To suceed as a financial consultant, you need to have a passion for helping people meet their financial goals. At prudential, financial consultants are supported by nurturing environment that helps them to achieve their full potential.

By John Yip

Getting people to join the financial advisory services industry is not tough,” says Amos Chan, “but getting the right people, that is a challenge.” He is in a good position to make such a comment, because Amos is the Director of Human Resources for Prudential, one of the largest financial advisory services company in Singapore.

“Everyone is competing for the same customer base in the market,” says Amos. As a result, financial consultants need to provide much more value-add to their service. “Compared to the past, we are no longer as product-driven. Instead, there is now a greater need for a customer service mindset. We want to know the needs of the customer, and tailor our services to meet those needs.”

A career with Prudential

Passion is the most important trait that Amos looks for in a new candidate for the company.

“A good financial consultant must have the ability to understand customers,” he says. “It would also be good if he has an academic background in finance or accounting, because that would give him a good foundation on the financial market. But, having said that, this is something that can be picked up along the way.”

That is where having passion becomes important, because an individual who is passionate about the job will have the motivation to “to read up, to be inquisitive, and to learn about the marketplace, and in turn relate that to the needs of the customers.”

Prudential, for its part, does a lot to support new financial consultants. The company recognises that its most valuable resource is its human capital, and it goes out of its way to provide a challenging and dynamic work environment that is supportive and caring at the same time. A culture of continuous learning is actively encouraged, to give all consultants the chance to realise their full potential.

For example, Prudential’s employees undergo training that ranges from IT courses to customer service. They are also a part of innovation teams that work on projects that center on productivity and quality. These projects have even won numerous corporate awards.

Joining the industry

Prudential’s commitment to developing its consultants is what attracted Lynn Lee, 28, and Cheong Jun Er, 26, to the company. Both of them are relative newcomers, having just joined the company in 2005. Even so, they’ve gone on to become consistent top performers.

It was in fact a major career switch for Jun Er. She graduated from NUS with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography, and originally joined the National Environment Agency to do policy planning work. She had already worked in the civil service for three years before joining Prudential.

Jun Er had quite a surprise when she first joined the industry. “I thought insurance was just insurance. It turned out there were many different kinds of protection plans that I wasn’t aware of,” says Jun Er with a laugh.

Lynn, on the other hand, already had a good idea of what to expect by the time she joined Prudential. She bought her first insurance product when she was just 16 years old.

“Actually, I already wanted to start working as a financial planner at the time, but I couldn’t qualify because I was too young,” says Lynn, who holds a Diploma in Business Studies from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. As a result, she went on to work in administrative and accounting roles, and also spent two years working in the sales line of a consumer goods company.

When she heard that Prudential was hiring, Lynn was quick to switch careers, to do what she had always wanted.

“What I like most about my new job is that I’m able to provide financial advice to a lot of people in Singapore,” Lynn says happily.

Postassurance

Today, Lynn and Jun Er are part of Postassurance, a new partnership between Prudential and Singapore Post that was just launched in January 2005. It aims to reach a whole new segment of customers, that is, the needs of people in the heartlands, who may not have easy access to financial advisory services.

Postassurance is now available at most Singpost branches, and Prudential has plans to operate in even more branches in the future. Lynn works at the Jurong Point branch of Singpost, while Jun Er is stationed in Ang Mo Kio.

Most people go to Singpost branches to perform very quick transactions, and they do not realise that the new service is available until they’ve been referred to the Postassurance counters by Singpost’s customer support officers.

“Many of them are people who are nearing retirement age,” Lynn observes. “As a result, they are usually interested to find out more about various retirement and medical savings plans, as well as protection policies for their family members.”

“The products are generally pitched to the needs of the heartlanders, and are more affordable. It doesn’t have to be cash only either. We are able, for example, to advise customers about investment-linked plans that they can buy with their CPF savings.”

Moments that make me go “yay!”

Lynn and Jun Er do come across their fair share of rejections, as is normal for any sales-related profession. But thankfully, because most of their customers are referred to them by Singpost officers, they’re usually more open to consultation.

“We have encountered some hostile customers, but we try to win them over by getting them to talk a little bit more. We get them to be more comfortable while talking to us, and usually, they become more willing to share,” shares Jun Er.

“Some of them have bad experiences, which unfortunately, is part and parcel of the relationship. So we assure them of the customer service we provide. And sometimes, even if not all the time, we manage to win them over. So for me, such moments make me go ‘yay’!” says Jun Er with a smile.

Even though most of their transactions are handled on the spot, Lynn and Jun Er still go on to develop long-term relationships with their customers. In fact, some of their customers have even referred people directly to them!

What’s next

As Lynn and Jun Er continue to build upon their success, they can look forward to a rewarding career with Prudential.

All sales staff at Prudential have clearly defined career development plans, which include not only additional training and extension programmes, but also four levels of sales positions that enables top performers to be rewarded in both remuneration and position.

At every level, Prudential offers attractive pay and benefits that are commensurate with the employee’s performance. Some of the benefits include flexibenefits, medical and hospitalisation benefits, marriage leave and even an employee share option plan.

Top talents are also picked to undergo intensive development programmes to hone their leadership skills.

Never say die

When it comes down to it, Lynn and Jun Er come across as people who are very sincere in wanting to help the people they meet.

“I feel that a good financial consultant likes talking to people. You need to like building relations with people, and to be able to empathise with your customer. Talking to people helps to build character. Of course, you’ll have to be positive, always,” says Jun Er with a smile.

Lynn agrees. “It’s not an easy job. But it’s not tough either. You must have a never-say-die attitude. Always push through, and have the passion to talk to people and share your views. And learn from the experience. In your mind, you must feel that you want to help people to make progress. That’s where I get my determination from.”