Colleen Hallinan is the founder of Qii Consulting in Sedona, AZ, and she has had quite a unique journey in the financial planning industry—actually entering the profession on Black Monday in 1987. She joins the show today to share her experience, including how she had success selling 401(k) plans and began coaching and consulting with financial advisors back in the '80s and '90s. She also opens up about how she found an RIA to work for, left to start her own firm, and then ended up rejoining the firm before ultimately retiring from there.

Listen in as Colleen explains how her mindset shifted as her role transitioned and her career progressed from an individual financial planner contributor to building a team. You'll learn what types of opportunities newer planners should pursue when starting out, the challenges Colleen's consulting clients cite as the most common difficulties when hiring and managing new planners, and more.

What You'll Learn In Today's Episode:

• How Colleen got started in finance and what brought her into the planning area. (2:18)
• The journey of working her way up the ladder and how she figured out where she wanted to be. (4:47)
• The changes the firm went through from the time she joined until she left. (9:35)
• The importance of putting the team first and how you need to think before you can grow. (15:50)
• The struggle with selling and how Colleen transformed her ability to bring on new clients. (17:45)
• What she was looking for when hiring new planners and teammates. (22:52)
• Clients’ biggest complaints when hiring a planner. (26:58)
• Colleen's best advice for finding your place in a financial planning career. (33:55)

Ideas Worth Sharing:

“Gallop says that only about 10% of the workforce has the natural skills, abilities, and finesse to be a manager—and I’m not one of them, so it took a lot of work to figure out how I was going to do this, build this team, and grow.” -… Share on X “I was ready to be different, to be more aware of the people who were around me—especially people I worked with.” - Colleen Hallinan Share on X “If you have that mindset that you’re doing the right thing to help people, then you’re going to be a great salesperson.” - Colleen Hallinan Share on X

Resources In Today's Episode:

• Colleen Hallinan: Website | LinkedIn
• Kolbe Index
• Strengths Finder
• Your Client’s Story by Scott West and Mitch Anthony
• The What Matters Retirement Plan

Download your free copy of the New Planner Career Roadmap!

In this roadmap, you'll be guided through the details of various stages of your financial planner career, including position descriptions, licensing, skill and experience level requirements, and compensation ranges.

 

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