Why Are You Attracting The Wrong Candidates For The Sales Assistant Position?

May 23, 2012 by Simon · Leave a Comment

Why are you attracting the kind of candidates who do not have the values and behaviors to meet points 1 – 3 from your job description below?

Have the ability to follow directions and work with minimum supervision; take ownership of assigned tasks, think for yourself, solve problems quickly and independently.
Exceptional administrative, time-management, and organizational skills.
Have high standards and attention to detail and accuracy while preparing sales materials, product applications, presentation materials, data entry; and upkeep of the company’s database, while mastering Redtail appointment and CRM system.
Familiar with Redtail, Dropbox, Yousendit, or equivalents. Have basic knowledge of financial planning products and strategies.
Insurance, securities or other professional licenses are highly desirable.
Maintain a pleasant and professional attitude when following up clients for scheduled appointments, and scheduling client meetings.
Be an enthusiastic team player with exceptional telephone, communication, and interpersonal skills building team and client relationships; and have the ability to quickly adapt to ever changing priorities.
Proficient computer skills in all MS Office programs (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, etc.).
Prior experience in an administrative position or financial office is an asset.

A common hiring mistake is on a subconscious level, we hire people we like so that we can be liked and we align with the first parts points 6 and 7 in the job description.

6. Maintain a pleasant and professional attitude when following up clients for scheduled appointments, and scheduling client meetings.

7. Be an enthusiastic team player with exceptional telephone, communication, and interpersonal skills building team and client relationships; and have the ability to quickly adapt to ever changing priorities.

In a purely innocent way, given that on a subconscious level, we hire people we like so that we can be liked and we align with the first parts points 6 and 7 in the job description, we can easily forget points 1 – 3 which are what you want the candidate to demonstrate.

1. Have the ability to follow directions and work with minimum supervision; take ownership of assigned tasks, think for yourself, solve problems quickly and independently.

2. Exceptional administrative, time-management, and organizational skills.

2. Have high standards and attention to detail and accuracy while preparing sales materials, product applications, presentation materials, data entry; and upkeep of the company’s database, while mastering Redtail appointment and CRM system.

What is the remedy for this?

1. Have a written job description.

2. Always have your candidates complete a values and behaviors assessment to determine if their values and behaviors match the job description.

3. Ask your candidate the following questions:

Give a specific example of how you have demonstrated your ability to handle multiple priorities and deliver results. Describe the situation and the manner in which you addressed it.
Think of a time when you had many demands placed on your time. How did you ensure that you were available to meet the needs of your customers, as well as your coworkers, supervisors, and subordinates?
Describe one service, activity, or process for which you have been held accountable. How did you make sure you achieved results for this process or activity?
Describe a time when you were unable to follow through on a commitment you made. What happened? How did you explain this to the other party?
Some jobs may be very hectic at times. Provide an example of how you managed to “get everything done” in a very busy time. What strategies did you use to ensure timely, quality results?
Discuss a time when you had to deal with major change in your work process or job duties. How did you prepare for the change? How did you respond in this situation?
Provide an example of a time when you had to take action and didn’t have enough time to prepare as much as you would like. How did you adapt to this situation?
Describe a time when you had to complete a project in which there was very little direction. What are some of the issues you faced? How did you go about completing the project?
Tell me about a time when you had more work than you could handle. What steps did you take to ensure quality outcomes?
Everybody endures some stress in the workplace. Give a specific example of a stressful time at work. What caused the stress? What did you do to handle the stress?

Filed under: Communication & Team Building
Tagged: Financial Advisor Assistant Hiring, Investment Advisor assistant hiring

Preventing A “Fatal Attraction” Hiring Mistake

September 25, 2009 by Simon · Leave a Comment

hiring mistake Any job requires the correct values and behaviors. When a person reads your ad, they sometimes say that they can do the job and adapt their style and tell you what you want to hear … selling themselves and you if you are not careful … problem is some cannot sustain the act, the values and behaviors that they are adapting to and it all comes crashing down and then it becomes your fault that they can’t do the job… a fatal attraction – a hiring nightmare.

Even if you check their references, the names that are offered seldom share specifics.

We have hired many administrative assistants, marketing assistants and juniors advisors over the years for our clients, and we have benchmarked the values and behaviors that are required for each of the positions so that the qualified candidates that you finally short list, can then do a personal values and behaviors assessment.

Then we say hire them, they are a 10 out of 10 hire them quick, or they are a 7 out of 10 and this is what you will have to do to coach them so that they can sustain the job, or they are a 3 dressed up as a 9 and they are only wasting your time.

The fee for the values and behaviors assessments complete with a 20 minute telephone assessment debriefing with me is $400.00. Please contact Laura @ lreilly@leadingadvisor.com.

The assessments will give you additional tools to communicate, manage and motivate the new employee.

Filed under: Communication & Team Building
Tagged: Financial Advisor Assistant Hiring, financial advisor delegation, Financial Advisor Hiring Coaching

How Do I Know If I Need An Assistant?

