Any financial guys on here?

[Unbridled_Phoenix]

So here's the deal. I graduated from college four years ago with a Financial Services degree. Instead of getting a job at a bank or seeking employment as a Financial Advisor (lol at 23 years old), I've been in outside sales ever since. It's been a long, sometimes tough, sometimes exhilarating ride, and working in sales has been invaluable in my personal and professional development.

Recently, a new friend I've made has been hired as a territory manager with a large insurance company, and has approached me to be an agent. Eager to put both my degree and sales experience to good use, I have accepted his offer, and we'll be getting the ball rolling here before too long.

That's just some background.

My question is in regards to another opportunity which has presented itself to me: Does anyone here have knowledge or experience in asset-based lending? I have been offered the opportunity to pursue business in large scale, asset-based lending. As I do not have the licensing to officially broker such loans, my role will be to build leads, get in contact with the ever-elusive "C" level executives, give them a pitch, and refer them to my manager.

I guess I'm feeling "in over my head" on this one, and it's not a feeling I'm used to or fond of. But we do not shy from challenges, we seek solutions and we keep moving forward.

Anything you can tell me will be of service.

How do I get to the level of shot-callers I'll need to be talking to?
How do I build leads for this?
How can I network the most effectively in this endeavor?
I understand there is a bit of a stigma to asset-based lending (the last ditch effort of desperate companies), so how can I find BIG companies who are having trouble getting capital? *car makers aside*

Or am I thinking too much, just because there's so much money involved in this? Is it simply calling them up and asking them if they're having financing issues?

Any advice you have for a new insurance agent is also appreciated.

 

[Wiesman44]

Insurance is a tough business.....get out while you're still young, lol. I didn't last too long, I hated it.

 

[Unbridled_Phoenix]

Insurance is a tough business.....get out while you're still young, lol. I didn't last too long, I hated it.

What were you selling, was it specialized? ie: door to door health or life, small business health plans, etc. I've heard how tough that stuff is.

My company is comprehensive and I'll be able to sell all lines of insurance.

 

[DamHE]

dude seriously dont go into this, selling insurance is known for being extremely frustrating and in ur position it doesnt seem like ud have a stable salary

 

[Unbridled_Phoenix]

Let's focus on the asset-based lending. Does anybody have anything useful to say?

 

[strong like bull]

im not experienced with asset-based lending, but do have a couple useful things to say.

imo one of the most important things you should do is weigh your pros/cons about the opportunity. how steep is this challenge, your learning curve? will you have a mentor/trainers? is the compensation worth it? how consistent will it be? is it realistic or speculative? furthermore, is the commission your only source of income? is there room to grow? are you strictly one-time commission (for your sales) or can you build, trails, renewals and overrides?

i worked with a unique financial services organization who's primary focus was sharing powerful money-saving and wealth-building concepts with middle america - people who dont "qualify" to sit down with a Merryll Lynch rep.. yet these people were the ones who need the most help. their core product was insurance based, meaning that technically at some level you were an insurance agent. of course you can also expand into securities, active money management, etc. but the flipside was huge upwards potential, in terms of building your own business without glass ceilings or other common corporate america limitations. i shook hands with guys who started from nothing, and now make over 100k a month (crazy, i know!) by building their organization.

also important to me, this company helped my own family get their financial house in order. and when i sat down with families, and helped them know what i know... seeing that lightbulb of possibilities go off in their head, that feeling is priceless.

but again, technically, still an agent. and anyone who knows me would say id be the last person to "prospect" and do "sales." but id be lying if i said the work i did, the people i did helped, wasnt extremely rewarding.

and yes, the money business is the biggest industry in the world. there is tons of money to be made. ever hear the phrase, "put money under management, and people under leadership"?

what i am getting at is that at the end of the day, it comes down to believing in what you do. the finance gig was my first true business venture, and having tried my hand at a few more since then i realized that at some point you will have to "prospect" and "sell" no matter what you do. dont get me wrong, the insurance (or finance) business can be TOUGH. a lot of people have bad preconceived notions about insurance agents/salesmen.

but i learned (the hard way) that ANY venture you start will be TOUGH in the beginning, regardless. youre still gonna have to prospect your future clients. the only thing left, once again, is your belief. especially in this industry, any existing or potential client has to see that you 100% believe in what you do. they have to know that you are deadly serious about making good on your word, and honest intentions. thats the only reason i earned any of my clients trust. they saw my in my eyes, largely in part because i wasnt just peddling of products to them i dont care about - i helped myself and my family the same ways i was helping theirs.

anyhow, just a couple thoughts about insurance.

as far as asset-based lending, i would google and try to find a more appropriate forum or website to get info on. you might not be able to find anyone here who can help.

good luck

-SLB

 

[Evzone]

Asset-based lending...are we talking CDO/CMO kind of stuff?

I think you might want to research the industry some more. Finance is a VERY broad profession. Financial advising (Edward Jones kind of stuff) is NOT investment banking. It's more like a sales job really. In fact, it can be hard to transition into investment banking or capital markets (research, trading, ect.) from financial advising without an MBA or at least a CFA, since they are looking for different skill sets--EVEN if you are in the same company (e.g.: trying to get transferred from Morgan Stanley's FA division to IB). IB and research needs analytic stills and a good grasp of econ, whereas financial advising is more about opening clients; as far as what stocks that you pitch to them, research basically does that job for you and then gives you a notebook for reference.

A forum that you should definitely check out is wallstreetoasis.com. There is a lot of junk sites out there, but this is legit if you want to get into big-time institutional finance.