Evan had no intention of moving firms prior to coming to us. He began his career on a wonderful team at a Guardian agency with fabulous mentors. Among all the first-year advisors, he was number 6 in the country. He maintained the number 6 ranking among second-year advisors. Had he stayed with Guardian, he believes he would have had a successful and long career surrounded by great advisors.
Evan was introduced to another advisor at our firm through a mutual client and they met for drinks to see if there was opportunity for collaboration. They shared their experiences at each of their respective firms and the ACE program stuck out as something Evan needed to look into. In his first attempt helping a client through ACE, it took him under 48 hours to apply and place a Penn Mutual term case. Needless to say, he was blown away. That same term case would have taken him more than 3 weeks at Guardian. His interest in the firm and its technology was piqued.
After doing intense competitive analysis on the insurance products themselves, and testing a few more ACE cases, he realized he needed to pursue a conversation with the managing partner at EWS, Michael Kane. He discussed their belief that the most important advisor for the firm’s success was one that was an educated rising star and that was where they were putting all of their time and resources. This was the exact opposite of what Evan was accustomed to at his current firm which had a top-down approach. The eldest advisors were provided the most support.
EWS, Michael Kane and Evan figured out a way to get him to the firm. They supplied him with a papering team to assist in moving accounts and were there for him every step in his transition. Within one month, Evan knew he had made the right call. He sought firm support going to Las Vegas for the SALT Conference to be in the presence of exactly who he was targeting as clients. Evan came away with nearly 100 new valuable connections and transitioned many into clients.
Since that trip, Evan has utilized in person events as his main source of connecting with new opportunities. The firm has supported him through every single one. To him, there is absolutely no better way to showcase who you are as a person than to be out of your element and vulnerable at events. He, himself has planned numerous events both in New York and around the country with current clients and new connections. The majority of his business has come directly from these in-person events. The far-reaching ability of a personal connection with someone has proved to be invaluable.
Evan believes there is no way he would have risen as quickly as he has as an advisor without the firm supporting him through these events over the past 4 years.