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A Track To Run On

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Whether you are new to investment advising or whether you are an experienced investment advisor looking for a better, smarter way to advise and invest, I suggest you consider changing your perceptions of and convictions about the nature and form of "investment advising."

For all of us who start in the business of "investment advising," Selling, Marketing, Product, Price, Impulse, and the Moment tend to be the governing components of our expertise; however, to fully enjoy the privileges, the opportunities, the responsibilities, and the results you are looking for in our business, Advising, Managing, Portfolios, Process, Disciplines, and Time must be the foundations of your investment advising persona.

With regard to the initial phases of the investing advising process, we are all very able at stating our investment advising and investment recommendation cases — at making the initial presentation, and at executing the initial orders.

After that, say what you will, change is done more after the fact, by chance, and by the 'seat of one's pants' rather than as part of a well thought out, well scripted forward-looking investment advising plan; substantive solutions and specific alternatives to the future what ifs of the financial markets.

The following is simply meant to be a conceptual offering of what you must know and do to begin and to complete the transition from product salesman to investment advisor.

The Concept

The concept of "A Track To Run On" is not a new one. I first learned of it and used it extremely successfully when first employed as a salesman at Xerox many years ago.

The Xerox sales track was a planned, learned, and, yes, memorized track to run on that was required by all; not to create clones, not to eliminate creativity, but, rather to make all of us aware of all of the principles, disciplines, and tasks of the complete selling process, how to apply them, and how to anticipate and be prepared for any contingency rather than to just show up and begin by impulse while armed only with a structural knowledge of the products, a few answers to objections, and many closes.

The concept of " A Track To Run On" also applies to investment advising and investing.

Investment advisors and investors need their own investment advising and investment track to run on that moves beyond today and goes well into the investing future; who I am, what I represent, what I will and will not do, and the what, when, why, how, and what ifs of investing in detail.

Without a track to run on, a surgeon operates without procedures, an actor goes on stage without a script, an architect starts without a blueprint, and a football game is played without plays and rules and investment management is executed without a dynamic plan or orderly direction.

For those of you who are investment advisors, I am reminded of the stockbroker who once asked me for some strong 'closes.'

My response:

  • "Closes? You don't need strong closes, you need a strong opening."
    • "It is the close!"
  • "You don't have to 'close' the investor, the investor will be closing you!"

We all must have our own, complete investment tracks that take us from an investment philosophy and investment selection to a specific, dynamic, tactical investment plan that employs very specific investment principles and disciplines defined as rules and performed as tasks throughout the life or lives of investment portfolios.

I suggest that if you will develop your own investment advising track.

The 'outline' of my track is my Money Management Plan.

If you will do the same you will be better prepared to deal with most investment crises and investment opportunities and you will have taken all of the important aspects of investing into consideration as part of an ongoing investment advising and portfolio management process.

Most importantly you will be serving your clients intelligently and profitably.