Make a Move from Sales Professional to Financial Advisor

Successful sales professionals can leverage their diverse array of skills into a successful career as a Financial Advisor. Both career paths use similar relationship management techniques to meet the needs of clients and discover new opportunities to help them reach their goals through a portfolio of products and services. Consider how the following skills relate when deciding if a career in financial services is the right fit for you:

Top sales professionals are subject-matter experts.

In order to sell a product or service to a client, salespeople must speak intelligently and coherently about what that product is, how it works and the benefits to the consumer. Financial Advisors also develop a masterful understanding of their subject matter: their clients. They take the time to discover details about client lifestyles, wants and needs. This helps them recommend financial solutions that fit the clients’ needs.

The best sales people don’t sell – they listen.

Knowing about products and services helps, but it’s better to know your audience. Sales professionals discover new ways to satisfy consumers by simply taking the time to listen and evaluate what the customer is telling them. Financial Advisors are able to empathize with the client and apply solutions in each case based on an understanding of what the client is looking for.

Effective sales professionals make a habit of conducting themselves with a high level of integrity and honesty.

Ethics are at the core of their business practices and play a foundational role in building relationships with clients. Financial Advisors understand the role they play in some of their clients’ most important decisions.

“It’s a great source of pride as well as both personal and professional satisfaction,” says Edward Jones Financial Advisor Michele Olshanski. “It’s most rewarding when my clients actually get to retire or to send a child or grandchild to college because of what we have worked to accomplish together.”

The reality of transitioning from a career in sales to a new opportunity in financial services may be easier than you think. Both careers require adaptability, honesty and a high level of expertise in order to successfully meet and exceed the expectations of the client.