, I take

a hotel towel and head to the airport.

By the time I’d landed, the bleeding appeared to have stopped. I make it to the meeting with time to spare - and a crushingly oppressive headache. But, I work through it, providing a riveting defined benefit presentation. Right before I close the presentation, I notice a young rep in the front row, subtly gesturing toward her neck with a concerned look on her face.

Taking the hint, I touch my neck below my right ear only to realize that the cut had re-opened and had begun bleeding down my neck and into my crisply starched collar. I decided to skip lunch, visiting the local Docin-a-Box. After 5 stitches and being advised that I had a concussion, I pulled a clean shirt from my bag and headed back to the wire office to complete the obligatory post-lunch walk through.

Fly the Friendly Skies I’ll share one that I heard from an old Aegon wholesaler.

He was out in the middle of nowhere, Nebraska visiting a bank and realized as he finished up that if he could make the 100 miles back to the tiny airport he was flying out of in an hour he could make the 2:00pm flight home instead of the only, next, and last flight out at 6:00 pm. He drove like a madman but after turning in his rental car, he came running up to the gate only to see the plane being pushed away from the terminal. So there he sat in a tiny airport practically empty for the next 4 hours. He sat there alone at

the gate for the next couple of hours before a young couple came up and sat down directly across from him. They were obviously in love and it looked like they wanted to make up for the time they were about to be apart. For the next hour and a half their love for each other was displayed magnificently right in front of the wholesaler. Simple kisses quickly moved to heavy petting with the young couple practically lying down during the heavy make-out session. The wholesaler sat there watching and thinking how great it would be to be that young again. The young man’s hair was a complete mess and his shirt tail was hanging out as gradually a few more travelers arrived. The incoming plane finally arrived at the gate and the few passengers got off along with the flight crew. Soon the gate attendant announced that the passengers would soon be boarding. It was at that time that the young man pulled a captains hat out of his small bag and put it on and walked onto the plane.

Yes, he was the captain of the plane and was now the wholesaler’s pilot.

Interview with Maryann Bruce continued from page 17… ground or it becomes a model where you have less people in the field, but they are supported by two or three internal wholesalers working together to achieve their sales goals, something needs to change.

You can’t have a relationship with someone if you’re not touching them at least six to twelve times a year. It just doesn’t work, because your best client is also someone else’s best prospect. So you’ll need more wholesalers to touch FAs more frequently. If you have more

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salespeople then the profit margins are going to automatically go down. Mutual funds aren’t in a position to raise management or service fees. If anything, they are lowering fees. So it just becomes a mathematical equation. If there’s less revenue coming in, and you’re hiring more people to support the revenue, compensation has to come down.

ICTB: Thanks for your insights Maryann.

THINGS TO NEVER SUBJECT YOUR INTERNAL WHOLESALING PARTNER TO AND A FEW THINGS TO ALWAYS DO, TOO…

By M2M Your internal wholesaling partner is your closest business resource, trusted partner, secretary, scheduler, sounding board, and sometimes the younger sibling you have always wanted. The question is: What do WE think of you? More importantly, how can you capitalize on our relationship, motivating us to go the extra mile for you and for our clients, without driving us insane and losing our respect in the process?

To help maximize our loyalty to you and to our clients, making us the most valuable supporting player for your business, try to follow these guidelines: We’re not your personal assistants. While we are more than happy to fulfill your literature orders, send anything and everything to clients, and occasionally do some of your follow-up work so that you can stay in the field, there is a line you should learn not to cross.

Do not ask us to send birthday and anniversary gifts to your spouse, mistress, or kids. Do not ask us to do your Travel &

Expense reports, we are not as adept at the treacherous games you play on the Admins as you are, and we are significantly more expendable if caught.

Speaking of your mistress…

While we want and hope that you will consider us as close confidants, and we can be the best friend you never see, we don’t care who you took back to your room at the hotel for this month’s asset management conference. We think your lechery is deplorable, albeit entertaining, but we find it hard to trust and respect a partner that is spending valuable field time trying to bed the 22 year old trading assistants of our biggest clients.

But if you are single… Feel free to lay it on us! If we are close in age, and we are traveling together, feel free to give us the details of how you conquered the gatekeeper that usually hangs up on us when we are calling to follow up on your meetings.

These stories make us feel like your buddy, and it can help take

the sting out of the next time that gatekeeper lies about giving a prospect our message.

Lamenting Company Brass: Morale on the internal desk shifts as easily as the moods of an under-medicated manicdepressive. We look to you for guidance, motivation, and wisdom that comes from having been at this longer.

