A week in the field

I had a full week of meetings to talk about my new products and services.  I had several appointments, all with friends.  I must admit, it was awkward.  Not only was I conscious of the fact that I was, in essence, trying to sell insurance, but I was asking friends to divulge some information about their personal finances.

I don’t feel like I pushed the insurance on them at all.  I told them why I chose this career, and why I chose the firm I did.  I then went into a description of building a financial plan.  I think I sufficiently explained why life and disability insurance are the basis, or foundation, for a financial plan.

The logic is that, if you have $500 to invest each month (you certainly don’t need that much to get coverage.  Also, do know this amount is NOT meant to be a quote for anyone in particular), you can either put it into an investment account and hope it appreciates, and hope, if you need it, the market doesn’t happen to be down 40% that year.  Or you can make sure you have enough life and disability income insurance to cover your home, family, income, debt, funeral costs, etc., should you die or become disabled prematurely.  If something bad were to happen, you get more bang for your buck with life and disability income insurance than you do in an investment account.  When you start making more money, you can start investing because your family is taken care of in the event of death or disability.

I even explained the difference between whole and term life insurance to some of my friends, and they were grateful for the education.

I definitely felt myself getting a little pushy.  However, I know it was not due to my desire for commissions.  I’m sure in the past the stigma of the pushy insurance salesman has been deserved because the agents un-ethically tried to sell products that were not best for the clients, but were best for the agent’s wallet.  This week, though, I felt my pushiness came from a desire to help.  The building of the plan made perfect sense to me, so why wouldn’t it make sense to my friends.  Why would they be adamant about wanting to keep finding good value stocks rather than protecting their families?

I got the “give me a few months and then we’ll take a look” responses.  What if something were to happen in those few months?  I know that seems like a sales ploy to try to get you to buy now.  However, it is exactly what these products are designed for…unforeseen circumstances.  If you know you need life or disability insurance, and you have the money to buy some (any is better than none at all), you should get it now.  It has nothing to do with my commissions…it just makes sense.

We can build the retirement planning, college planning, and investment accounts also, but let’s make sure we have your family, house, and ability to earn income covered first.

Am I wrong here?  Am I being too pushy?  Please let me know.

Many more appointments scheduled next week.  I’ll be back with more updates.

Making a Career Change

The career change starts today.  I’m going from the IT industry to the financial services industry.  Many people are asking why I would make the change, and, especially, why go into financial services now.

First, why leave IT.  To be honest, I was never a true “techie.”  I went to work for a startup application development company in 2000 when it was cool to do so.  From there I started a software company because I thought that software application would be a good one.  We migrated that company from IT management software to IT services because the business model was better.  I never learned programming, I didn’t learn how to configure a router or install a server.  I was the running attempting to run the business.  I was determining strategy, marketing, business development, partners, service offerings, employees, benefits, etc.

I decided to get out of the business partly because it was not my calling – I liked the business model, but I was never crazy about running a business where I knew I would never fully understand the services we offered.

I took quite a while to find a new profession, job, career, place to work.  I first thought I would be a small business consultant.  However, between the falling economy and the hurricane in Texas, spending on small business consulting seems to have fallen.

I decided to take a look at what I liked and did not like about running my business.  I loved the business development aspect more than anything.  I enjoyed getting to network, meet new people, identify issues they might have with their business that I can help.  I enjoyed the opportunity to build trust by finding someone in my network that might be able to provide some assistance also.

In the midst of all this soul searching, the economy was hurting and the market falling.  I had just purchased a house, and was going threw some financial budgeting issues while attempting to reconcile the credit cards, insurance, bank accounts, savings accounts, investment accounts, etc. that my wife and I both maintained.

I realized I could really use someone to help me make sense of my financial future.  I wanted to know how much to save, invest, and spend.  How much life and disability insurance I should have?  How do certain accounts affect my taxes?

Admittedly, I always a skeptical view of the industry.  There were life insurance salesmen, whom I would avoid at all costs.  Then there were stock brokers who were trying to get me to make more trades.

However, the more I talked to people I TRUSTED in the business, the more I realized they were doing the same things that I ENJOYED about my business.  They were meeting new people, and providing much needed solutions, advice, and guidance that impact people’s lives immensely.  I even have a financial background – it was my major in college, and I spent my first 4 years in financial roles.  Why wasn’t I pursuing this career?

So I started trying to find my way in, even during a downturn in the market.  I interviewed with several companies.  Some I liked, some liked me.  I decided on a place to call home based on the people on my team, the management, the perception of the organization, and the mix of products and services available. I will probably steer more toward investments than insurance, but I know insurance is a HUGE part of managing and protecting one’s family and wealth.

I am excited to start, not only a new job, but a new career.  I am looking forward to helping without being pushy.  I want to make certain my clients know I am always being mindful of their best interests.  I can’t wait to learn the ins and outs of the products and services.  Any advice will be welcome.

I’ll be attempting to document my growth, as regulations allow.  If you’d like to talk, email, meet, chat, etc., please feel free to contact me.