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Are You A Sales Person Or A Business Owner?
Keys to Running a Successful Financial Advisory Services Practice
By RASHEED HANEEF AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2013 Rasheed Haneef
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4918-1929-6
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
It was 1981 in the state of Ohio and I was in college hanging out with my buddies. I started college in 1980 and it was really the first time that I had been away from my hometown of Brooklyn, NY for any extended period of time. Come to think of it, the only time I ever left New York City was to go to work over in Jersey City, New Jersey. While in college, I gravitated towards all the East Coast type of people since that was what I was used to. So my small circle of friends included two cousins from Baltimore, Maryland and two other friends from the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. We used to hang out at the Eastside apartment of the two cousins, which at the time was the worst side of the city. At one point, I was actually on the President's List for my high grade point average but unfortunately our circle's extracurricular activity and lifestyle swiftly rescinded my invitation from that prestigious list.
Now to say that we were a little mischievous at times was really putting it mildly. We had a lot of fun and got some attention in the city, and it wasn't always for the right reasons. The two cousins carried guns to campus which I wasn't aware of at first. I really wished I had known that fact before I got into a fist fight with one of them at one point. I may have had second thoughts about inviting him outside but I guess it turned out ok, but I digress.
I found out about the guns at a campus party we went to at another local University. We were in the rest room and one of the cousins got into an altercation. There were two major college football players in the restroom at the time. One of the footballers, who was about 6'5" and in excess of 300 pounds, wanted to break up the fight. It was at that point I learned that one of the cousins was carrying a gun as he revealed it to the football player and said, "You are not breaking up anything." And the football player sort of agreed with that notion so the festivities continued on. [I found out a few years ago, these two football players eventually played in the NFL and both won a Super Bowl.]
One day after that altercation when we were back at the apartments, I wanted to talk about that situation since I hadn't realized that they were carrying guns. We had that conversation and it was clear I was expected to just deal with his intention to keep carrying the gun. Unfortunately for me, coming from Brooklyn, this was not really that unusual of an occurrence. I had seen a lot of violent situations by that early point in my life.
A few weeks later, one of the cousins snuck up behind me, grabbed me in a choke hold and put the gun up to my temple. I closed my eyes and said a quick prayer to myself. Before I could say or do a thing, I heard the click as he pulled the trigger. When I opened my eyes and saw that I was still in that same raggedy apartment, I blurted out a full line of expletives towards him and basically told him that he had better not ever do that to me again. He only laughed and put the gun to his own head, pulled the trigger again and said, "See, it wasn't even loaded".
The next time we were all together, he did the same crazy thing to another one of my friends. I thought to myself that this person was a little bit off. He probably was going through some issues, but deep down, I felt he was really a good guy and I liked him. We had a lot of fun together and I had a lot of respect for other aspects of him.
I have always had this mental compass that guides me and tells me at times to move to another location. This compass has never failed me and it has moved me out of harm's way on many occasions. Besides, I really had not come to college for this sort of turmoil. I wanted to get an education.
So the next time we were all together, I went next door where a group of girls from the apartment building were just hanging out. I was probably over there for about twenty minutes before we all heard a gunshot. The mother of one of the girls called 911, but I had to see what was going on. When I got back to the apartment and saw the looks on my three friends' faces, I knew what had happened. This cousin had put the gun to his head again but had not remembered to empty out the chamber. There was one round left in the gun. It was a terrible tragedy and a loss of life that I will never ever forget.
I truly hope that I have not offended anyone by relaying these experiences as I begin this book. This was one of three very unfortunate situations in my life that have left very emotional scars in my memory. At the same time, these situations were also a positive catalyst for change in my life. The terrible loss of my friend was the significant event that truly motivated me to take more positive steps in my life. College is supposed to signify the beginning of one's adult life and career but for my friend it turned out to be the end.
At that point, I sat down and put a plan together to take more positive steps in my life that would hopefully propel me into situations that would be more beneficial and rewarding to me. Those steps included the military and seeking a more spiritual base to ground me in my life. I wanted to surround myself with positive and success seeking individuals.
So while preparing to write this book, my mind drifted back to that low point to illustrate for me why I now have this great opportunity before me. It was that moment that provided the emphasis for me to plan a new life for myself which truly propelled me to this point.
I am very glad and thankful that you decided to pick up this book and I definitely appreciate you for that. I feel that all of my experiences in life have strengthened me and provided me the knowledge and experience necessary to assist you in becoming very successful with your pending business venture. Incidents like the ones I described earlier are what motivated me to get my life in order, but I have always felt like I had so much more to offer of myself than what I was giving at that time.