When you call us to vent your latest diatribe about your latest petty gripe with your managers about their micromanagement, just remember, we are easily swayed to your side, but just as easily demoralized. Besides, your managers’ issues pale in comparison to the idiosyncratic scrutiny we often face from newly appointed internal managers with burgeoning Napoleon Complexes. If the sole purpose of your next phone call is to denounce management as power-hungry heretics… save it for the spouse that loves you, and your whining, unconditionally!

Your frustrations are our frustrations, but not our fault.

Marketing’s ineptitude regarding the timely release of the latest materials...The overwhelming lack of foresight of Merchandise Fulfillment to recognize that, come March, it’s time to restock our logo golf balls and other golf paraphernalia…These problems are outside of our control, and they are even more infuriating to us. While you will forget about whomever you recently promised 3 dozen balls to, we are keeping a running list. When the administrative powers that be finally get around to rectifying these issues, we have to work three times longer just to catch up with the litany of white, spherical yet dimpled bribes that you are recklessly dispensing in hopes of getting that corner office to give us an allocation in the latest “dog with different fleas” you presented.

Living vicariously through us has a contract attached to it.

If you are happily married with kids, are faithful, and want to relive your wild and crazy days on the internal desk vicariously through us, you need to adhere continue on page 20…

I CARRY THE BAG | SUMMER 2010 | 119 9

Things to Never Subject Your Internal Wholesaling Partners to, And a Few Things to Always Do too… continued from page 19… to one guideline – Silence is Golden! When we tell you about the crazy party we were at on Tuesday night with the crew from Elite Models, or our latest intra-office tryst, we expect an unspoken and inviolable non-disclosure agreement from you.

That means it is unacceptable to joke about how we party all night and still outsell the competition.

It also means that you are not permitted to brag to the External in Montana that “your boy” closed the deal with their Internal. We are happy to give you the gory details, maybe even a picture-text with the evidence, but we have to see “Internal Montana” every day, until you get recruited away and we can take your job. Discretion is the greater part of valor.

This is a partnership. The best External I have ever had opened our very first conversation with these words. We want to feel like it’s true. Listen to our ideas, ask for our input, give us control of segments of the business, and act like a business partner that values the indispensible resource that we are. Hold us accountable to what we say we will do, and praise us for our successes. We will get in early, stay late, skip lunch, and sing your praises to upper management. If you execute this correctly, we will strive to continue impressing you with our value-adds, and your exponentially larger paycheck will become the beneficiary. If you can manage this one step effectively, we will forgive your occasional violations of suggestions one through six, and we won’t begrudge you for taking every Friday this summer to play golf!

The Anonymous Internal Wholesaler, M2M, began his career as a Financial Advisor. Working out of an Independent Division Firm in their NYC office. M2M was recruited to his current employer just before the last Bull Market ended. Anonymity was decided upon so that he could write bluntly and honestly about the views of Internal Wholesalers, without fear of offending External Partners, or reprisals from Managers referenced.

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Your Invisible Ally:

The Client Firm

By Jim Manouse In the end, you want to sell, you want to produce. That’s why you are in this business and that’s what is expected of you by your firm. Give you a rep willing to listen and you can probably close them. That’s probably why you got the job – you are very good at persuasion. So, what it comes down to is prospecting.

Find the right reps willing to listen.

You rely on your National Accounts department to sign selling agreements with broker/dealers to get the product on the shelf. Then you rely upon them once again to get that all important ‘preferred’ sponsorship relationship in order to secure the rep list of that firm.

Next, you, or more likely your internal, gets busy dialing.

And then what?

Maybe you get in; maybe you don’t. Gatekeepers at rep’s offices are tough. They are trained, as are most assistants, to keep you from having direct access with the rep. It works this way from business to government, right on up to the White House. People will stand in your way when you want to get through to the key people. You can leave messages, you can send an email, or you can even try the gutsy last resort – the notorious “drop-in” (not for the faint of heart).

But, what if you had an invisible ally you hadn’t counted on?

Once National Accounts has the selling agreements and any sponsorship deal signed, sealed and delivered, it’s on you now. They are moving on to the next B/D, the next conference, or the next

m’s Home Office marketing campaign. That’s their job – they work the home-office, you work the field. You are left with the rep list and your intro. You probably won’t get through. You dutifully leave a professional, but very friendly voice mail and move on. Maybe you’ll do this a few times before giving up.

