Seven Keys for Financial Advisors

Seven Keys to Success for Financial Advisors in

Credit Union Investment and Insurance Sales

Programs

Mark E. Hoaglin

March 7, 2009

Credit Unions have an extraordinary opportunity to take advantage of consumer dissatisfaction with the current banking system and generate additional revenue. One of the best ways to take advantage of this new opportunity is to mine the “acres of diamonds” they have in their own backyards – their investment and insurance sales program. Hiring the right financial advisors to serve the credit union members is a critical step in building a successful program. Make the wrong hire and it will set a program back months. Once the right team is on board there are some “non-negotiables” when it comes to succeeding in a credit union environment This whitepaper examines seven of the key factors that will determine whether or not a financial advisor will thrive when it comes to partnering with the credit union team and providing world class service to the members.

Seven Keys to Success for Financial Advisors in Credit Union Investment and Insurance Sales Programs Page 2

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Key # 1 - Have a pleasant personality – be easy to get along with 4

Key # 2 - Get the Branch Manager to be Your Advocate 7

Key #3 - Get the Branch Team to be Your Biggest Fans 9

Key #4 - Be a Top Salesperson 11

Key #5 - Recognize and be Recognizable 13

Key #6 - Become a Financial Planner vs. Product Peddler 15

Key #7- Become a “Marketeer” 18

Conclusion 21

About the Author 22


Introduction

You know how to sell investment and insurance products and services so working in a credit union

should be a snap, right? It’s no different than working in the wirehouse, right? If you answered “yes”

then you are wrong on both counts. The hallway of my office building is littered with the ghosts of

financial advisors that I hired early in my management career and who have since departed after a brief

stay in some of the branch offices for which I was responsible. Yes, I too was lured into the logic that if a

financial advisor had a track record of success somewhere else then they would automatically be

successful in my credit union branches.

The short answer is an emphatic, “No way”. Success at another financial institution does not

automatically transfer to success in the credit union environment. In this whitepaper we will explore

some of the key reasons why that equation doesn’t add up. To be successful in a credit union, financial

advisors must “get over themselves” and become total team players. I will cover this in more detail later

but if you are reading this and you can’t get beyond that concept then stop reading this now and go find

a position as an independent advisor or at a wirehouse. Credit unions are all about member service. In

order to provide that best in class service it takes a team effort and many times it is the financial advisor

who is called upon to help lead the team.

You will hear this again but a little gem that I always tell my new hires is this, “Check your cool card at

the door” when you work in a credit union. By the time you finish reading this whitepaper you will know

exactly what I mean by that statement. If you are a financial advisor reading this, I wish you well. A

credit union can be a rewarding environment in which to build a practice both financially and personally.

Take these seven keys to heart and you can’t help but succeed. If you are a credit union manager and if

you remember these seven keys when you are hiring a prospective financial advisor to serve your

members then you won’t go wrong by adding these keys to your checklist of “must haves”.


Key #1 – Have a pleasant personality – be easy to get

along with.

OK, sounds like a no-brainer, right? Yet I have seen this one overlooked time and again only to find that

guy who seemed so chipper during the interview turned out to be Attila the Hun in the branch. Like you,

I learned my lesson through a number of hiring mistakes. While this is not a treatise on hiring practices

there are a number of things you can do to minimize those mistakes. I cover those in my whitepaper,

“Seven Reasons Investment and Insurance Programs Don’t Succeed in a Credit Union and How You Can

Avoid Them”. For purposes of this paper heed the advice to make sure your advisors have a pleasant

personality at least when they are at work.

When I was managing the program for a large regional bank I had an advisor in one of my branches who

had been with the bank for about 10 years and was an above average producer. He had the personality

of a snow man but he was one of those people whom clients either liked working with or avoided at all

costs. He was not particularly friendly and rarely smiled. He knew the business and was actually a solid

financial advisor. He was marginally polite to the branch staff. In addition, he was covering three very

different branch offices in our territory. I finally figured out that he achieved much better results in one

branch compared to the other two.

