• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
The above advertisement is onethat should attract many women.Who wouldn’t want the opportunityto reap large financial rewards fordoing something good for people?And who wouldn’t want flexiblehours and the ability to work atleast some of the time from home?The answer, at least according toindustry statistics, is women. Whatis it about a career in financial serv-ices that fails to attract women? Weknow that, on average, fewer than20% of career agents in the top lifeinsurance companies are women.We also know that an even smallerpercentage of women reach the topsales tiers of these organizations.And yet, women are searching formeaningful, rewarding careers.They want flexible hours to achievebalance of family life and careerlife. They want financial securityfor themselves and their families.A career in financial servicesshould be a natural fit for women.Women are relationship buildersand problem solvers. We knowthat today successful careers infinancial services are built on asolid foundation of relationships.We are no longer motivated bythe single transaction. We want tohelp our clients holistically addresstheir changing needs over thecourse oftheir lifetimes. But, inorder to best meet those changingneeds, you need to have a solidgrasp of increasingly complex con-cepts, and you need to be able tomotivate the client to act on the rec-ommendationsyou have made– inshort, you have to be able to sell.And, in selling, you have to riskrejection. For women, who haveworked so hard for acceptance asequals and who have worked sohard to prove their ability, rejectionis very hard to take.Companies, however, are catchingon that women agents are vital totheir future success. One, womenknow how to talk to other women–we’ve been doing it our entire lives.And, opportunities for future growthare heavily dependent upon beingable to tap into the various anddiverse segments of women’smarkets successfully.Women as a group are terriblyunderinsured and in search of soundfinancial advice.Of course,women–as clients – tell us that gender isnot an issue for them in choosing afinancial advisor
(OppenheimerFunds Women and Investing survey, 5/9/02).
But, they also want an advisorwho will pay them the attentionthey deserve, who they can trust,who will respect them, who hasgreater experience than their own,and whounderstands the client’sdesire to maintain control. In otherwords, women want advice andoptions from their advisor, but theywant to make the final decisions.These are qualities that womenagents possess and, accordingly,provide them a unique advantagein the women’s marketplace.Women agents are acutely awareof the many pressures on theirfemale clients’ time because theyare experiencing many of the samechallenges. This is not to say thatmale agents do not have the samechallenges – many do. But womentruly understand what otherwomen are dealing with.Having made the case that womenare great relationship buildersandhave a natural affinity inwomen’s markets, what are thebarriers to their success as financialprofessionals?The fact that they remain a dis-tinct minority among the ranks ofadvisors at a time when women areentering other professional careersin greater numbers tells us that wehave not done a great job of advo-cating this career to women.The first barrier is the lack of womenrole models. When women look atthis career, they want to see otherwomen who have succeeded.Women who love this career areable to balance it with family andother personal obligations, are ableto truly make a difference in theirclients’ lives, and are earning enoughto support themselves and theirfamilies in the lifestyle they want.The lack of role models sends thesubliminal message that this maynot be a career women want. Thinkof it this way: How would you feelifyou walked into a room and every-one there was vastly different fromyou? Perhaps they all spoke anotherlanguage that you did not speak orunderstand.That’s how many womenfeel walking into an agency wherethere are few, if any, role models.Many agencies have no womenagents at all. In some agencies,theonly employed women are thesupport staff. One truly is a lonelynumber.Let’s assume you currently have nowomen agents but want to recruit.What do you do? If you provideyour female recruits with supportand education and you help themdevelop a market, you will be ableto increase your numbers of success-ful women agents. But, you havetomake a commitment to trulysupport them, coach them, offerpositive reinforcement, role-playclient planning meetings with themand help them to get comfortablewith closing a sale.The one message I consistentlyhave heard from newer womenagents is that they want moreguidance on closing and theywant amentor who will listen,coach, guide and challenge themto overcome obstacles.In addition, they want to havecontact with other women agents.If there are none in your agency,then find others within your com-pany who would be willing toprovide an internal network.And, encourage them to associatewith organizations designed toprovide them with ideas, encourage-ment and support, such as Womenin Insurance and Financial Services(www.w-wifs.org). Encourage themto obtain their professional creden-tials, such as the CFP, CLU, ChFCand CLTC. Successfully obtainingthese credentials will not onlyincrease their base of knowledge,but also their confidence in theirown abilities.Developing their target marketearly on and critically assessingwhether that market is viable tothem is also key. If they have nonatural market– and you have notarget market to offer them or helpdevelop– then you will continue toexperience low retention rates foryour women recruits.It sounds like a lot of work.Actually, it’s more of a commitmentto making it work, than work itself.And, it is a commitment worthmaking – women agents will bekey revenue drivers for you. Theyhave a passionate commitment totheir clients, and that passionbegets client loyalty.Loyal clients who have been moti-vated to implement successfulplans will be your best advocates.And, you will have succeeded indoing well by doing good. It doesn’tget any better than that!
