The 3 ‘I’s for Successful Selection

  Some 20 years ago I met with Ken Wills who had just retired as Sales Director of The Equitable Life sales-force. This particular sales-force […]

Candidate Selection Rule #1 – People don’t change

There is a school of thought, led mainly by uneducated pedlars of success, which maintains that people can change… That it is possible for someone, […]

Successful Selling 1 – Be Brilliant at the Basics

Is selling a tough job, a hard job, or a difficult job? Well, it can be all of these things, but in reality is none […]

Time Management #1 – an introduction

It’s the big question that every recruiter of salespeople in financial services asks over and over again: what are the key features that make up […]

Candidate Selection Rule #2 – The Best Guide

  Actually the full Rule is: “The Best Guide to What a Person Can Do is What they have already Done.” If you have read […]

Time Management #2 – Are you Independent or Dependent?

An old colleague of mine used to say “When we come into this world we don’t come equipped with an instruction manual”. Too true… We […]

Successful Selling 2 – Get the Sequence Right…

I have already addressed the importance of completing the various simple steps in the sales cycle (see Be Brilliant at Basics). However, I haven’t yet […]

Candidate Selection Rule #3 – People are a product of their Past

  It follows that if a person is a product of their past, then you need to know all about them. Again, this follows from […]

Successful Selling 3 – It doesn’t matter what you are selling…

Whether they are selling automobiles or aeroplanes; houses or boats; wall-paper or wills; life assurance or investments; advice or products, successful salespeople have common characteristics […]

Candidate Selection Rule #4 – Know your Candidate Warts and All

  Since you may employ him or her as they are today, “warts and all”, you want to know about their present circumstances, including the […]

Successful Selling 4 – Activity

Your weekly activity level will determine the pace of your success. Great salespeople commit themselves, from the outset, to a high level of activity – […]

Time Management #5 – The Template

We have now identified the key tasks that need to be completed each week, we also recognise that each week has a finite amount of […]

Successful Selling 5 – Integrity

“The secret of acting is sincerity. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made” – George Burns. Financial advisers make money by selling ‘trust’, […]

Candidate Selection Rule #5: Let Them Talk

  You will learn more about a candidate from their lips than from your own. Let them talk. Resist the temptation to tell them all […]

Successful Selling 6 – Disciplined Approach

We are talking about time-management here. And it is the inability to manage their time that causes most salespeople to fail. I have rarely seen […]

Time Management #6 – Peak Performance

With our draft template ready to complete (see previous post here), we now need to determine whether there are particular days that are better suited […]

Candidate Selection Rule #6: Keep Them Talking

  Keep candidates talking about themselves. Don’t let a candidate trick you with a discussion on sport in general, or what you both thought of […]

Candidate Selection – Rule #7: Keep them to the Facts

What a candidate plans to do is pure hypothesis. What they have done can be checked. Keep them on the track and keep a careful […]

Successful Selling 7 – Belief

If you do not believe that the product or service you are selling will provide added value to your client, then stop selling it. You […]

Candidate Selection – Rule #8: Check References

After the interview get on the phone to a couple of past employers. Identify yourself and your organisation, mention that a prospective employee has given […]

Successful Selling 8 – Know your numbers

You have just been offered a job where you would earn £10 for every phone call you make. What time of day would you start […]

What Recruiters want from prospective Financial Advisors

  Let’s not kid ourselves here – moving overseas will be an unsettling and challenging experience. Changing jobs is traumatic enough on its own, but […]

Simon Selects – Kuwait

A recent opportunity that really appeals to me is for an International Financial Adviser to join a well-established Financial Services Practice in Kuwait. With 5% […]

The Negative Forces Setting a Salary

  Let me tell you how I believe a salary is set. Jill Boss has a particular clearly defined job to get done. She wants […]

Spotlight on Expat Living – Hong Kong

Living and Working in Hong Kong Hong Kong is fast paced, in your face, and, for sheer impact and vibrancy, cannot be beaten in Asia […]

Spotlight on Expat Living – Singapore

Singapore – The Market Everything in Singapore is so efficient, so ordered and so clean that, once you’ve worked there, it really is a very […]

Spotlight on Expat Living – Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur – The Market KL has always been one of my favourite cities in Asia. I just love the “personality” of the place – […]

Spotlight on Expat Living – Bangkok

Bangkok – The Market It had been a while since I last visited Bangkok but I was sure things wouldn’t have changed much – snarling, […]

Modern Interview Techniques – How to interview well over Skype

  Attending an interview used to involve time off work, travelling to and from the interviewer’s office and the associated costs, but the traditional ‘face-to-face’ […]

The Perfect Storm? Financial Advisor Jobs Abroad

  So, you’re working in the financial services industry in the UK and you too have had enough. More regulations. Reducing income. Depressing weather. Economy […]

The 3 ‘I’s for Successful Man Management

In 1981, Brian attended his first management training session. He was fortunate to spend this particular week with a man named Robert Jackson who had spent […]

Spotlight on Expat Living – Qatar

Qatar – The Market Qatar is a well-regulated market that will appeal to UK qualified advisers who want to maintain their high quality, professional approach […]

Spotlight on Expat Living – Dubai

Dubai – The Market Dubai is one of the most popular markets we recruit into. It is an attractive location in which to begin your […]