8 ways professional credentials help you get business
These designations can help you get more business.
When I started in the business, we didn’t have credentials. You passed your Series 7 licensing exam plus several others allowing you to sell different products. No one had letters after their name on their business card. I don’t think our firm allowed it.
Today, everything has changed.
Remember when some distant relative was described as a professional student? “He has more degrees than a thermometer!” Those were also the days when doctors, lawyers and accounting were considered professionals. Back then, financial advisors and insurance agents were considered salespeople. But things have changed. Professional certifications and accreditation play a big part.
These designations can help you get more business. Here’s why:
1. Letters after your name. The people you are prospecting have them. Some jobs require an advanced degree, even at entry level. If not, it’s expected you will earn that additional degree while in the job.
Agents and advisors: The certifications define your role as an industry professional. Your prospect has letters after their name. So do you.
2. Subject-specific knowledge. You are selling benefit plans to a business. It might be an office of professionals or a local corporation. You work for a big insurance company, but don’t want to be typecast as a “salesperson.” You bargain for the lowest price with those guys. When they justify their decision to their higher up, they want to explain they awarded the business to a person and firm with specific knowledge and expertise.
Agents and advisors: Professionals are more comfortable doing business with other professionals. CEBS is a designation for Certified Employee Benefits Specialist.
3. Prospects you couldn’t reach otherwise. What’s the greatest fear of a financial advisor? Losing their largest account. If that person is a senior corporate executive, one of the perks might be bringing in a “retirement planning specialist” to help transition from work to retirement. They “speak the language” executives understand. The executive might roll over their retirement assets at the firm as instructed. The helpful specialist might suggest consolidating the assets held at various brokerage firms too.
Agents and advisors: It’s a safe bet the specialist the firm brings in has credentials establishing them as an expert.
4. Specialists are better than generalists. You hope people you know aren’t facing divorce. If they are, they will likely prefer financial advice from someone who has helped other people in the same situation. It’s their niche. The right designation helps you stand out from the crowd.
Agents and advisors: Although FINRA doesn’t “Approve or endorse” any specific designations, their website lists five divorce designations. Certified Divorce Advisor and Certified Divorce Consultant are two examples.
5. The ceiling has become the floor. You’ve seen this before. A neighbor sells their house. The price sets a record. Another neighbor puts their house up for sale. The minimum they want is what the other guy got! The ceiling became the floor. The designation Certified Financial Planner is a good example. Many advisors at major firms have achieved this designation.
Agents and advisors: According to the CFP board, over 89,000 people hold the CFP designation.
6. I think I know… You might have an agent or advisor you like, but if you have a big problem needing a solution, you don’t want someone who will learn on the job. If your need is reducing estate tax liability, you want someone who has studied estate planning.
Agents and advisors: If the client is prepared to pay for advice, they want expert advice.
7. Continuing education. Your client works in a field that’s constantly changing. They are required to earn CE credits to keep their credentials current. They’ve had an experience with an experienced agent or advisor that only recommends products within their comfort zone, ignoring everything that came afterwards.
Agents and advisors: They know the importance of keeping current. They expect the same from you. Telling your client you earned an additional professional certification should get the conversation started.
8. Improve your prospects. People hope for promotion and greater opportunities. This often requires more knowledge than basic licensing. Earning additional certifications shows you are continuously improving and adapting.
Agents and advisors: Does anyone promote people who stopped learning?
Abraham Lincoln famously said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
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