After getting to know this advisor I discovered the reason why. The branch where he had better results

had a similar demographic makeup to his own background and he felt much more comfortable there. He

felt intimidated in the other branches which had a higher net worth type of demographic. I never

thought I would have to be part psychologist in my role as sales manager but I decided to move this

advisor permanently to the branch where he achieved better sales results and he thrived there for many

years turning into one of my best producers.


I tell that story for two reasons. One is to emphasize how important it is to make sure there is a good

personality fit between the financial advisor and the branch (es) that he/she will be serving. The second

reason is to show how much of an impact from a sales perspective the right fit can either help or hurt

sales production.

One of the biggest adjustments financial advisors have to make when they come from a wirehouse or

independent office is the realization that they don’t get to choose their clients and prospects like they

used to. They are serving the membership of the credit union, which is a good thing. However, along

with that benefit comes the challenge of dealing with and serving different types of people, many they

may not have sought out under different circumstances. Again, a successful financial advisor in a credit

union has the ability to be a chameleon; to serve the curmudgeonly senior with $50,000 in a CD with a

smile on her face just as she would with the friendly young entrepreneur with $500,000 in a money

market account.

Let it Shine! – Be Yourself but Check Your Cool Card at the Door

The hip young financial advisor cruises into the credit union parking lot driving his new BMW and parks

in the prime parking space in front of the branch. He hops out of the car dressed in his Armani suit

whistling and looking good in his Oakley sun glasses. He walks up to the branch door and taps on the

glass with his car keys. The teller who was counting her cash drawer glances toward the door and when

she realizes who it is rolls her eyes and walks over to the door to let the financial advisor in. Still

whistling he nods to show his gratitude and proceeds straight to his desk in the corner of the branch

without a word to anyone, picks up the Wall Street Journal and becomes lost in a different world. Once

the branch opens for business he makes a few phone calls and silently wonders why he is still working

the same book of clients from his days at Merrill Lynch. “I thought I would get a bunch of referrals once I

came to the credit union,” he wonders to himself.

Does this scenario sound farfetched? Well, it shouldn’t. A financial advisor should be him/herself but

check the “cool card” at the door. A $10.00 an hour teller doesn’t want to be reminded of the

compensation difference between her and the financial advisor who drives up in an expensive new car

and barely acknowledges her and then expects her too refer members to him. It’s human nature. Does it

mean that the financial advisor should park his new car around the corner? Well, I have known some


who were sensitive to the scenario I just described and did just that. But here’s where they were

different.

Get to Know the Branch Team

The successful financial advisor gets to know his team members. She is having lunch with them

collectively and one-on-one from time to time. He is meeting with them individually to discuss their

401(k) as a way to introduce them to his world so they know what he can do for the members they refer

to him. Every day she makes a point of walking around the branch checking in to see if there is anything

she can do to help them reach their branch goals because she has taken the time to understand how

they are compensated so she is always looking out for referral opportunities back to the team be it a

mortgage loan or car loan or a checking account. She also will ask them how their day is going or how

their weekend was. Once in a while she will spring for pizza at the end of an especially trying day. This

daily walk has resulted in more business than she can remember.

When a financial advisor adopts the persona described above, the branch team won’t think twice about

the car you drive because you are one of the team. You can be cool by being part of a successful team.


The best in class financial advisor in a credit union understands that the Branch Manager is the yin and

the yang when it comes to the success of the branch. If the Branch Manager is having a good day then it

will be a good day in the branch. Unfortunately the converse to that statement is also true. That’s where

a good financial advisor will be worth their weight in gold to the branch team. The successful advisor is

“joined at the hip” with the branch manager. They are each other’s advocate. The best practices for this

team include a weekly one-to-one meeting that they stick to religiously.

