August 18, 2025

What Do New Financial Advisors Need to Succeed?

What Do New Financial Advisors Need to Succeed?

Let’s cut through the noise: The financial advisory business doesn’t reward the smartest or the most accredited. It rewards the most focused. The most disciplined. And importantly, the most resilient. You must learn how to bounce back from setbacks and keep moving forward.

It's not just about having the most credentials or attending all the top webinars. To truly succeed in the financial advisory business, you need to master both the 'inner game' and the 'execution game.’ These are the keys that will keep you from spinning your wheels while others sprint past you.

So, what do new financial advisors need to succeed? It’s not a secret. It’s a formula. Every top-performing advisor you admire follows it, whether they realize it or not.

1. Intelligence—But the Right Kind

Technical knowledge gets your foot in the door. Emotional intelligence keeps you in the room. Street smarts help you navigate what no textbook teaches: human behavior, tough conversations, and real-world decision-making.

Takeaway: Your clients won’t remember your designations. They’ll remember how you made them feel during uncertain moments.

How to:

• Master the basics of tax, estate, insurance, retirement, and behavioral finance.
• Follow a financial advisor's business discipline. There are decades-old established Standard Operating Procedures in our industry, so try to find one or ask us for one.
• Role-play “tough talks” with mentors and colleagues—market crashes, premature death, failed goals.
• Ask every client this: “What would make this relationship most valuable to you?” Then listen like your career depends on it.

2. Ambition That’s Anchored to Vision

It's not enough to desire 'success'. Top advisors understand what success looks like, feels like, and why it matters to them. Their ambition is not just a loud proclamation, but a consistent force that shows up every day, especially when no one's watching.

Takeaway: Ambition isn’t loud. It’s consistent. It shows up every day, even when no one’s watching.

How to:

1. Define Success—write down your 3-year ideal future: income, lifestyle, clients served, hours worked.
2. Reverse Engineer It—How many ideal clients does that require? How many introductions? How many meetings per week?
3. Put it on your wall. Review it every Monday morning before the week takes over.

3. Hard Work That’s Directed

Yes, this business takes grind. But effort without focus is just glorified busyness. The most successful advisors aren’t just busy—they’re effective.

Takeaway: The game isn’t about working harder than everyone—it’s about working longer on the things that matter most.

How to:

• Each Friday, block 60 minutes to plan the following week. Schedule:
• 5 hours for business development
• 5 hours for client engagement
• 5 hours for learning or sharpening systems
• Kill distractions. Clear your desk, turn off email, phone, and browser tabs during “deep focus work.”

4. Conviction You Can Feel in Your Bones

If you don’t believe in the value of what you do, neither will anyone else. Conviction is the hidden superpower that gives you presence, confidence, and momentum in the financial advisory business.

Elite Insight: When you believe your work changes lives, you stop selling—and start leading.

How to:

• Write down your top 5 client success stories and post them in your office. Revisit them every time self-doubt creeps in.
• Practice your value story. Out loud. Daily. In the mirror, in the car, before meetings.
• Know your worth—and never discount it. Discounted confidence costs more than money.

5. Discipline That Outlasts Motivation

Motivation fades. Deadlines pass. Bad weeks happen. Discipline is your engine—reliable, consistent, unstoppable.

Takeaway: Average advisors chase motivation. Elite advisors build habits that perform on autopilot.

How to:

1. Establish a 90-minute morning ritual that includes exercise, mindset, planning, and preparation.
2. Track 3 KPIs daily: contacts made, meetings booked, meetings completed.
3. Follow our “APM Growth 90” Rule: 90 minutes per day on your #1 growth activity, no excuses.

Bonus: Humility to Learn Relentlessly

The best advisors never stop learning. They ask for feedback, hire coaches, and read as if their career depends on it—because it does. Humility is not a weakness; it's your edge in an industry full of ego. It keeps you open to new ideas and receptive to growth.

Takeaway: In an industry full of ego, humility is your edge.

Final Word:

This business will test you. It will stretch you. But if you bring intelligence, ambition, hard work, conviction, discipline, and never stop learning, you’ll win. It won’t happen overnight. But over time. Every time.

Your Next 3 Moves:

1. Write down your 3-year ideal future—income, lifestyle, impact.
2. Commit to your “Power 90”—90 minutes daily on what moves the needle.
3. Find a mentor or coach who’s 5–10 years ahead. Ask them how they got there—and listen.

You don’t need to be perfect. You need to be committed, consistent, and coachable.

Success in this industry isn’t a mystery. It’s a habit.

Thank you for reading! This is what we help advisors do every day!

To book a no-obligation appointment with Jeff to discuss practice management or coaching, click https://calendly.com/jeffthorsteinson/30-minute-q-a-explore-apm

Jeff Thorsteinson is a partner in Advisor Practice Management, an organization that helps financial advisors build world-class practices through innovative concepts, tools, and systems. Jeff works with individual advisors, investment dealers, insurance firms, and fund companies. For more information about Advisor Practice Management, contact jeff@jeffthorsteinson.com or 1-800-223-9332, or visit the website at www.apm.coach

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