Day in the life of
Sales Director – Mary Sullivan
Helping people create a plan for their retirement, save for their children’s education, help elderly parents, are the reasons that make this career in financial services rewarding and purposeful. To think that you can make a difference in a family cycle of living and creating wealth is very fulfilling.
Now in order to do that, as in any industry, you need to obtain certain skills, licenses and put in your time on the ground level learning how to engage with clients. That part is considered the grind and can turn many potential candidates away from the financial services industry. You will have to make many calls, reach out to lots of potential clients, meet metrics such as contacts, attempts, seminars, upsells. Every company will have their own metrics but no doubt they will have the minimums you need to hit. This has also detracted many good employees because the employee wants to value quality over quantity. The best ones realize it is a combination.
The day is comprised of outbound calls, client meetings, corporate meetings, and community outreach. The majority of my time is spent making calls, the thought behind that is you need to be talking to clients and understand their needs.
Cons
The cons to this role is how when you really do build a relationship and help someone that feeling is so great that it gets you through the grind. We often would coach our teams to after a lot of calls where you did not make contact, call someone you know, and have a relationship with to help build your confidence. My career and many others in the financial industry not only provided a meaningful quality of life for ourselves but also for our clients. Also, we have the opportunity to recruit colleagues that reflect the investors and broaden the diversity of investors. That can be game-changing for many communities.
