Q: If I’m ready to make a career change but scared I won’t be prepared, what would you tell me?
A: Making a career change is a big decision to make. Edward Jones has a proven method of training new Financial Advisors and our training program is really built around folks who are new to this industry. We train a lot of people who are coming to Edward Jones from the industry, but for folks who are changing careers, it’s very comprehensive training. We train on skills, on knowledge, on product information, on regulatory information. But even more than that, we train people to develop good relationships with their clients, so that they can learn to serve them the best way. Q: What’s so good about the training at Edward Jones?
A: There are a couple of different ways to compare the training. First, training at Edward Jones is not considered a cost – it’s considered an investment. And if we train a successful Financial Advisor, the return to them, their families, their communities and their clients, as well as to the firm, is worth all the dollars that we could put into training. Another thing that makes our training different than at other firms is you’re compensated while you’re training at Edward Jones. Even before you become a producing or profitable Financial Advisor, you’re compensated – that’s part of the investment that Edward Jones makes in you. We also train folks on the exams that have to be taken before they get their license. We have one of the highest pass rates on those exams of any company in the country; in fact, somewhere in the range of 90 percent of the folks who take the test with us pass the test. Q: Why did you come to Edward Jones?
A: What’s really interesting is there are fewer and fewer financial services firms who want to train people to do this job. At Edward Jones, we think it’s very valuable for people to come into this industry with other successful careers in their experience. So we train new Financial Advisors, help them study for and pass the regulatory exams, and compensate them while they’re doing that, to give them the support they need to build the foundation of their business early on, and then become profitable as quickly as possible Q: What is the biggest challenge for a new Financial Advisor?
A: The biggest challenge that a new Financial Advisor has is the fact that if you’re hired at Edward Jones, you were successful somewhere else. You’re used to success. And it takes a little while to build a strong business. But for folks who’ve been very successful, starting the business gets to be a little bit challenging. It’s a challenge that’s worth doing, but it takes a lot of effort. And what we say to folks is that the biggest challenge in starting a business at Edward Jones is really between your ears – not so much the work that you have to do or the things that you have to learn. We’ve got lots of support for the knowledge and the skills, but the attitude that a new Financial Advisor brings to the table is what we can’t teach, and may be one of the most important things that one needs to bring. Q: What are some key qualities a new Financial Advisor should bring to the table?
A: There are three really important things. The first is talent. That’s knowledge, skills and all the experience that you had in life up to now. The second is opportunity. And the opportunity that’s afforded to an Financial Advisor at Edward Jones is like no other in the industry – the opportunity to build your own office; to work with the clients that you want to work with; to run a legal, profitable and ethical business in your own individual office with your own sales assistant. There is a third element, without which the other two really fall away and don’t matter any longer and that’s attitude. If you don’t bring the right amount of effort and the right quality of effort – it doesn’t matter how talented you are, it doesn’t matter how great the opportunity is. Without bringing the effort to the equation, nothing good happens. But when all three of those come together, wow, what an opportunity.
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