Susan Sweetser is second vice president, women’s markets,Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield,Mass. She can be reached at ssweetser@massmutual.com.
 Women In Financial Services –It Should Be An Ideal Match
By Susan W. Sweetser
 Wanted:
 E n t re p re ne u rsa nd se lf -s ta r te rs w hodesi re  to  r u n  t hei r ow n b usi nesses a nd  to ma k e adif f e re nce i n  t he  lives of  t hei r c lie n ts.  Beyo u r ow n boss.  Lo ng  ho u rs ( t ho ug hf  lexi b le) tos ta r t. Possi bi li t yof  wo r k i ng f  rom  home.Sma l l f i na ncia l  rewa rdsi ni tia l l y as  yo u g row  yo u r b usi ness.  La rge f  u t u rei ncome  po te n tia l. 
Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, January 16, 2004. Copyright ©2004 by The National Underwriter Companyin the serial publication. All rights reserved. Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.
C: 72492
Advertisement
 
As I watched the tele-vised devastationcaused by HurricaneKatrina and saw thou-sands of people mov-ing into shelters inchurches and stadi-ums, I felt compelledto do my small part inassisting those inneed.Combining myexpertise in jobs withtheir philanthropic interests, my lifelong family friends, Sandyand Paul Steinberg, generously offered to give me money totravel to Houston to help people who relocated from NewOrleans to find jobs.On Labor Day I walked into the Astrodome with a handmadesign that read, “Are you looking for a job?” I was soon sur-rounded by women and men who shared their stories of strug-gle. They had lost everything: their homes, possessions, jobs,and in some cases, contact with family and friends. These werecashiers, housekeepers, laborers, drivers, prep cooks, dishwash-ers, and janitors, all of whom were eager to get back to work.Their stories were similar, but one young woman moved mewith her innocence and fear. Doris Banks, a 20-year-old singlemother of a four-year-old boy, had an angelic face and sweetdisposition.She had been working at Taco Bell in New Orleans when thestorm struck. She left her home, as it was overcome by flood-waters, and moved into the Convention Center, where shethought she’d reside for a night or two. Without food or water,she watched a baby die from dehydration and an elderly manperish from heat stroke. Days later, to escape the horrendousconditions, she boarded a bus to Houston with nothing but theclothes on her back.I called Taco Bell and learned that Doris was eligible for imme-diate rehire in Houston. She even got a raise. Doris later toldme, “I didn’t think my job could be transferred out here. I justthought I was going to lay hopeless.”Knowing that a job and housing would go hand in hand, Ihelped her secure government vouchers for housing assistance.Then I cross-referenced dozens of Taco Bell locations with hun-dreds of apartment vacancies and found a perfect match justthree blocks from each other, which was essential since shedoesn’t drive.When we arrived to check out the place, Doris immediatelyknew she wanted it. “When I saw the building, it looked differ-ent from what I was used to being around. I had never seen acleaner place. There’s no violence. I don’t have to duck fromthis one and that one to avoid getting shot,” said Doris, who hadlived in a dangerous housing project her entire life. “It justbrightened my whole day.”I convinced the landlord to move at lightning speed. Withinthree hours of my first call, Doris signed the lease and had thekeys in hand. From there we did the natural thing for twohappy girls: we hit the stores to furnish the place.We filled many, many shopping carts with food, clothing, toi-letries, kitchen appliances, bedding and a TV. I ordered a bedand furniture to be delivered. We picked out a cell phone andDoris made her first-ever visit to Starbucks. (Mocha