Career Advice In Singapore

i used to work as a financial advisor a few years back. they always say that "the sky's the limit". but they forgot to say that one will have to overcome their own personal barriers to even see the light of that limitless sky. mine was an independent financial company. we have a wide range of different products of various insurers to choose from and sell.

A good FA is supposed to advise their client which product from which insurer suits them most, but i usually find myself in a mix. i was unable to convince myself that this one product from insurer A is better than another same product offered by insurer B. each insurer has their own pros and cons and i will prefer my clients to choose which they prefer to have..and because of that, they will take home both suggestions, and never appear in front of me again. life was not easy. we start work late in the morning, go to my office to do admin work and callings, meet clients in the late noon to late at night. i usually sleep around 3am in those days. when targets are not hit, we will be required to do remedial callings on sundays..just to make sure you've enough appointments. people are usually resistant and unfriendly once the words "insurance" or "financial planning" reaches their ears.

Of course there will be nice clients who supports you and refer their friends to you. but that's usually a small percentage. where the higher percentage is, phones are slammed, mean words are mumbled/ shouted..the list goes on. ive even have friends who started avoiding me like plague. i guess they are no longer my friends. we had to do roadshows too, asking passerbys to "fill up a survey form", and that's where leads are collected for sales. I used to dislike being pestered, and now im the source of the pester. They say: "You are your own boss". For that, you will need to pay for the use of meeting rooms for appointments. you will need to pay for transportation costs, client's drinks/ food if you meet out of the office. you will need to pay for photocopying service. you will need to pay for attending training camps you did not volunteer to attend. there is no free lunch where i used to be. $$ keeps going out and minimal is coming in. I left shortly aft my manager jumped ship.




I was left with no mentor.a strong mindset, thick skins, money in your bank are very important for achieving success in this industry. he has to know his ultimate aim in joining this industry, and remain unwavered no matter what happens. to psycho yourself that a sales job (not just insurance) is what you want, rent the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness".