BrokerVille Recommends:
Financial Credentials Matter for
Financial Professionals

Getting worthwhile credentials (those that actually take study and some real learning) are useful from a professional standpoint as well as from a marketing standpoint.

Potential prospects are more readily drawn to advisors with financial credentials. In a poll of retirees asked what was most important to them in selecting a financial consultant, specialized training and “a credential evidencing specialized training” ranked 2 and 3 respectively out of 8 choices. In fact, an internal FINRA study from found that 46 percent of older investors were more likely to accept a financial professional with a designation, and 17 percent would fail to double-check a phony designation. We are not suggesting at BrokerVille that you get a phony designation but rather one or more with substance and gain the following benefits.

First, a financial credential implies that you think enough about what you do and your own professionalism to get some extra training or experience. It indicates that you are serious and committed to your own profession. Would you rather get your tax problems solved by Jim Yahoo, Accountant, or John Doe, CPA? You may not even know what the qualifications are to become a CPA but you automatically assume that the professional with a financial credential has raised themselves to a higher level of expertise, expertise you want for your benefit as the consumer. You also assume that this individual is committed to their profession and has "extra" knowledge. We continually see at BrokerVille that those with credentials do more business and have an easier time gaining new clients.

Compare this to the average person in financial services who has no credential and in fact no specialized knowledge. (What gets learned on the series 7 exam is worthless from the consumer's point of view in getting good financial advice). Can we assume that the average credential-less insurance agent or stockbroker are just interested in the next sale, in making a living and have little commitment to their “profession?”

Secondly, in financial services, the public has come to see people in the industry as sales people. In fact, this is accurate in the majority of cases. Financial services has never become a profession because most people in the industry are not professionals. (Don't take this personally, it is however true of the majority of your colleagues). Before you get insulted, let me give you one definition of a professional. A professional is committed to the prospect’s agenda. When you go to your doctor, he is committed to making you healthy. He has no agenda to sell you drugs, medical devices or a surgery procedure. The same is true of CPAs and attorneys—they are also committed to your agenda. But people in financial sales always have their own agenda—to sell a product or service and the public knows it as they are not stupid. Therefore, a financial designation helps separate you from the sea of salespeople and appear as the professional that hopefully you are.

Third, the public assumes that the credentialing organization provides oversight of your activities and that you operate at a higher standard than your un-credentialed competitors. This may or may not be an accurate assumption but the public acts on what they believe. In the public’s eyes, not only have you met some initial standards for the credential, but you have kept your record clean. This is true in some cases. The CFP® Board, the State Board of Accountancy, the State Bar Association regularly censures or decertifies members of their credential. This gives the public a higher comfort level in dealing with credentialed professionals. Would you rather go to any neurosurgeon or a “board certified” neurosurgeon (even though your don’t know the board or how a physician gets to be board certified, but it sounds good).

The next advantage we have identified in our research here at BrokerVille is that in order to hold a financial designation requires continuing education in every field. The public would rather use the services of someone who is up to date than someone who may have gotten their license 20 years ago and now has outdated expertise. Again, that's not to say that the credentialed person is more current or knowledgeable, but the public believes so.

Fifth, the financial credential turns an unknown in to a known. No one knows if Jim Stevens, financial professional is a good and honest guy. He is an unknown. And if you want to see prospects procrastinate, just give them uncertainty. The more certainty you add about yourself, the faster prospects commit. A financial designation is a method of adding certainty, solidity and making people feel more comfortable dealing with you. And since people make their decisions emotionally, you want them to feel comfortable.

Again—do not get pseudo credentials that lack substance. There are plenty of these designation programs around that have no substance, do not have proctored exams and are a false front to give pseudo credibility where none is due. as an illustration, I received a fax some years back about the Certified Retirement Planner designation in order to “put an end to the embarrassment of presenting yourself as an insurance agent…in less than 30 days, you can become a Certified Retirement Planner, doubling your income almost immediately.” Clearly, this is a pseudo-credential that is offered solely as a marketing gimmick with no substance. BrokerVille advises against these window-dressing designations.

You can be quite certain that there is no substance to becoming a Certified Retirement Planner, no rigor, no proctored exam, no CE requirements, no State Insurance CE, no recognition by the CFP Board or The American College. In fact, use of this designation may even be illegal in some states which have laws against deception by using credentials that do not meet certain standards.