What if you know that there are reps on this list you think you could really help and that could also really help you? You might call your Divisional Manager for help, but invariably they will want to set up a meeting for the three of you, and now you are right back to where you started. National Accounts handles home offices, not reps and advisors, so what do you do?

I have had turns in the Marketing departments at three major independent broker/dealers, and I have been fortunate enough to run two of them. My advice is to contact the B/D directly and ask for help. Of course you’ll have to be careful with whatever policy your firm has in place regarding this. I always told my national account reps, once we had a preferred partnership arrangement in place, to give me a call if the wholesalers were having trouble getting through the gatekeepers in the field. They knew that I would be glad to make a personal call to the rep’s office and ask them to give the wholesaler a brief audience and give the wholesaler a chance to earn some of their business.

partners, and the ones supporting us. It just makes for a better B/D. I was always more than happy to hear from a wholesaler in the field having trouble getting through to a rep they felt that they could help, and I was always shocked at how few ever actually bothered to call. I can tell you that from where I sat, our firm was hoping for, and counting on, your success out there with my people.

If it is acceptable to your bosses, reach out to the B/D’s where you have a preferred relationship and ask for their help. It will get you into a lot more offices than what you are getting into now, and who knows what that could lead to?

Jim Manouse has over two decades of financial services experience and is the former head of Sales and Marketing for two of the fastest growing independent broker/dealers in America, NFP Securities, Inc. and NEXT Financial Group, Inc. He was instrumental in assisting those firms win three consecutive Broker/Dealer of the Year Awards from Investment Advisor magazine. He was also the architect of a revolutionary, first of its kind, fee-based UMA platform. Today, he is both Founder and Editor-in-Chief of TodaysAdvisor.com and The Independent Broker/Dealer Networking Group on LinkedIn, the largest group dedicated to the Independent B/D community.

He can be contacted via his website at www.todaysadvisor.com and via his LinkedIn.com group at: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1311 70&trk=anet_ug_hm

Once the due diligence is done, the selling agreements are signed, and a preferred partnership agreement is in place, it is in everyone’s best interest for the relationship to work. As a home office marketing executive, I want the sales we make going to our friends, our

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10 Dirty Little Secrets From Your Sommelier

By Kara Newman

No one likes to feel like a dope when staring down a wine list – especially if you’ve got clients sitting at the table with you.

Here’s a cheat sheet on how to avoid embarrassment, culled from the collective wisdom of sommeliers – those professionals employed by restaurants to curate and manage the wine collection and boost wine sales. But a few things your sommelier won’t tell you: 1. Don’t sniff the cork. It won’t tell you much, and you’ll look like a pretentious jerk. However, if you’ve ordered an older vintage, it’s acceptable to pick up and look at the cork for possible signs of damage that might impact the wine’s quality.

2. It’s okay to mention a price range.

Really. Just tell me what you want to spend. You don’t have to be a big shot and demand the priciest thing on the wine list. It’s perfectly acceptable to say “I’d like to spend $75 and I’d like a Cabernet.” If you’re shy, just point to a bottle on the menu and say you’d like something similar. The server will get the message.

3. Swirl the wine a couple of seconds. Not longer. The goal is to aerate the wine a bit – not to slosh it around and show off.

Didn’t anyone tell you not to play with your food?

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4. You’re not the only one who doesn’t know what they want. If that bible-sized wine list is confusing, just call over the sommelier. He will ask you what you like, and then can make a few suggestions.

Wine terms are open to interpretation, so just describe as best you can what it is that you like – red or white? Fruity or dry?

-- but avoid wine jargon. Then send him away and make up your own mind. You’re the one who has to drink it, after all.

5. If you’re really worried about looking like an idiot, plan ahead. Most restaurants post their menus and wine lists online, and even if they don’t you can call the day before and ask for advice. If you’re really concerned about screwing up, pre-order right then and there on the phone. Very few people know this is even an option.

tell you more...or better still, show you with a sip of this or that.

8. Don’t “bring your own bottle” without calling ahead. BYOB is a privilege, not a right. Some restaurants don’t mind and will happily open and serve your bottle with a small fee (or no fee). But others will bristle, and may even charge an outrageously high corkage fee.

9. It’s better for me if you buy a whole bottle. But you have other options. More restaurants are offering excellent by-theglass selections, as well as quartinos (a small carafe usually equal to a glass-anda-half ) and half-bottles.

6. You can’t send back a wine just because you don’t like it. It’s only OK to return wine if you’re certain it’s spoiled. Some experts say that if the wine smells like old newspapers or plastic band-aids, that’s a sign it may have turned.

