How has your prospecting strategy changed since you started in financial
services?
At first, I spent a lot of nights stuffing envelopes. We ran radio ads and would mail out six market reports. After the third report, we’d have a telemarketer call the prospect to see if they wanted to continue to get the reports and if they wanted to meet with an advisor. Now, we mostly get referrals and do client events. We also donate our retirement package services to auctions for charity. Through this, the charity wins, the buyer wins, and we get a new client.
What’s the most enjoyable part of your job?
The fact that we're helping clients. I also enjoy helping the staff grow. I encourage them to educate themselves, and I help them find a path they can take to advance themselves.
How do you do that?
We use the Kolbe test to find each person’s unique ability, and I’ve tailored their jobs around those abilities. We don’t try to improve weaknesses. We expand on strengths.
What if something is part of a team member’s job, but it’s just not something they’re good at?
We outsource it. For example, none of us is really very good at accounting, so we outsource that. If it’s something that we or they don’t do well, we either outsource or push that off to another person. Each of us is very different and fills in each other’s gaps.
Jeannine Resteiner-Citoli is a 14-year MDRT member from Bellevue, Washington. Contact her at jeannie@stickneyresearch.com
At first, I spent a lot of nights stuffing envelopes. We ran radio ads and would mail out six market reports. After the third report, we’d have a telemarketer call the prospect to see if they wanted to continue to get the reports and if they wanted to meet with an advisor. Now, we mostly get referrals and do client events. We also donate our retirement package services to auctions for charity. Through this, the charity wins, the buyer wins, and we get a new client.
What’s the most enjoyable part of your job?
The fact that we're helping clients. I also enjoy helping the staff grow. I encourage them to educate themselves, and I help them find a path they can take to advance themselves.
How do you do that?
We use the Kolbe test to find each person’s unique ability, and I’ve tailored their jobs around those abilities. We don’t try to improve weaknesses. We expand on strengths.
What if something is part of a team member’s job, but it’s just not something they’re good at?
We outsource it. For example, none of us is really very good at accounting, so we outsource that. If it’s something that we or they don’t do well, we either outsource or push that off to another person. Each of us is very different and fills in each other’s gaps.
Jeannine Resteiner-Citoli is a 14-year MDRT member from Bellevue, Washington. Contact her at jeannie@stickneyresearch.com