September 10, 2009 by Simon · Leave a Comment

Using Microsoft Excel as an example;

Type in every idea, project, task and to do line by line until you Clear Your Mind

Look at the items on your desk, your cork and white boards, do a search on your computer and look over the titles of all the documents that you have created in the last 30 days, look through all of your inbound and outbound e-mails, look over your project files, client management system to do list, yellow sticky notes, scraps of paper, notes on your iPhone or Blackberry … the lot

Next, review the following categories and ask what other ideas, projects, tasks and to do’s come to mind and add them to the list; administration, computers, systems, customer service, financial, marketing, office management, planning, product development, production, sales, team building and training.
Next, sort the ideas, projects, tasks and to do’s alphabetically.
Next, using another column in Microsoft Excel, label each item with the category that it relates to
Next, sort the categories alphabetically
Next, using another column in Microsoft Excel, prioritize by A+ – must be done / life and death and then, by A, B, & C priority
Next, using another column, identify what can be delegated – this will tell you if you have enough work for an assistant
Next, schedule your A priorities in Time Blocks and delegate for action and take action

Filed under: Communication & Team Building, Vision & Planning
Tagged: Financial Advisor Assistant Hiring, Financial Advisor Coach, Financial Advisor Coaching, Financial Advisor Hiring Coaching, Financial Advisor Training, Financial Planner Coach, financial planner coaching, Financial Planner Training, Investment Advisor Coach, Investment Advisor Coaching

No Sex Before Marriage

July 16, 2009 by Simon · Leave a Comment

Hiring without a written plan and job description is like sex before marriage.

The written plan and job description are the marriage certificate and the sex is what you are trying to do before the clarity is in place … it may look and feel real good in the beginning, just like the last hiring disaster did but you just go screwed in the end.

Filed under: Communication & Team Building
Tagged: Financial Advisor Assistant Hiring, Financial Advisor Business Coaching, Financial Advisor Coach, Financial Advisor Coaching, Financial Advisor Hiring Coaching, Financial Planner Coach, financial planner coaching

Live Practice Visits ~ Jul – Dec 2009 Vision From 35,000 Feet & The Tarmac

June 18, 2009 by Simon · Leave a Comment

tarmac My 12 noon Tuesday, June 16th PT flight left on time from Comox, BC for Toronto via Calgary and it is now 5pm MT and my 4pm MT flight is leaving Calgary an hour late because the Calgary airport was shut down due to lightening.

We landed at 2:25 MT in Calgary and we sat on the tarmac for over an hour waiting for the lightening to pass.

Most people would see this as a problem and I see it as an opportunity to invest the time into the projects that I have been working on.

You have heard the Hebrew proverb; “Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened”.

Chris Barrow shared his belief about this as it relates to this economy;

10% make things happen
80% watch things happen
10% wonder what happened

Having said this, 90% of financial advisors are sitting on the sidelines waiting for something to happen.

I’m committed to dealing with the 10% of financial advisors that make things happen.

So having said this, 10% of financial advisors will get better and 90% of financial advisors risk disappearing and I shudder to think about the clients that they deal with.

I had an idea from 35,000 feet to increase our value proposition by including one to two live on site one day practice visits per year and increase our fee along with the value proposition.

I’m already flying across Canada back and forth and it will be easy to stop and do live on site one day practice visits with a select few of my clients along the way.

The increased monthly fee for my clients will be no more than $300.00 per month.

The live on site one day practice visits would coincide with the live financial advisor speaking dates that I offer.

I’m looking forward to developing the above in the Objectives, Strategies and Actions for July – December 2009.

Come to think of it, the live on site one day practice visits have been happening off and on for years and I do them when I am asked for them.

It is time that I formalize them.

Its 4pm ET in Toronto on Wednesday and I have three West Coast clients to do coaching calls for, then a late dinner and then off to bed for an early morning meeting with a COI in advance of speaking at Advocis Toronto and then pack and off to the airport for a 3pm ET flight home.

Friday brings a full day of one on one tele-coaching and I’m on the road on Saturday to do a live on site three day practice visit in Kelowna, BC.

Filed under: Clear Your Roadblocks, Vision & Planning
Tagged: 2009 business plan, advisor training, business building, business coach, business plan, business skills, business strategy, Clear Your Roadblocks, Financial Advisor Assistant Hiring, Financial Advisor Business Coaching, Financial Advisor Coach, Financial Advisor Coaching, Financial Advisor Hiring Coaching, financial advisor life insurance coaching, Financial Advisor Marketing, financial advisor speaker marketing, Financial Advisor Training, Financial Planner Coach, financial planner coaching, Financial Planner Training, how to achieve success, leadership, marketing plan development, marketing tips, professional development systems, professional growth, roadblocks to success, strategic planning, time management plan, vision business

Using Our Own Hiring System To Hire An Assistant

April 29, 2009 by Simon · Leave a Comment

I flew to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Tuesday evening to speak on Wednesday at the;

Advocis North Central Saskatchewan Chapter
Spring Professional Development Day
Wednesday April 29, 2009
The Willows Golf & Country Club

We are in the process of hiring an Administrative Assistant and we are using the same hiring system that we use when we are working with our clients to assist them with hiring administrative assistants, marketing assistants and junior advisors.

You can find out more about our hiring system by reading the following blogs;