by Bill Gibson

Psychologists and assessment tool experts have identified a number of qualities that top producers must possess. I personally believe the two most important qualities are empathy and ego drive.

You must differentiate between empathy and sympathy however. Empathy is not feeling sorry for someone. It is putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, and being instinctively able to see, hear and feel where that person is coming from. It does not mean you agree with the other person, it means you have an understanding of that person’s perspective, and that you can adjust your approach and feedback to that person instantly.

Ego drive, on the other hand, is the measurement of how fast you recover when you get knocked down, or after you have been rejected. If you immediately dust yourself off and get back up then you have a high level of ego drive. A Financial Advisor with a high level of ego drive possesses an inherent focus and drive to make the sale, reach the goal, finish the task or conquer a difficult situation, and this is imperative. The need to accomplish, conquer and win keeps them motivated and focused on achieving results.

The fact is that Financial Advisors fail more often than they succeed. High ego-driven people are usually not shattered by failure, in fact they find that a failure or setback to them is just a challenge and handling challenges are what makes them happy. They live for the challenge and they live for the conquering, so when that one in 10 client says ‘yes’, the path of rejections is justified.

The two main qualities of empathy and ego drive must be balanced. If a Financial Advisor is high on empathy and low on ego drive, clients will think he is a great person, and really like that individual. But they may end up buying from the competitor, because the Financial Advisor got so engulfed in seeing and accepting the client’s point of view that she/he did not present the best solution, and did not close the transaction.

A Financial Advisor with high ego drive, but no empathy will often be so focused on driving through to the close of the deal he/she will not take into consideration or demonstrate respect for the client’s real needs, views and wants. This type of Financial Advisor often loses the sale and does not understand why. He/she can also negatively affect his/her reputation and that of the company he/she works for.

In essence you need a high level of empathy and a high ego drive to be a top producer. A Financial Advisor with only one of these traits can still be an F.A., and may achieve a sufficient level of sales. But if he/she is low in either empathy or ego drive, and makes a commitment to developing the right attitudes, skills and habits, he/she may become a top achiever.