Shortly after that tragic situation, I signed up for the U.S. Navy which was the first step of my plan. It was the best decision I have ever made in my life. While in the Navy, I rose in rank very quickly and won many prestigious awards and accolades during my career. The Navy provided me with the discipline and self respect I needed to shape the rest of my life. All told, it has been a heck of a journey but I am here now and I am so happy to be in this position to share some of what I have learned about business and life in general.
I may not have taken the path best traveled but I am truly here now! I stand toe to toe with my peers in this business and I am very effective at the job that I do. I vividly remember standing in front of a room of about eighty financial advisors, just a few years back, preparing to introduce a Professor from Harvard University and thinking, "Nobody I knew from Brooklyn would ever believe I am here doing this today." I mentioned this thought in a joking way to the Professor, and he said an interesting thing to me. He told me that many years ago he used to walk with Civil Rights leaders. He said, "Rasheed, I may not know you but I would imagine that you have gone through many obstacles to get to where you are today. You should be proud!"
It's funny because when I talk to my mother about some of the things that I am doing or my accomplishments, she will look at me and laugh, thinking that is not possible knowing the young person that I used to be. God is truly great!
I am writing this book for all sales professionals but mostly to my peers presently in or about to enter the Financial Services industry. This business is a tremendous business and I am so fortunate to be a part of such an industry as the one we have. I have been a financial advisor, sales trainer, coach, and now a consultant, in this industry for many years and I would not want to do any other thing. [Okay, maybe I would love to be able to shoot hoops like a Kobe Bryant or LeBron James but that is about it.] It has taken me from very humbling beginnings to a life that I am truly comfortable in and very content with.
This industry has helped others do similar. At one time, I was in a relationship with a wonderful woman who was also in this industry and had become extremely successful in it. She is now able to provide her son with a better life than the one that she was afforded. She, herself, has since had a wonderful life, but her son will be able to start with advantages that she had not had access to. This business can truly be great and rewarding for people who work hard in it.
When I was a financial advisor back in the 90's, I was like a sponge. I soaked up everything that people shared with me and all that I observed. One of the first lessons I can remember is my mentors telling me that I needed to have a hook. I needed an elevator speech that could be my commercial to market myself. It needed to capture intrigue and cause them to want to hear more from me. I thought hard about this and, even though my early thoughts were also about all the money I could make in this business, the one standout thing I thought was that I really did want to help people. This is a crazy concept, huh? But that is what I truly wanted to do. I wanted to ensure people were able to live their lives without the stresses of wondering how to pay for some of life's necessities. I wanted parents to be able to decide where their children would go to school and not if they could attend school. I wanted to go to places like Wal-Mart and McDonalds and not wonder if those senior citizens were working there because they wanted to or because they truly had to. I wanted people to retire like my mother who, up until a few years ago, would take an occasional odd job because she was bored and wanted to get out of the house and not really because she needed the income (although she would say otherwise). Not retire like my father who passed away in 2002 and we had to pool together money to pay for his funeral. God rest his soul.
So that became my hook. When people would ask me what I did for a living, I would smile and say, "I help people; that is what I do!" Most people would look at my devilish grin and want to know more so I would expound for them. If I knew something about the person, like if they had children, I would tell them that, "I help people like you send your children to college." Or, "I help people like you and your husband purchase your dream homes." Or, "I help people like you retire in a way that few could possibly dream of." "I help people with their peace of mind so they can be free to enjoy the pleasures that life can afford." When you think about it what better gift can you give someone?
When I say that I help people, some might guess that I am something like a firefighter or a doctor instead of a financial advisor. That is probably because financial advisors rarely position us in that way. I do believe that saving a life is something that is very admirable and heroic. I am not comparing or trivializing the two in anyway; however, providing individuals with the peace of mind and resources to live their lives to the fullest is no trivial feat or matter. It is a gift. It may not be heroic in the same sense as fighting fires, but it is admirable. Financial advisors should be proud of what they do and all that they and their clients ever accomplish. So that focus on my purpose is how I began working on my brand.
Fast forwarding a few years into my career, I took over the management duties of the new hire sales program for a prominent financial services organization on Wall Street. This came about in sort of an unusual way. After a merger of organizations, I travelled down south to observe the first week of this program for new hires with thoughts of possibly working within it. There were already two people managing and running the program at the time.
I got off the plane and took a cab over to the site. When I got to the site, I found out that the person who was the lead manager of the program had been let go by the company. No real explanation was given to me, but I sensed it was a surprise and not something that people wanted to discuss. He wasn't really the person that was the face of the program so the program would be able to go on for now without a hitch.
