Q: What did you do prior to coming to Edward Jones?
A: In Canada I was working for an advertising company. I was doing supermarket advertising. But prior to that, in South Africa, I was working as a broker. Q: How did knocking on doors help you build your business?
A: The effect of it is enormous. I don't think there's anything more profound than the face-to-face contact that you have with somebody – not just the first contact, but I think the second one. The first time you do it, most people think you aren't coming back. But when you come back again and say, “Hi, how are you doing? I'm in the neighborhood. I was thinking about you. I have this great investment to offer you,” they're so surprised at the fact that you've actually come back and they remember you. As I said, the success has been huge from that. Q: Do you have any specific examples of that?
A: Thinking back, there is a client that I knocked on his door and he was late in his 70s and he wasn't well. As a family, they were going through a very hard time. They really didn't know where to turn financially. And he called me up a few weeks later after the door knock. I called him once and offered him a good investment. And he called me up and he said, “You know what? I really think I need to chat to you. We are in financial trouble.” And just sifting through all the paperwork, we realized that there was an investment that he'd actually forgotten about. It was a policy. And we were able to actually get the funds out of this policy, sort out all the financial problems and he said to me, it must have been a year later, that the day that he met me at the door changed his life. And to me that's just profound that something like that could happen. Q: Have you gone on any diversification trips?
A: Diversification trips had a huge impact on my business and, I must say, actually, from the first dinner that I had as a new Financial Advisor with my Regional Leader, he brought with him the brochure on the various trips that are available and he made sure to show them to my wife. And they really looked exciting. And right from the get go, that was the target, to make the trip. And, I must say, I've been very fortunate that since I've been with Edward Jones, I have qualified each contest period for the trips. And that has been a huge incentive because it pushes you to do that bit better each six month period. It really is a motivating factor and they're well worth it. The reward in the end is worth it. Q: How has your business changed since the door knocking stage?
A: At that stage everything was about business. I'd like to say I worked half days - from 8 in the morning 'til 8 at night. It was a long day, I didn't see much of my family, but it was a sacrifice that I was prepared to make because I could see, even early on, that the potential was just absolutely huge. Now, I wouldn't say it's become easier. If this was an easy profession, well, everybody would be doing it. It's not an easy profession. But it's more manageable. I work great hours. I have a lot of freedom and autonomy that I wouldn't have had if I'd have opened my own business in some other field or if I was working for somebody as a salaried employee. It has just opened up so many social benefits – just to be able to spend time with your kids, to be able to play a sport, to do what it is that you like doing. It gives you a great balance in life. Q: What’s different about Edward Jones?
A: I think it's important to have a quiet confidence when dealing with your clients. Because we are dealing with conservative people and I often say to my clients, if you're dealing with a broker that is emotional and excitable, perhaps that's not the right person to be dealing with because they're dealing with your serious money. They need to take things very, very seriously and they need to take you seriously as well. There's so much noise on the market every single day and that's the one ability that I think Edward Jones has got is that we look through all that noise. We look longer term and we look at what makes sense, what is right for the client. And we try and do what's right for the client every single day. Q: Can you talk a little about your previous experience and how it compares to Edward Jones?
A: In the firm that I was with in South Africa, it was a pooled type of support, so there were three secretaries. They would have been office administrators, but what you found is that you didn't have somebody that concentrated solely on your administration. And you'd be waiting for things, things wouldn’t go out on time. There'd be confusion as to who was responsible for what. At Edward Jones it really is about having one office administrator. She (or he) is going to work for you, help you build your business and understand your business and understand your clients. And I think also from the confidentiality point of view, this is also a huge plus because clients aren't worried that the information is going to be seen by other people or other brokers. It gives you a huge advantage. Q: What is your relationship like with other Financial Advisors?
A: The great thing about Edward Jones is that not only is there the mentor/mentee relationship, but there's also the fact that if you really need to know something from somebody that is within your region, another Financial Advisor that could even be an office which is a kilometer away, if you were to call them up and say, “You know what, here's an idea that I've got, what do you think about it,” they'd be more than willing to help, to work you through it and to give you some ideas. It's not about one office competing against the other. Q: Articulate the spirit of volunteerism at Edward Jones.
A: Everybody has the spirit of volunteerism. There isn't this cutthroat type situation where one office feels the next is going to steal their clients. It just doesn't work that way with Edward Jones. It's really about paying it forward. Everybody feels somebody was there to help them when they started and they like to be there to help somebody else move their business to the next level. Q: What advice would you give someone considering the Financial Advisor position?
A: When you look at what Edward Jones is about, I think when you look at the culture, when you look at the structured business that we have, when you look at the support, I think the most important point that I can make is that Edward Jones is not just a job, it's a career and it's a way of life. If you buy into the Edward Jones offering, it's going to change your life. There's no doubt about it. You will enjoy everything that you've ever wanted in life. They just give the opportunity to do that. This is a company that's about family. This is a company that's about respect. This is a company that really believes in the people that work for them. There's very few companies that will offer you ownership and I think that's a huge advantage to Edward Jones to know that at some point you not only will be part of Edward Jones, but you can own part of Edward Jones.
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