frappuchi-no has a new fan!)When Oprah spoke to the Astrodome evacuees, she told themthey’d come out stronger and better for having survived thestorm. I didn’t think that was even remotely possible as I stoodamong the crying babies, crowded cots and sad scene. But afterhaving met Doris and cutting through the bureaucracy to estab-lish the foundation for her new beginning, I’m a big believer.Just two and a half days of my time, plus $4,000 of theSteinbergs’money, Doris was well on her way to rebuilding alife full of promise. She is still shocked by what she calls an“overwhelming blessing,” and I remain in awe of my newfriend’s ability to rebound with great determination.In the coming months, I will assist Doris with computer trainingand college courses to put her on a path to pursue the career of her dreams: to work in the medical field, where she will be aleto assist people just as she was assisted by me.Before the end of 2005, I encourage you to push yourself tolend a hand to someone in need. No matter how big or smallthe deed, the rewards for both of you will be immeasurable.Tory JohnsonFounder and CEOWomen For Hire
3
CORNER CUBICLE
womenforhire.com
Rebuilding Careers After Katrina
 
womenforhire.com5
SHAMELESS BOOK PLUG!
 We know the Women For Hire books are fantastic resources becausewe wrote them ourselves! But beyond that,we hear from women likeyou who tell us just about every day that these two titles address their concerns and challenges while inspiring them to succeed.We’d welcomeyour feedback,too,which,of course,means that you’ve got to buy our books.Pick up a copy of 
Women For Hire:The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Job
and
Women For Hire’s Get-Ahead Guide to Career Success
at your online or local bookseller.
IN EVERY ISSUE
Corner Cubicle (3)Contributors (7)Shout Out! (9)Bulletin Board (11)Tools for Advancement (61)Fair Well (64)
CONNECTIONS
Volunteer with Style (19)
Share your flair for fashion while help-ing others Dress for Success.
 Jump into the Game(20)
Getting out on the field clears yourmind at the end of a stressful day.
 Workplace Gift Giving Need NotBe Hard(22)
Guidelines from the guru on being thebest Secret Santa in the office.
ENTREPRENEU-HER
Think Pink:Businesswomen FindInpiration in Mary Kay (26)
Liz Lange marvels at Mary Kay—andit’s not just because of her pink Cadillac.
Planet Moms (28)
Best friends created an out-of-this-world line of T-shirts for moms.
Master Organizer (30)
Julie Morgenstern’s making big buckseliminating clutter and improving timemanagement.
AFTER HOURS
Comfort Your Soles (34)
Finally a shoe that is pretty and pain-free. Dr. Taryn Rose explains why com-fort doesn’t have to jeopardize style.
Break Bread,Strenghthen Bonds(37)
Star chef Sara Moulton knows theimportance of baking and breakingbread when forming and maintainingrelationships.
Beware of the Blogs (39)
Blogging may be your outlet for vent-ing, but your 15 minutes of fame couldland you in hot water at work.
DIVERSE DETAILS
Careers that Safeguard Your Savings and Our Streets (43)
Financial Planning and LawEnforcement are dream-jobs for many.
Share the Job,Own theSatisfaction (45)
GlaxoSmithKline understands thatwork/life balance is often a team effort.
KaBOOM! (47)
Home Depot employees build play-grounds, communities, and companyloyalty brick by brick.
FEATURES
Stand Up and Speak Up! (48)
Face your fears of public speaking andlearn to make your voice heard.
Subtle Changes Help CombatAgeism at Work (53)
Make age an asset, not an obstacle, toyour advancement on the job.
Disability:Hide All or Tell All? (57)
Expert advice on when and how to dis-close disability when interviewing andaccepting an offer.
Design by Lindsay Weitz
Stylish Taryn Rose Shoes, Page 34
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...