The next day I came to the class all bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to observe the sessions. I met someone there who eventually turned in to a very good friend of mine. She introduced herself as the instructional designer for the program and we exchanged pleasantries.
She was very nice and extremely knowledgeable about the process but had never worked on the sales side of this business. Between my review of the materials and my discussion with her, I could see the program addressed what to do as an advisor but very little about how to do it. I could easily identify where I would be able to add a lot of value if I became involved with this program.
Class was scheduled to begin at 8:00 am and, breaking from conversation, we noticed it was already 7:45 and the instructor had not arrived. One of the executives walked in, introduced herself to me, and then told the person I was chatting with that the instructor was feeling ill and might be in later that morning. This same executive kicked off the class and took the participants through an impromptu lesson that, in my opinion, really had no significant value in the course, but she was brilliant none the less. She spent about ninety minutes before she released them on a long break.
During the break, the executive made a call and found out the instructor would not be able to make it in at all that day. They debated about what to do and it was suggested to let the participants go back to the hotel for the day. Looking at the agenda, I knew that I could handle the day's lesson even though I had no familiarity with the details of the curriculum. I offered that I felt I could handle delivering the program for the day. After some conversation, they agreed this would be a better strategy then cancelling for the day.
So when the class came back from break, I started working my way through the curriculum. I looked at the agenda and would read the topic while my new friend in the back prompted me with the objectives for each lesson. I simply taught the lesson improvised from my experience, guided by the agenda and objectives.
After about twenty minutes of observing my instruction, I noticed the executive left the room. At the next break, I asked the instructional designer if she thought I had gotten myself in trouble with the executive. She said, "No, she was just comfortable with what you were doing." I thought, "Okay cool, I get to keep my job."
We completed the day and I went back to the hotel feeling very satisfied as I reflected on what I had accomplished that day. As I had left, to my surprise, many of the participants thanked me for the day with smiles and a lot of passion. This kind of positive feedback certainly made me happy but I also wondered why they were so pleased.
I came in the next day intending to sit in the back and observe day two but, before I knew it, I was up front at the podium doing my thing again because the instructor was still very ill. So, I looked at the agenda and again received some guidance from the instructional designer and completed day two. After day two, I took the guide to the hotel with me just in case. Maybe, it was my internal compass working for me again. The next day I found out that the instructor had to fly back home and I had the opportunity to complete the whole two week course.
I completed the course successfully and at the conclusion of the course we had a small dinner for graduation where the class presented me with a one hundred dollar gift certificate to Target to buy my kids some Christmas presents. The participants and I got to know each other very well and that turned out to be one of the greatest professional experiences of my life. They even tricked me into going to a basketball game with them at one point. I usually would not go to such an event with students because I believe professionally and ethically there should be a separation in the relationship. This time was different since I felt this group had received a bit of a raw deal. They knew I basically had to ad lib the whole course. So I agreed to go to the game with them.
I told them I had no transportation and they said, "No worries Rasheed, we got you sir." I was a little worried about that statement. When I got on the bus they had rented, I realized that it wasn't any ordinary bus. It had flashing lights and a booming sound system inside with a huge pole in the middle of the bus. Now I may be from Brooklyn but I have never seen such a thing as this before. My brief initial thought was, "Why do you have to walk all the way to the middle of the bus to hold the pole if you need to stand up?" After a few seconds of contemplation, I sheepishly realized the single pole's purpose. I remember people on the bus commenting about how they never have seen an African American man turn quite that shade of red. And if you know me well, you know that naivety about the situation is absolutely true!
Even with that, overall I was very touched by the gesture of them asking me to go to the game and for the gift card they had given me at the completion of the course. At the graduation dinner, one of the students had stood up and said, "Rasheed, we want to thank you. You truly made this time a highlight in our careers". All of this meant a lot to me even though this was the very beginning of their careers. That same speaker later continued on in private by telling me that honestly, none of them had really wanted to come for this class but, after meeting me, they were so glad that they came. They felt like they were now prepared to be successful advisors in this industry.
If you were a student in that class, and remember this story, I am also very glad that I came. Oh and about the bus ride, it was one of the most embarrassing nights of my life. It was all in fun, but I was embarrassed just the same. You know the story though, what happened on that bus stays on that bus! (But nothing really happened on that bus.)
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Are You A Sales Person Or A Business Owner? by RASHEED HANEEF. Copyright © 2013 Rasheed Haneef. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
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