The Weekly One-to-One

This is a time devoted to enhancing the relationship between the Branch Manager, the branch team and

the financial advisor. Among the agenda items should be reviewing the status of referrals generated

during the previous week. The branch team should have an established goal so during the one-to-one

progress toward the goal should be discussed as well as the quality of referrals and any cross-sell

opportunities. In addition, the overall branch goals should be reviewed and the financial advisor should

review ideas regarding how he/she can help the branch achieve the goals. Again, the financial advisor

should have a good understanding of the branch compensation plan so he can understand how he can

contribute to the team and individual goals. In addition the financial advisor should have a production

goal so this is an opportunity to check in with each other on what can be done to help the advisor and

celebrate successes achieved.

There should be an agreed upon agenda for the meeting with each party bringing issues and ideas up

before the meeting

Write Clean Business

This is another best practice that is often greeted with, “Duh.” Remember this is a sales position and

different type of pressure can come to bear on how a financial advisor conducts their practice. Financial

Key #2 Get The Branch Manager to be Your Advocate

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pressures can cause an otherwise good advisor to make a trade they wouldn’t make in a different

situation. Needless to say the true professional won’t succumb to outside pressures. The best in class

advisor writes suitable business for all the members all of the time. A surefire way to find yourself on the

outs with the branch team is to be the recipient of a number of member complaints or, worse yet, one

that results in arbitration against the advisor and the credit union.

The Branch Manager can assist the financial advisor in understanding the needs of the members served

by the branch team. This is yet another reason why the financial advisor needs the Branch Manager’s

advocacy to succeed in meeting the needs of the members.


Key #3 Get the Branch Team

to be Your Biggest Fans

Communicate Daily

I introduced the concept of what I call the “Financial Advisor Daily Walk” where the advisor touches

base with every member of the team at least once daily. This can be accomplished informally or

formally. Think about it, if the financial advisor is doing her job then she should have referrals in various

stages with each member of the team so at the very least she should be checking in to give a status

report to the branch team member as to where the referral stands in the process.

In addition, the Daily Walk is an opportunity for brief coaching; for example if a teller gave the advisor a

referral that was incomplete or not appropriate then when the team member is on a break or at lunch

the advisor can provide some tips on how to improve the quality of the referral.

Constant Focus on Improvement

If the credit union has embraced a Platform Program where licensed branch employees sell investment

and/or insurance products then the opportunity exists to leverage a mentor relationship between the

advisor and the licensed branch employee. Hopefully the compensation plan is structured to encourage

such a mentor relationship where there is built-in incentive for the advisor to help the licensed branch

employee grow and excel in his/her role. Cal Fed Bank, a regional bank in California that was acquired by

Citibank in 2002 had one of the most successful licensed branch employee programs ever. They

commissioned a study in 2001 to look at the best practices of high performing investment branch teams.

One of the key findings was:

High Performing investment teams:

Clearly communicate their goals with each other on a regular basis.



Develop plans on how goals are going to be obtained including the specific “how tos” and what

they expect of each other.

Have common values:

o Focus on delivering member satisfaction.

o Emphasize and demonstrate teamwork with each member of the team (including the

tellers).

o Drive to be number one.

High performing investment teams understand investment and credit union goals and what it takes to

hit the goals. Communication between the Branch Manager, financial advisor and licensed branch

employee (if you have a Platform Program) focus on what are the specific and measurable goals that

need accomplishment. The goals are broken down into daily increments and discussed daily or multiple

times per week. The conversations include details of what each person on the team is expected to do

(i.e. telemarketing, appointments, etc.). The branches plan ahead and constantly manage daily activities

to exceed their goals.

Goal achievement is done within the context of providing the members a best in class service experience

and the branch teams achieve job satisfaction and a sense of teamwork. It is supported by the drive to

be the best branch team they can be.


Key #4 Be a Top Salesperson

Know Your Game

Professional baseball players know their batting average. Quarterbacks in football know their

completion percentage; professional sales people should know their closing average. For every referral

you receive how many result in appointments? How many appointments does it take to get a sale?

What is the average commission generated by a sale to a member? Once you know this information

then you can constantly “sharpen the saw”.

Sharpen the Saw

By knowing your game as a financial advisor you know what part of your game you need to refine just

like an athlete. Let’s say your monthly commission goal is $40,000. You know that if you have four

appointments a day you will close an average of two sales. In order to get those four appointments you

need to make two of them and the branch team will make two. You need four referrals a day to get

those two branch appointments and you need to make 10 phone calls a day to generate your two

appointments. Your average commission per trade is $600.00. So here is how your game plan looks:

Daily:

Phone Calls Referrals Appointments Sales Commission

10 4 – from branch 2 – from phone 2 $1200

2 – from branch

Monthly:

Phone Calls Referrals Appointments Sales Commission

200 80 80 40 $24,000


So in the scenario above the financial advisor has fallen short of his $40,000 goal by $16,000 or 20 trades

based on his average assuming a 20 day work month. So how can he sharpen his saw?

1. Improve his phone skills and improve his 20% closing ratio on the phone.

2. Coach the branch team on referral skills to improve the 50% referral to appointment ratio.

3. Review his sales process to see why 50% of the members he meets with leave without doing

business (sales management issue).

4. Review referrals with the Branch Manager to gain a better understanding of the members.

5. Review the types of products he is offering as a solution to see if the average ticket of $600 can

be increased and still provide an exceptional service experience. Are there needs he is

overlooking in his review of member needs?

Knowing your game as a financial advisor will lead to a constant focus on improvement. The professional

is self-critical and will use this feedback to improve his/her service to the members and to the branch

team.

Walk Your Talk

In any credit union branch the financial advisor should be the most proficient sales person. As a result

he/she should set an example for professionalism and sales excellence. The products presented and sold

to the members should be suitable, the same ones that a financial advisor would sell to his parents and

grandparents. The days of selling the product d'jour that has a fat commission are gone thankfully. The

manner in which a financial advisor interacts with the members is always being watched and good, bad

or otherwise the feedback will find its way back to the branch team. The old saying, “Your actions speak

so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying” rings true in the credit union branches. A surefire way to lose

credibility is to say one thing and do the opposite. Walk your talk, admit your mistakes and set a good

example.


Key #5 Recognize and be

Recognizable

Recognition

Recognition is an important ingredient for a successful financial advisor/branch team relationship. Both

private and public recognition are important. The Branch Manager and Financial Consultant should

conduct recognition on a daily, weekly and informal basis. Some of this can be as simple as an informal

pat on the back in front of the branch team in the morning when a referral turns into a sale or formally

when you recognize the top referrer of the month at a branch pizza party. It isn’t the dollar amount of

the recognition as much as the recognition itself. Don’t get me wrong, it is important to incorporate

financial incentives into the compensation plan to reward support of the investment program. As we

know, employees respect what is inspected. However, the informal $5.00 Starbucks gift card reward is

often appreciated as much as a $20.00 referral fee when the spirit in which it is given is sincere.

When it comes to investment products and service there are regulatory constraints that must be

adhered to. The financial advisor should educate the branch team as to what those constraints are

relative to what can and can’t be rewarded and the dollar amount that can be spent on rewards.

Compliance requirements in this area have changed over the years so make sure that you check with

your compliance department to make sure your recognition programs are in line with latest regulations.

Be Visible

We touched on ways that a financial advisor can be more visible by walking around each day and

communicating with the team. It is also important for the financial advisor who is covering multiple

branches to have visibility when he/she is at a different branch. One way is to make sure that your

calendar is visible to all of your branch teams. If the credit union has a networked calendar system such

as Microsoft Outlook this can be accomplished with relative ease. When the branch teams can see your

calendar they can book appointments for you even when you are not in the branch. The best in class



financial advisors check in by telephone with the branches they cover when they cannot be there in

person. Again, this keeps the investment program top of mind in the absence of the advisor and

positions the advisor as a true mentor and team member.

Make You Job Important and it Will Return the Favor

Best practices show that when the financial advisor treats her job as the most important job in the

branch it rubs off on the rest of the team. The financial advisor should be included in every branch team

meeting. This time isn’t for a product pitch but a way to communicate all of the great things the credit

union members are receiving by working with the financial advisor. Creating value for his role at every

opportunity conveys a sense of “how did we get along without this guy before” to the rest of the team.

And they really believe it! Seriously, the value is there for the members so the advisor should remind the

team at every opportunity. Taking time to explain what you do as a financial advisor and using real life

examples from successful interactions with credit union members is a great way to become more visible

to the team and to the membership served by the branches.


Key #6 Become a Financial

Planner Vs. Product Peddler

Financial advisors working in a credit union branch are slowly losing their reputation for being

transaction oriented and it’s long overdue. Taking a holistic approach to solving member financial

problems is the best way to approach the role of trusted financial advisor. It requires a more complete

salesperson, one who has a deeper understanding of products and services. I encourage financial

advisors that I work with to start taking action toward earning their Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

designation. The education process associated with obtaining this designation is second to none. The

program takes the candidate though all phases of a potential client’s financial life and the types of

products and services that one needs to know about to become a trusted financial advisor and to serve

all of the member’s financial needs.

One area that is often overlooked in the member relationship is life insurance. Many financial advisors

avoid getting involved in this important financial planning tool either because they do not understand

the products and/or the deal horizon to get paid is longer than they like. Both excuses are without merit.

Aside from the CFP curriculum there are a number of ways that a financial advisor can become

competent with life insurance based products including on-line classes, wholesaler training and college

courses to name a few. Like anything else it takes motivation and desire. As far as the time horizon

excuse, so what? Many financial advisors I work with have life insurance deals going all of the time.

While they are working on other parts of the financial plan the life insurance piece is in underwriting and

when it closes it closes. If the advisor is depending on a quick sale for financial reasons then life

insurance is not going to be his first choice. Is that a good reason to avoid it? Of course not. Insurance

tickets are typically larger tickets than the average trade so the wait is worth it. Besides, it’s the right

thing to do if you are going to become a professional. Once the financial advisor is excited about the

prospect of taking a holistic approach to serving members then the rest of the team will understand that

is how she conducts her business in serving the members.



What type of trusted financial advisor should you be? There is a lot of discussion in our industry

around this topic. Russ Allan Prince an expert on the private wealth industry, president of the market

research and consulting firm, Prince & Associates, has conducted a considerable amount of research

on this topic. Among other things he found that most people want their broker to be a “wealth

advisor”.

One of his studies found that investors will give more of their assets and will refer four times more

people to the advisor who takes a more holistic approach to his/her practice versus the “product

peddler” who takes a more narrow view of a client’s financial picture. The advisor who asks about the

client’s hopes and dreams for the future and develops a strong working relationship with that client will

reap the rewards on a number of fronts. The Prince survey showed that once you make this holistic

connection with your member/clients and prospective member/clients you will discover member assets

that you did not know existed. As a result, your member becomes more successful in their financial life,

you reap the financial and psychic rewards and the credit union retains a happy member who brings in

additional assets, takes advantage of other credit union products and services and refers friends and

acquaintances to you and the credit union. Sound farfetched? Read the quote above again.

Let’s look more closely at the Prince survey. 4,106 brokers participated in the survey. The brokers fell

into three distinct styles of managing their practice:

Wealth Manager – comprehensive holistic approach to managing their clients’ financial lives including

the assets as well as the liabilities of their clients; a planning orientation to solving financial problems.

Product Specialist – in this model the broker focuses on a product niche i.e. managed accounts, fixed

income, etc.

Investment Generalist – brokers provide a wide range of products to solve client financial problems.

They do not use a comprehensive financial planning approach.

65.5% of the brokers surveyed fell into the investment generalist category. The next largest segment is

the product specialist, 22%. The smallest group was the wealth manager (12.3%).


The survey found that the brokers who took a more holistic approach to their business enjoyed the

greatest increase in year over year revenue for their financial planning practice. Why? The “wealth

manager” takes a comprehensive planning approach to their financial proactive and creates integrated,

customized solutions for their clients. They leverage client relationships, cross-selling and providing

products and services not tied to the markets. The more products and services you can offer, the less

affected you will be when there is a market downturn because you will have an array of products to

offer such as insurance or estate planning. In addition, the deeper your relationship with your clients,

the more opportunities will develop to help those clients.

By comparison, the investment generalist and the product specialist typically do not fare as well as the

wealth manager year in and year out. Typically a product they specialize in will fall out of favor due to

market or regulatory conditions and their production revenue falls accordingly. In addition, they have

not deepened their client relationships so consequently they do not uncover the opportunities to help

their clients in other ways as does the wealth manager.

How do we become a wealth manager? Certainly having the resources necessary to help your clients is

critical whether it is financial planning software, estate planning resources, or a CFP designation (or

other education opportunities); it takes a commitment to expand your comfort zone and your practice.

It also takes a commitment to get to know your clients. Are you asking the right questions? When was

the last time you asked your clients or prospective clients the following questions?

1. If you could relive one vacation, which one would it be? Why?

2. Who influenced you most about your views on money?

3. What are three checks you would like to write in retirement?

4. On a scale of 0 to 10 how much confidence do you have in your investment plan?

5. What’s going on in your life right now that could impact your financial future?

Our members typically will not volunteer the answers to these questions unless we become a trusted financial advisor and deepen our relationships by asking the right questions and getting the answers that will allow us to solve our members’ financial problems. Only then will we become true “wealth managers” to our member clients.


Key #7 Become a

“Marketeer”

"A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard

things well."

---Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.com

When I coach financial advisors I always ask the question, what business are you in? As you can imagine

the answers I get are varied but usually revolve around the notion of helping people with their money,

etc. As my friend, Rob Shore, President of Shorespeak points out in his presentation on Memorability

Quotient; there is a sea of sameness in the financial services industry. With the growing popularity of

financial advisors getting the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation how does a consumer decide

where to go to get solutions to their financial problems? As I have pointed out many times before, we

don't have to compete, we have to create and differentiate. We have to develop a personal brand.

Starbucks is a good example. They have differentiated themselves by creating an "experience" when you

go there. In their corporate culture they don't just sell coffee. That's their brand. That's why they can

take a product that costs about two cents to produce and sell it for $3.00 +. The premium is the branded

experience that is unique to Starbucks and lots of people are willing to pay for it. Charles Revson, the

founder of Revlon, understood this distinction. He said "In the factory we manufacture cosmetics; in

the store we sell hope."

The same can happen with your business. For example, if you are a financial advisor what do you sell?

What is your brand? People can buy the commodities i.e. stocks, bonds, mutual funds and annuities

over the telephone or on-line. What they are buying, of course, is you. They come to you because of

your specialized knowledge, reputation for service, etc. We have already established that Starbucks



owns the Psychic Real Estate when it comes to coffee. Who owns the Psychic Real Estate in your market

for financial advice? How can you distinguish your brand in the sea of sameness of financial services?

Let's look at a strategy you can use to develop your personal brand. It's the CPR Branding Strategy.

“Credentialize” Yourself

Position Your Value

Letters of Recommendation

One of the easiest ways to credentialize yourself is to develop a biography. Many of you are already

familiar with why people use a resume. The difference between a resume and a biography is that a

resume is usually designed to explain your past work history. A biography is designed to give a brief

synopsis of who you are, what your qualifications are and what makes you unique. One of the most

interesting aspects of using a biography is how quickly it helps you to discover common ground between

you and your prospects.

