Q: What did you do prior to coming to Edward Jones?
A: Before Edward Jones I was a project manager with a very large telecom company. I used to travel around Europe, and to the latter part commute down to London every day. Q: What attracted you to Edward Jones?
A: The thing that attracted me to Edward Jones from a personal level is the fact that in the job prior to joining Edward Jones I was commuting for four-and-a-half hours a day – I left home at 5:30 in the morning, very rarely got home before 8:30 at night and I just didn’t see my family or my children. Now I’ve got a 15 minute walk to work and I sit down for dinner with my family every evening, and that is just fantastic for me and I never want to let that go. Q: Talk a little about the training you received.
A: The training when I first went back was a bit of a prospect for me because I was 40, changing jobs and looking for a new career, so to go back into training at that age was quite a daunting task. But once I’d settled in and realized that it wasn’t too tough a task, then I settled down and just knuckled down and passed the exams. The thing that’s helped me with success that I took from the training was it was the very first taste of actually being responsible for my own time. You know, you’re not set down every day in a classroom, you’re given the books and very much allowed to work on your own. And to get that discipline early on is a key factor of success with Edward Jones. Q: How do you feel about the remuneration plan at Edward Jones?
A: Remuneration started where I received a basic salary during training. And then after my second year the salary had gone away and I was on commission only, and that was a big step for me was to go just on commission. But it’s panned out every year since I’ve joined the company. My earnings have near enough doubled so I’m quite happy with the situation now and I wouldn’t want to go back to a salaried position. Q: Work-life balance is an important part of life at Edward Jones. How does that impact your quality of life?
A: The importance of family with Edward Jones is important to the company as well as to me. The company believes that family should always come first. Whenever we have our regional sales meetings the family are invited, and without it sounding too cliché the company has actually grown like a family and you do feel part of a family. It’s a fantastic way of running a business. Q: Financial Advisers talk about a structured autonomy at Edward Jones. Do you think it exists?
A: It seems to be a conflict within the way that Edward Jones works. We have on the one hand the freedom to do whatever we like within the business so long as it’s ethical and you’re profitable and compliant. You can pretty much run your office as you like. However, in the early days there’s certainly a structure that has proven time and time again to be successful, and so if a new Financial Adviser or career changer comes along to Edward Jones they’ve got a structure that they can follow that will pretty much guarantee them success. Q: In terms of recruiting, what is Edward Jones looking for in a Financial Adviser?
A: Edward Jones has a great deal of scruples in the way it recruits because we are looking for quality people that have got the drive and determination to achieve, but also want to do what’s right for the clients at all times. And that is a cornerstone of our ethics in the company is that the client comes first for every single business decision, and so long as we keep the clients at the forefront, then the business will look after itself. Q: Compare your last experience to that of the Edward Jones experience.
A: I used to have to report to a director in my last position and we spent more time in meetings than we actually did being productive. In this position now I have nobody to report to directly, given all the freedom I need, which can be a double edged sword because it means I can leave the office early if I wish, but so long as I get my work done within the timeframe I set myself, then I’m quite happy to go and see my children’s school plays, sports days, everything else that I’d want to do with my life. Q: What advice would you give a new Financial Adviser?
A: A lot of people are concerned about not having a sales background. I’m from an engineering background and I found that clients respond to me as a non-natural salesman talking to them naturally about where they want to go for retirement and what their financial goals are rather than trying to sell them a product. We find out what clients’ needs are, and the best way to do that is to just be able to talk to them naturally. No slick sales techniques.
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