Adviser talks about how she found success by stepping out of her comfort zone
Being a mortgage adviser can often involve a lot of networking, negotiation and presentations - however, navigating these parts of the job can be tough for the introverts of the industry, for whom speaking to larger groups of people does not always come naturally.
Despite this, the industry has attracted many self-confessed introverts who are drawn to the profession for its real-life impact, and for its ability to positively affect families and individuals. According to Prosperity Finance founder and director Connie Wang (pictured), the key to stepping out of your comfort zone is to find a goal that makes it all worth it - in this case, helping New Zealanders with their finance and property goals.
“Even though I now regularly deliver seminars and webinars, I am most comfortable with one-on-one conversations,” Wang told NZ Adviser.
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“Being an adviser is great in that sense, because I am usually having an in-depth conversation with one person, or with a couple. But I would say the key thing is to focus on the client, the value you can bring them and how you’re going to help them achieve a goal, rather than on yourself, your shyness or whether you’re saying something wrong.”
“I have a YouTube channel that I’ve now been doing for three years, and it took six months from the day that I first thought about doing that, to actually delivering my first video,” she continued.
“As an introvert, that’s definitely the kind of thing you want to avoid! But I’ve managed to gain a lot of followers, and whenever I’m shooting a video, I just talk with my customers in mind. A lot of the topics I discuss are things that my clients have had problems with, so I find it really useful to share that.”
Commenting on her time as an adviser, Wang noted that being in the industry comes with many challenges, particularly since compliance requirements and overhead costs have increased. She said the most important thing for a new adviser is to identify their motivation, and then use that to drive their business and step outside of their comfort zone.
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“For anyone considering entering the industry, I would say the key thing is to know why you’re doing it,” Wang said. “There are a lot of challenges in this industry, especially with the new compliance regime, and you can easily give up if you don’t know why you’re in it.”
“Ultimately it’s about thinking about how you can help others, and that’s really helped me to go outside my comfort zone,” she concluded. “Eventually you’ll get to a stage where if you have to do a presentation to a group, you’ll do it - it might not be your favourite thing, but you know you can do it!”