10. If you don’t finish the bottle, I might do it myself after you leave. Though it’s not the norm, if you’ve ordered an expensive or special wine, after clearing the table your server or sommelier may spirit the bottle away and try a sip. If you really want to get on the sommelier’s good side, offer him or her a small pour after they’ve opened the bottle, as if they were a buddy sitting at the table with you.

7. If you show me that you’re interested, I might bring you free samples to try.

This won’t work all the time. But if you’ve got the sommelier’s attention and the restaurant isn’t crazy-busy, ask a few sincere questions. Most sommeliers are educators at heart and will be happy to

Kara Newman writes about wine and spirits for publications including Wine Enthusiast, Sommelier Journal, and Serious Eats. She is also the author of “Spice & Ice: 60 tongue-tingling cocktails.”

For more, read the Spice & Ice blog, or follow on Twitter: @karanewman.

By DeeAnne White

Is There Life Beyond Wholesaling?

Have you ever wondered if there’s life beyond wholesaling? It can be hard to imagine. After all, where else could we find the independence, challenge, opportunity for travel, and the lifestyle upon which wholesalers thrive? It’s often said that wholesaling isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle, and it can be a wonderfully addictive lifestyle at that.

However, we also know that this career will end someday; whether it’s when we retire or when we simply know it’s time to walk away.

We know, too, that there’s much more to life that we’re keen to explore, and we’ll want to build an equally exciting lifestyle to follow our wholesaling achievements. Whether your individual dream is to become a triathlete, or an endlessly traveling nomad, or to become an expatriate and own a B&B in Italy, or to finally have the time to become a single digit handicap, or to become a global volunteer, you want to decide what comes next, and begin planning your eventual escape.

My own journey began two and a half years ago. I had achieved my personal goal

job to design a lifestyle that allows for more freedom, control, and personal fulfillment.

At about the same time, I began attending a writer’s workshop in Chicago. I fell in love with writing, and I started working on my first book. I didn’t know it at the time, but the wheels had been put into motion.

Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. ~Robert Frost This wasn’t my first attempt at a major lifestyle change. Almost 30 years ago I put my career on a nine year hold to stay home with my two young sons. I’ve never had a moment of regret about that decision, so I was confident I could make the leap again. My reasons for wanting to take a less conventional path were very different though. This time I wanted to explore the world beyond the typical one week vacation, live as an expatriate, and spend more time with my first grandchild. I decided to take a sabbatical, and I gave myself one year to find my way.

Two roads diverged in a wood and I– I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost of seeing my sons through college and starting to live their own lives. I had also surpassed my professional goal of becoming a National Sales Manager. It was time for a new challenge and a new chapter in my life, but I wasn’t certain where to begin. All I knew was that it had to be fun, and it had to be an adventure. That’s when I first discovered lifestyle design in Tim Feriss’ book The 4 Hour Work Week. The book outlines leaving a traditional 40+ hour per week corporate

Now, almost a year in, I’ve traveled the world solo, and I have begun my writing and coaching career. I’m enjoying a lifestyle that wouldn’t have been possible with my former position. It hasn’t always been easy. I’ve had my moments of doubt, but what I’ve gained has more than made up for what I’ve given up. I call it the new luxury, and my quality of life is much higher than before. I’ve given up amazing restaurants every night of the week, but I’ve gained the luxury of cooking for

friends on a weeknight. I’ve given up five star hotels, but I’ve gained the extravagance of sleeping in my own bed as often as I want. I’ve given up first class upgrades when blowing in for a weekend visit with my grandson, but I’ve gained lovely, unhurried week long visits instead. I’ve given up the big house at the beach in California, but I’m able to travel to the places I’ve dreamt of exploring. I’ve given up weekend conferences in gorgeous locations, but I’ve gained the time to spend on a happy relationship.

These days you’ll find me writing, wherever I’m spending my day, and my greatest pleasure now comes in coaching others to make their own dream lifestyle come true. I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing, or anywhere else I’d rather be. This chapter is turning out to be the best one of all.

DeeAnne White is a girl adventurer, traveller, American expatriate living in England, who is a lover of cricket, golf, wine, Jimmy Choos and life.

She’s also a former Fortune 50 executive and a life long lifestyle designer.

During a 20 year career in financial services, DeeAnne was a successful advisor, wholesaler, National Sales Manager and Executive Vice President. After walking away herself, she’s become a writer, public speaker, and lifestyle design coach who began LiveTheCharmedLife to inspire others to envision a life designed by and for them.

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