In order to build your wealth as a CFP® you will need a certain level of sales professionalism. This is not something you can learn in a structured class but rather by interacting and learning from past challenges. Most people try to hide the fact they earn their living selling solutions. This is because the public perception of sales professionals is so poor. However, lawyers too share a poor public perception but they rarely hide from the title.

I once had a conversation with a great friend of mine who happens to be an attorney. (For people that know me, they probably are not sure what is more shocking: that I have close friends or that one happens to be an attorney!) In short, my friend believed that anyone can be a sales person.

I was pretty shocked by his assertion, and the bold confidence with which he made it. In fact, I was so shocked that this turned in to a fairly heated argument.

I asserted that a true sales professional is more versed in the art of rhetoric than most attorneys. Even the most skilled trial attorney is not in court everyday arguing, while a sales professional is always arguing. The art of argument is essential to success in persuasion.

My friend’s misconception of the profession was based on the assertion that most people have a certain level of salesmanship that they exercise throughout their lives. For example, interviewing for a job is “selling yourself” to a potential employer.

Likewise, speaking with a member of the opposite sex in hopes of obtaining a relationship or even trying to “convince” your wife not to drag you to Bed Bath and Beyond for the third straight week in a row to find that “perfect” window treatment are both examples of selling in one form or another.

The fact is, my friend assumed that just because the common man can talk his wife into eating at a sports bar instead of a four-star restaurant he can also sell a complicated software solution or even financial services. This is simply not the case.

Thanks,

No Comments

I have heard lots of reasons why students don’t pass the CFP exam, here are just a few: 

• The guy next to me wouldn’t stop coughing during the exam.

• The exam was just impossible.

• I think I took the wrong exam.

• I couldn’t find the testing facility.

• The batteries in my calculator died

• The room was too hot, the room was too cold, the room was too noisy, the room was too quiet... and plenty more.

However, the #1 reason I consistently hear from students that were not successful is... “I ran out of study time!”  I was busy at work, I waited until the last minute to begin studying, I had a two week vacation, etc.  They all come back to, I didn’t do everything that you suggested as part of The Dalton Review for the CFP exam, because I just ran out of study time.  So, use this information to your advantage as you begin preparing for the CFP exam.  Plan your time accordingly to finish working 125 hours of pre-study materials before attending The Dalton Review, plan on working the test bank questions for 40-50 hours after The Dalton CFP Review.  If you do everything we suggest as part of The Dalton Review®, you will pass the exam.  We guarantee it!  

Joe Gillice

No Comments

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF CONTINUING STUDIES

TO OFFER TWO NEW FINANCIAL PLANNING PROGRAMS

e-CERTIFICATE IN FINANCIAL PLANNING AND

David Mercurio, Director of Professional Development Programs for Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies announced today two new programs.  The e-Certificate in Financial Planning and the Online Executive Certificate in Financial Planning Programs will be offered by the school beginning immediately.

The e-Certificate in Financial Planning Program is a live online program that represents an innovative approach to education during which students and instructors attend a virtual classroom and communicate using a headset and voice-over IP technology.  This program is a live, instructor-led financial planning education program. Students can take classes from the comfort of their homes or offices, without worrying about traffic, parking or leaving work early. 

The Online Executive Certificate in Financial Planning Program is designed for students who prefer self-paced learning and are too busy to commit to regularly-scheduled class meetings.  This program also allows the student to go in as much depth on topics as they want or lightly cover the topics they already know.  This variable learning method will result in students being able to successfully complete the program in as much or as little time that they need, in order to gain a complete and thorough understanding of the material.

Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies offers these programs in partnership with Dalton Education, a leading provider of financial planning and education materials for financial planners.  

“A partnership between Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies and Dalton Education brings together two organizations committed to excellence in financial planning education,” said Joseph Gillice, president of Dalton Education.  “The e-Certificate in Financial Planning Program and the Online Executive Certificate in Financial Planning Program offer students, from anywhere in the country, the opportunity to attend one of the country’s premier financial planning education programs.”

According to the Occupational Outlook, employment as a financial planner is expected to grow by 30% between 2008 and 2018.  The e-Certificate in Financial Planning Program and the Online Executive Certificate in Financial Planning Program will assist both financial professionals and persons changing careers to enter this rapidly growing profession.

For additional information about these programs at Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies, please contact Matt Hlinak at (312) 503-0714.  Program registration is currently in progress.

No Comments

According to the CFP Board....


March 2010 exam results were sent on May 11, 2010 by first-class mail to the preferred mailing address of each examinee. Exam results will NOT be released over  the phone, by fax or by e-mail.

Included in the exam result  mailing is a Diagnostic Summary Report that provides a comparison of the individual examinee’s performance with the average performance of the passing group and also identifies the major content areas in which an individual’s results were deficient.

CFP Board wishes all examinees the best as  they receive their results.

So, you should begin receiving results as soon as today.  Good luck everyone!

Joseph M. Gillice, CPA, CFP®
President
Dalton Education, LLC

9 Comments