Here are some examples where it is appropriate to use your biography. At new client meetings, your bio

can save time by answering many of the common questions prospects and existing clients may have

about you. At seminars it can help position you as an expert before you begin speaking. In addition, it

can be used in your promotional kit and mailings.

Third party testimonials are used to sell many products and services including books, movies, and

restaurants. It is one of the best ways to overcome the natural skepticism of most consumers about the

claims of a particular product or service. There are many leading financial advisors who use testimonial

letters as part of their marketing package. These letters never discuss financial returns for compliance

reasons but rather focus on items such as "thank you for helping me with a difficult transition"…"I found

the seminar you presented to be extremely valuable…"

The best way to get letters of recommendation is to ask for them. What I have found makes it easy is to

offer your satisfied client a sample letter regarding what you are looking for or an example that was

written by another client. Of course, you need to get compliance approval for any letters you plan to

use. Letters of recommendation are a powerful way to sell without "selling".


There are a number of ways to position your value in your market. You can write a column for the local

newspaper. You can develop a Podcast and archive the shows on your website. Use tele-seminars, the

lists go on and on. If you struggle to come up with a strategy, get help from a trusted advisor, mentor

and/or coach. The Psychic Real Estate for what you offer is available for ownership. Don't worry about

what the competition is doing. You are unique. Create and differentiate and take ownership of your

personal brand.


Conclusion

The offering of investment and insurance products and services to credit unions members through a

financial services CUSO is not a new concept. The perfection of that offering has evolved over the past

20 years. I believe the reasons we have not experienced a significant increase in the percentage of

members who take advantage of this service are contained in this whitepaper. In short, the service has

not been given its due.

Now that we are in the midst of an unprecedented economic downturn every credit union in the

country is looking for ways to improve their P&L. The addition or development of an existing program

can be a significant means to that end. Now more than ever members are seeking advice about how to

achieve their financial goals and solve their financial problems. In my opinion no institution is in a better

position to capitalize on that need.

The by-product of providing investment and insurance advice to credit union members is the capture of

additional wallet share. Member affinity is something banks can only dream about. Credit unions have a

wonderful opportunity to capture a meaningful percentage of their members’ assets through the

offering of financial advice and products. It can be used to capture business assets and lines of credit for

those credit unions getting into the small business service market which can lead to the profitable

offering of business retirement plans. The opportunities are staggering.

This whitepaper was developed as a tool to stimulate thinking. All of the answers are not here. I could

write a book and provide you with all of the details and “how-tos". My goal is to motivate you to either

establish a new program for your members or to take a hard look at your existing program and ask the

question, “How can we develop meaningful revenue from our investment and insurance program?” and

“Where are the gaps in our program that are keeping us from developing the kind of member

penetration and associate revenue we should have?” One of those gaps is often having the right team of

financial advisors. This whitepaper explored some of the key issues to keep in mind when you are

building a team within your credit union investment and insurance sales program. Take these seven key

to heart and you will avoid the hiring mistakes that can set a program back months or years. Rebuilding

member trust lost as a result of a hiring mistake can be avoided and instead additional member wallet

share can be gained though the implementation of a well thought out and managed program.

The old story of the farmer who overlooked the acres of diamonds on his own property is timeless

because there is always a modern day version that is applicable to every industry. My hope is that the

credit union movement will not be one of those industries. I hope you will strive to develop your “acres

of diamonds” through the development of this important service for the benefit of your members.


About the Author

Mark Hoaglin has been recognized for his outstanding sales management skills in a number of broker

dealer programs including a Fortune 10 company. He was also the President and CEO of XCU Capital

Corporation a credit union-owned broker dealer and its subsidiary Focus Insurance. He has started

investment programs from scratch and has re-engineered and turned around underperforming

programs. He has extensive experience working with government regulators and is knowledgeable

about the compliance side of the business as well. Hoaglin served on the Supervisory Committee of USE

Credit Union in San Diego, CA. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by telephone

at (858) 530-4473.

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Seven Keys for Financial Advisors