I recently had the opportunity to speak with a number of bank executives on the topic of recruiting investment advisors, and thought I’d share with you, in the words of these bank execs, the specific traits and experiences that top-producing investment advisories look for when hiring representatives. 

The list, in no particular order:

• “The rep is a hunter, not a farmer. ” And not even a combination of the two, as many would suggest as a good fall-back plan if a pure hunter cannot be found.
• “The rep isn’t afraid of the phone.”  In fact, the rep loves the phone.  They use it as the business tool that it is.
• “The rep didn’t necessarily have financial experience when they joined.” But they had a track record of delivering above-quote sales numbers in a hunter role.
• “The rep was perfectly comfortable with a low base / high commission structure.”  Because they know what they’re capable of.
• “It took months to lure them away from a great book of business.”  Always the hardest part of luring them away - getting them to leave their book.
• “The rep had a list of outstanding references a mile and a half long.”  Important, because salespeople are great at selling themself in an interview, but, sometimes, that’s all they’re good at selling.

If you’re considering hiring an investment advisor for your bank, or if you currently have one or more investment advisors working for your bank who can’t seem to make it happen, then refer back to this list.  Go with what’s worked for the best shops in the US.